Foundation raising in Fargo ND - a house set on supports that reach firm ground

Most of these calls come from homeowners who are watching the house move on the ground under it, or who want it up out of the reach of high water. At Signature Fargo Concrete Company, we do this work across Fargo, West Fargo, Moorhead and the cities around them. The price mostly turns on how far down the supports have to go, how many the house needs and how much plumbing, wiring and ductwork has to come up with it. The schedule turns on the permits and on getting the supports in before the house is lifted. I'll put the scope for your house in writing after I've walked it with you, and that's where your own figure comes from.

I start with the ground under your house, because that decides how far down the supports have to go, and we don't guess at it. Once we know the depth, our crew sets the supports, lifts the house and builds the new foundation so it carries the full weight and ties properly into the floor framing above. We fold the utility work into the same job, so the water, sewer, power and furnace lines come up with the house and nothing's left hanging once it's up.

Two other jobs often ride along with a raise. If a basement floor, garage slab or step is in the way of the supports, our concrete cutting work opens it up cleanly. And when the house ends up sitting higher, concrete driveway building lets us pour a driveway that meets the garage again.

If your house sits in a Special Flood Hazard Area, the flood zone on the maps, the local floodplain administrator has to issue a floodplain development permit before any work begins, and the City of Fargo, the state and the federal government all set rules for building and placing fill in the floodplain. That permit should be the last one issued on the project, so everything else gets lined up ahead of it. We check with the city on what your job needs, and when a permit's required, we handle the application and set up the inspections with you. The city's Inspections Department takes questions about building in the floodplain, and its Engineering Department has current floodplain information on your home.

The ground is the other half. A state geological study put the whole Fargo-Moorhead metro in an area considered poor for construction, and groundwater here sits five to ten feet below ground, rising and falling through the year. We see the same soft, wet ground on jobs in West Fargo and Moorhead, which is why supports around here often have to go well past the top layers to reach soil that holds.