THINGS TO FOLLOW WHEN RAISING YOUR HOUSE

The most important reason why should you raise your home is, to protect it from floods. Home raising is a daunting task as you will have to re enforce the foundation and raise the building above the ground to a safer height.

This type of engineering work will also entail heavy spending. The government is alive to this problem and has come forward to institute many grants to help people raise their houses.

Who can raise Your Home?

Raising your house calls for the use of specialized equipments and the project can be successfully implemented only by certified professionals who have the requisite experience in the field. There are several crucial steps you must follow before executing your home elevation project.

Steps To Be Followed While Raising Your Home

Contact the housing inspectors, code enforcement authorities, and building/zoning offices pertaining to your area for proper guidance – as there could be some rules and regulations regarding elevating the house.

You will need the services of a licensed contractor and/or a qualified engineer who has undertaken this type of elevation work earlier.

A thorough pre-qualification inspection of the house must be carried out by a competent professional to ensure that the structure is firm and stable enough to withstand the elevation work as a new supporting foundation will be needed.

Is House Raising affordable?

The answer for this is no, having said that the costs of elevation will significantly minimize your future insurance costs and make your house permanently safe during floods. Decide to elevate your house to at least a foot above flood level by having contractors insert steel lifting and support beams beneath the floor of the house. It is strongly recommended that you download and study the entire "FEMA Homeowner's Guide to Retrofitting" so that you become completely aware of he elevation process and its implications.

Elevating or raising the structure of your house above the base flood elevation (BFE) means the lowest living floor space of your house is above the projected water levels. Your insurance agent will tell you how elevating your home can alter your insurance rates. You can look into the cost-benefit analysis to optimize the level of elevation.

Shift your family to some temporary lodging during the elevation process. Your contractor will indicate to you the time frame needed to complete the task. Engage the services of a highly competent and certified contractor to guide and oversee the process of elevating your home - without getting overly cost-conscious.

Home Raising

There are many companies who possess specialized equipment and qualified personnel to help you raise your house. The foundation is given greater height and then reinforced to make sure that your house has a strong base and is elevated above the flood level.

There are government grants available so that you may not be required to spend much from your own pocket. These companies will assist you in completing the paper work that is required for obtaining such grants.

One of the most reliable long-standing and frontline elevation companies is Southern Elevations & Shoring Inc located at 18 West 24th Street, Kenner, LA, 70062, 504-305-5858.

Southern Elevations & Shoring is fully insured and licensed contractor and their team consists of certified electrical and mechanical technicians. You can contact them on 1 800 LIFT MY HOUSE to attend to your house lifting work and also visit www.southernelevations.com for fuller details.