From “should we do this?” to living in your raised home, here’s the path — roughly the order it happens and who’s involved at each step.
1. Elevation assessment & survey
A surveyor establishes your existing floor elevation and the Base Flood Elevation. This single number — how far below or above BFE you are — drives the entire project and your insurance.
2. Structural engineering
A licensed engineer evaluates whether and how your home can be lifted, and designs the new foundation to current code and wind/flood loads.
3. Permits
Local building department, floodplain administrator, and sometimes state review. Expect this to take time — start early.
4. Choosing a contractor
House-lifting is a specialty trade. You want a company that lifts homes for a living, carries the right insurance, and can show you finished projects like yours. Vetting them well is the most important thing you’ll do — see the guide for the exact checklist.
5. The lift
Utilities are disconnected, the house is separated from its foundation, and unified hydraulic jacks raise it onto temporary cribbing. It’s dramatic — and, done by pros, remarkably controlled.
6. New foundation
Piers, columns, or extended walls are built to the new height, then the house is lowered and secured onto them.
7. Utilities, access & finishing
Reconnect plumbing, electrical, and HVAC (often relocated above BFE too), build the new stairs/entry, and restore grading and landscaping.
8. Final elevation certificate
A new Elevation Certificate documents your raised floor — the document that unlocks your lower flood-insurance rate.