Foundation raising in Orange CA - a level house with the cause of the settling fixed
Sloping floors, sticking doors or new cracks in the walls? We find out why your house moved, then lift it back toward level.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
Do you need a full lift or a smaller fix?
It comes down to how your house is built and whether it's still moving. I check both before I suggest anything, and I'll tell you if a smaller fix will do.
A smaller fix is enough when:
- The house sits over a crawl space
- The framing is easy to reach from below
- The settling is in one area
- The movement has stopped
- The floors are only slightly out
Piles and a full lift make sense when:
- The house sits on a slab
- New cracks show up every season
- More than one wall has dropped
- Doors and floors keep getting worse
- Firm soil sits well below the surface
How a foundation lift goes
Call or send a message
Tell us what you're seeing, like sloping floors or sticking doors, and whether your house sits on a slab or over a crawl space.
A visit booked
I look at the house
I come out myself, measure how far the floors are off, check the foundation and look for what's moving it, such as drainage or a leaking line.
The cause, explained
Your written estimate
You get a written estimate that spells out the method I'd use and why, what the price covers and what it doesn't.
A written estimate
Permits, then the lift
Once you say yes, we pull any permit the job needs and schedule the inspections, then our own crew sets the piles and lifts the house, checking level as we go.
A level house
Cleanup and walk-through
We backfill what we dug, clean up the site and go over the finished work with you, including what we did about the cause.
A clean site
What our foundation raising includes
Finding the cause
We trace why the house moved, whether it's drainage, a leaking supply line or soil washing out from under it.
Measuring the floors
We map how far each part of the house is off level, so the lift is planned and not guessed at.
Digging to the footing
On a slab house we dig along the outside wall down to the footing, the wide base the walls rest on, wherever a pile goes.
Setting helical piles
Steel piles with screw-shaped plates are turned down to firm soil and fastened to the foundation to carry the house.
Crawl space leveling
Over a crawl space we shim or replace the piers under the framing, since all of it is reachable from below.
Cutting and patching concrete
Where a walk or patio is in the way, we make a clean opening with our concrete cutting work and patch it after.
What changes the cost of raising a house?
The biggest factor is how your house is built. A house over a crawl space can usually be leveled from underneath, while a slab house has to be lifted on piles driven down to load-bearing soil, the ground firm enough to hold the weight, and that means more digging, more steel and more days. How far the house has dropped and how many walls moved add to it.
Then there's the cause, because fixing a leak or a drainage problem is part of the job and sits in the price. Access matters too, like a concrete driveway against the wall that has to come out and be poured new. Your written estimate lists each of these.
Why homeowners in Orange call us for foundation work
I learned under a foreman who checked every form with a string line and made us tear out anything that was off, and I've run my own business in Orange the same way since 2017. I still come out to look at each house myself, and our own crew does the work from the first dig to the final cleanup.
With foundation work that habit matters. If your house moved once and stopped, I'll tell you a small fix will do. If it's still moving, I won't lift it until we know why. Call (714) 787-1676 and I'll come take a look.
- The owner at every estimate
- Our own crew, start to finish
- Backed by our satisfaction guarantee
Get a written estimate for raising your house
Tell us if it's a slab or crawl space house, what you see and if it's in the Historic District. We reply within one business day to book a free on-site estimate, no obligation.
(714) 787-1676Questions about raising a house
How much does it cost to raise or level a house in Orange, CA?
Leveling a house usually costs about $3,500 to $30,000 per job across the US, and that's the market's range, not our price. Where yours lands depends mostly on slab or crawl space and on fixing the cause, as covered above. Your own number comes in the written estimate after I've seen the house.
How long does foundation raising take, and can I stay in my house?
A national cost guide puts the work itself at about 1 to 3 days on a pier and beam house, the kind over a crawl space, and 3 to 7 days on a slab. Most owners stay home through it, though slab work is loud and means digging along the outside walls.
What causes a house to keep settling, and why fix that before lifting it?
A house that moves a measurable amount each season has an active cause, such as poor drainage, expansive clay, a leaking supply line or soil washing away. Lifting it without dealing with that only buys time, so I want to know why it moved before we lift anything, and our plan covers both.
How much deposit can a contractor ask for on a home improvement job in California?
State rules for home improvement projects say a contractor can ask for no more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. Any later payments should be listed in the contract and tied to work already done or materials delivered to your house. The Contractors State License Board licenses and regulates contractors in California, and we're fully licensed and insured.
Do I need a permit to raise my house in Orange, CA?
Ask the city's Building and Safety Services, which enforces building rules for every structure in Orange and takes permit applications only online, through its Civic Portal. Plan Check staff at City Hall review residential plans, and Permit Technicians help owners get permits and work out fees. If your job needs one, we handle it as part of the steps above.
Does foundation repair in Orange's Historic District need city review?
It may, because the city's design standards apply to every property in the Historic District and list foundation repair among projects that may go through a Minor Design Review application. Staff approve many projects that way, while substantial changes go to the Design Review Committee. The city asks owners there to contact its Historic Preservation Planning staff early, so call them before we schedule anything to learn your review level.
Orange and the cities around it
We're based in Orange and raise houses in Tustin, Santa Ana and the other cities around it. Pick your city below, or call if yours isn't listed.
Ask Cornerstone Orange Concrete for a quote in Orange
Call (714) 787-1676 or use the form, and keep photos of the cracks handy so I know what to look for.