Foundation raising in Cupertino CA - a house that sits level on solid support

You usually can if the house is supported around its outside edge, which one Bay Area builder says lets owners stay through the work. Major concrete cutting through the slab inside or rebuilding the stem walls, the short walls the house sits on, usually means moving out for a while.

Most house-lifting projects take four to twelve weeks in all, one national guide says, with the lift height, the foundation work and permits deciding where yours lands. All the utilities into the house get disconnected for part of that time, so plan to be without them.

Yes, one lifting equipment maker says solid brick, stone and masonry homes can be lifted, along with wood-framed homes, which suit it well. Masonry cracks easily when it moves unevenly, so it needs more support points, closer load planning and often bracing inside.

You can look it up online on the state's EQ Zapp map. It matters because property in a seismic hazard zone may need the hazard investigated and reduced during permitting, and state guidance calls for site-specific geologic studies on new construction or significant remodels. If the job needs a permit, we pull it and set up the inspections with the city.

The state licensing board puts raising, cribbing and underpinning a house, meaning new support set under its foundation, in its building moving and demolition class. That class doesn't cover repairs or additions to the parts of the house that stay, so ask who handles those. We're licensed and fully insured.