Foundation raising in Costa Mesa CA - a steadier house with the cause fixed first
Sloping floors, sticking doors or cracks that keep growing? We find why your house moved, then lift it onto solid support.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does it take to level a sinking house in Costa Mesa?
Foundation raising in Costa Mesa lifts a settled house and its foundation back toward level, usually by underpinning it with new supports set underneath so it has something solid to sit on.
What your house sits on decides most of the price and the schedule. If it has a crawl space, the pier and beam kind, the crew reaches the framing from underneath and shims the gaps or replaces worn piers, the short posts that hold the floor up, and that's the quicker and cheaper job. A slab has to be lifted on piers driven down to soil that can carry the weight, so slab homes take longer and cost more to level. After that, the price and the schedule turn on how many piers it takes, how far the house has dropped and whether the drainage needs work first, and the estimate breaks out each of those parts for your house.
How do you know your foundation has settled?
Floors that slope or dip
A ball rolls toward one wall, or you feel a soft dip walking across a room. It usually means one part of the foundation has dropped more than the rest, and the longer it goes, the farther the house has to come back up.
Doors that stick or won't latch
A door that closed fine last year now rubs at the top, or a window jams halfway up. Frames go out of square when the house shifts under them, and planing them down only hides it until the next bit of movement.
Cracks that keep growing
You see diagonal cracks off the corners of doors and windows, cracked floor tile, or a gap opening where the wall meets the ceiling. When they're getting longer or wider, the settling is still going, and every month of it adds to the patching later.
How we do foundation raising
Before we lift anything, I look for why the house moved, because lifting without fixing that just buys time. That means walking the outside to see where the rain runs and where it sits, and looking at the foundation where it dropped. On a crawl space house, our crew works from underneath on the framing and the piers, and on a slab, we dig along the outside, install the piers and bring the house up on them. We'd rather lift partway and protect your tile and plumbing than go after a perfectly flat floor, because pushing a house hard cracks plaster, tile and pipes in rooms that were fine before. That's the trade-off I'll talk you through, and I'll side with a house that's properly supported over one that only looks level on the first day.
The concrete around the house is often part of the job. When a patio or walk sits right where a pier has to go, we use concrete cutting to take out just that piece and patch it after. If an old driveway sends rainwater toward the foundation, replacing it through our concrete driveway building work takes away one reason the house moved.
Get a foundation raising estimate for your house
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come out, look at your house and give you a free estimate with each part spelled out, with no obligation.
(949) 543-1664- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
- service@costamesaconcrete.com
- Costa Mesa, CA 92626
What happens when you call us about foundation raising?
Here's how a foundation job runs from your first call to the last pier, and who you'll deal with along the way.
Call or send a message
You call (949) 543-1664 or use the form, and we get back to you to set up a visit. It helps to know whether your house is on a slab or a crawl space.
I look at your house
I come out, check the floors, the cracks and where water goes around the foundation, and ask how you use the rooms that moved. You get an estimate with each part spelled out, from the piers to any drainage work, so you can see what drives the total.
We schedule and file paperwork
Once you say go, we put the job on the schedule and take care of the city paperwork where it's needed. I'm there when the concrete goes in.
Backfill, clean up, walk through
When the house is supported, we backfill the digging and clean up the site. Then we walk through with you so you can see what changed and what will still need patching inside.
Why Costa Mesa homeowners call Premier Costa Mesa Concrete for foundation work
If your floors are sloping or the cracks are growing, call (949) 543-1664 or send us a message, and I'll come out and take a look.
I look at every job myself
I come out myself to look at the house and write the estimate, and our own crew does the work with me on site for the pours. You deal with one person who knows your house from the first visit on.
Fixing failed concrete since 2017
Before I started this business in Costa Mesa in 2017, I spent years patching sunken slabs and broken steps on rental properties, and most of what I tore out failed because of what was under it. That's why I'd rather change the plan or tell you no than lift a house I'd be back fixing later.
Licensed, insured and easy to check
We're licensed and fully insured. The state licensing board has a classification for contractors who raise, lower and underpin houses, and California law lets you ask any home improvement contractor to list their subcontractors with names, contact details, license numbers and classifications.
Foundation raising, permits and drainage in Costa Mesa
The City of Costa Mesa decides whether a foundation lift needs a building permit, and that isn't settled for every job, so we don't guess. When a job needs one, we pull it and handle the filing, and if it's unclear we check with the city before we start. Two other things are worth a look while you plan. Flood zone questions, such as getting an elevation certificate, go to the city's floodplain administrator, and water is often what moved the house in the first place. Where the state has found weak soil or rock likely under a property, that ground can fail in an earthquake and damage a house if grading and construction don't account for it.
We're based in Costa Mesa and work across the cities around it in Orange County. On jobs in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, settling usually comes back to water from downspouts emptying against the wall or yards that drain toward the house, so that's where we start.
Questions about foundation raising in Costa Mesa
(949) 543-1664How much does foundation raising cost in Costa Mesa?
House leveling across the US usually costs about $3,500 to $30,000 per house, and that's a national figure, not a Costa Mesa quote. Slab homes sit toward the upper end because every pier has to be driven down to soil that can carry the load, while crawl space houses usually cost less. Our estimate spells out each part of the price for your house.
How long does foundation raising take, and can I stay in my house?
One national guide puts crawl space shimming at 1 to 3 days and slab underpinning at 3 to 7 days, depending on how many piers the house needs. You can usually stay in the house the whole time, though slab work is noisy and means digging along the outside.
Where do I apply for a building permit in Costa Mesa?
Costa Mesa takes building permit applications online, and the city requires all the application information to be entered in its TESSA portal, which you'll find through the city's building permit page. On our jobs you won't file it yourself, since we handle permits as described above.
What causes a house to need leveling again?
Usually the cause of the first settling was never fixed. That can be drainage still soaking the soil, a footing that was too small, or settling that kept going and needed piers instead of shims. Done properly on stable soil, a leveled house shouldn't need it again.
Will raising my foundation close the cracks in my walls?
Not all the way. Leveling stops existing cracks from getting worse, and lifting can partly close some, but it usually leaves marks behind, so plan a separate budget for patching drywall, plaster or tile once the house is set.
How do I tell if my house is on a slab or a crawl space?
Look at the base of your outside walls. Vents along the foundation and an access hatch, inside a closet or outside, mean a crawl space, while floors that sit close to the ground with no vents usually mean a slab. Tell us which one you have when you call, along with where the cracks are.
Other concrete work that goes with a lift
Concrete cutting
Saw cutting removes a cracked or sunken section of slab cleanly, so a repair or new pour can tie in without breaking up the whole area.
Concrete driveway building
A cracked or sunken driveway that tips rainwater toward your garage is worth replacing with one that sheds water away and sits on packed base.
Service areas around Costa Mesa
Premier Costa Mesa Concrete is based in Costa Mesa, CA, and works across Orange County. Irvine and Santa Ana are two of the 12 cities with their own page below, and we work in others too.
Costa Mesa, CA
Book a foundation raising estimate today
One visit tells you what's moving your house, what it'll take to support it and how far it's worth lifting.