Ask the Builder: Lifting a house to rebuild a foundation

Recently, my daughter purchased an old camp summer house on a lake. The house is about 80 years old and was built on crude cinder blocks that just rested on stony soil. Frost heave over the years has caused the doors and windows to not fit well. Otherwise, the house, built using old-growth timber, is in remarkable shape.

She asked me: “Dad, can a house like this be salvaged? Can a new poured concrete foundation be poured under it? Can a full basement be put under the house? Will the doors and windows work well again? How’s that accomplished?”

These are all great questions, and the answers vary depending on where the house is located and what lies just inches below the soil.

Just months before my daughter made this new real estate investment, I saw in my own town in central New Hampshire an owner do the same thing. Based on what I witnessed, the house was about the same age as my daughter’s. It’s possible the house in my town was well over 100 years old based on its location and proximity to the town center and railroad tracks. The style and frame construction of the two houses were almost identical.

If you’ve never seen a house moved before, you might think it’s impossible to install a new concrete foundation under an existing house. Not only is it possible, but it’s probably more common than you might think. This process happens out of sight and often on back roads that you might not travel.