If your house sits too low for comfort when the rain comes, we lift it and build a new foundation underneath it.
Foundation raising in Riverview, FL means lifting your house off its foundation on hydraulic jacks, holding it on temporary supports and building a new or extended foundation underneath it, so the house ends up sitting higher than it did.
Good Form Riverview Concrete Company is based in Riverview, and we work across Hillsborough County and the cities around it. Most people who call about lifting a house have been thinking about it for a while, usually because of water, and they want two things from me early on. They want to know what it's likely to cost and how long their house will be tied up.
The price moves mostly with the size of the house, whether it's frame or masonry and whether it sits on a slab, how much room there is to dig and set supports around it, and what has to be reconnected and put back afterward. The schedule waits first on the structural check and the permit. Your written estimate spells out what's included for your house.
The jacks get all the attention, but three other things decide how your house sits for years afterward, and they're what I spend the most time on when I walk your property.
The new foundation is only as good as the subgrade, the packed ground it sits on. Dirt that's raked level instead of dug out and compacted keeps settling, and the foundation goes with it. Nobody sees that base once the house is down, which makes it the first thing people want to trim and the last place I'd cut.
Lifting a house means jacks, supports and digging right up against the walls, so I look hard at the access when I come out. Fences, AC units, plantings and tight side yards all change how we stage the job, and anything in the way has to move before we start.
Once the house sits higher, the ground around it has to carry water away from the walls, not toward them. I check where the water runs on your lot before we set grades, because a foundation with dirt sloping back at it will see the same pooling that had you worried in the first place.
Here's how a lift goes with us, from the first call to the walk-through at the end, and who handles each part along the way.
You call (813) 471-5890 or send the form and tell us a little about the house and what's been worrying you. Then we set a time for me to come out.
I come out myself to measure, look over the site and the access, and ask what the new foundation will need to carry. Then you get a written estimate that shows what's included.
Once you say go, we sort out the permit side for your address. Work starts after the permit is issued, the required inspections happen along the way, and we lift the house, pack the base, set the forms and pour.
Before we pack up, I walk you through curing, the wait new concrete needs to harden before it carries its full load. Utilities get reconnected and the yard gets put back where the work disturbed it.
Before we set a lift date, I want your house checked by someone qualified to say it can take the lift, and on a slab house that means an engineer. A house that isn't sound can crack or shift badly once it's off its foundation, and that damage costs far more than the check does. I'd rather wait for that answer than guess at it.
We'll also help you plan for the stretch when your utilities are off, so it doesn't catch you short. Concrete that butts against the house, like a walk, steps or a driveway apron, may need concrete cutting to free it before the lift, and afterward it may need redoing to meet the new height, which is where our concrete driveway building work comes in.
When the engineer finds the existing foundation sound, it can sometimes be built up and extended instead of replaced. That keeps more of what's already there, but it only works if what's there is good.
When the old foundation can't carry the house higher, we build a new one underneath it. It's more work, but you end up on a base we dug out, packed and formed ourselves.
We reply within one business day, and the estimate is free, done at your property and comes with no obligation. Have your address, the size of the house and its foundation type ready, and I'll come out to measure and look over the site before you get the written estimate.
(813) 471-5890Hillsborough County Development Services issues building permits in unincorporated Hillsborough County, where new structures and other construction need the right building permit. We check whether your address falls under the county or a city so we know which office the permit goes through, and when your job needs one, we pull it and handle the paperwork. The county schedules and manages its building inspections through its HillsGovHub portal.
Florida law requires construction to be done by a licensed contractor, though an owner-builder exemption lets you act as your own contractor, with restrictions. If an unlicensed contractor costs you money, the state licensing board may not be able to help you get it back, and civil court may be the only place left, so check the license before you sign anything.
Before you plan a lift, you can look up your lot on Hillsborough County's flood map, which shows its flood zone, base flood elevation and floodway status. Ground that's sinking isn't always a sinkhole, because Florida soil can also drop from clay layers compressing, broken pipes or septic tanks, or fill nobody packed. We look at both on homes in Gibsonton and Apollo Beach too.
I've run this business in Riverview since 2013, so 13 years now, and I come out myself to look over the job and measure. Our own crew does the work with me running it, so the person who looked at your house in the first place is the one watching the base go in and the forms get set.
We're fully licensed and insured. Your satisfaction, guaranteed. When you're ready to talk through your house, call (813) 471-5890 or send the form, and I'll set a time to come out. I'll tell you plainly what I can see and what still has to be checked before anyone talks about a lift date.
When a walk, step or slab is tied tight to the house, a clean saw cut lets it be separated before the lift instead of cracking loose.
If the lift leaves your driveway meeting the garage or walk at the wrong height, a new or reworked driveway brings everything back into line.
We're based in Riverview and work across Hillsborough County and the cities around it, including the ones listed here and others nearby, so ask even if your city isn't on the list.
Raising a house of 1,000 to 2,500 square feet in the Tampa area usually costs about $10,500 to $60,000 per job. That's the going range around here, not our price. Where your house lands depends on its size, its foundation and what the structural check turns up, and your written estimate sets out your own figure and what it includes.
You should plan on one. FEMA's homeowner guide on raising houses advises getting a structural engineer's help before you even consider lifting a house that sits on a slab, because concrete can fail all at once and most contractors may find its strength hard to judge. Budget for that visit, and it's fair to ask any contractor about their slab experience.
Every utility line gets disconnected before the house goes up, including water, sewer, gas, electric and phone. They're reconnected at the end, along with any landscaping that needs putting back, so plan ahead for the time you'll be without them, whether that means staying somewhere else or working around it.
Usually, yes. One maker's guide for helical piers, steel posts screwed down into the ground, has crews dig down to the footing beside the house, either in a trench along the whole wall or a hole at each pier. Expect digging right up against your walls, and clear that area ahead of time.
I can't give you a start date until two things are in hand, the go-ahead from whoever checked the structure and the permit, because the lift can't begin without both. After that, the time on site turns on the size of the house, the foundation going under it, the cure time for the new concrete and how much has to be reconnected.
We pick up seven days a week from 6 AM to 11 PM, so call (813) 471-5890 or send the form with your address, home size and foundation type ready.
