Foundation raising in Apopka FL - a house held steady and brought back near level
Cracks spreading, doors sticking or floors sloping? We find out why your house moved, then hold it steady or bring it back up.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What can you do about a house that's settling in Apopka?
Foundation raising in Apopka means attaching helical piles to your existing foundation. They're steel shafts with screw-shaped plates turned down into firmer ground, and they either keep the house from settling any further or lift it back close to where it started.
Most people call me after they've spotted a crack, a door that sticks or a floor that feels off, and they want to know how bad it is and what it'll take to fix. The price mostly turns on how many piers or lift points your house needs, how far it's moved, how easy those spots are to reach and whether an engineer should look at it first. The schedule turns on how long it takes to pin down the cause, the permit and the weather, and your estimate spells out what the price covers so you know what you're paying for.
How can you tell your house is settling?
Cracks spreading in walls
Cracks that run up from the corners of doors and windows, or step through block walls, often mean one part of the house dropped while the rest stayed put. If they keep getting longer, the repair usually gets bigger along with them.
Doors and windows sticking
A door that closed fine last year and now drags or won't latch usually means the frame got pulled out of square because the floor under it moved. Planing the door hides the sign, but the settling keeps going.
Floors that slope or dip
A marble that rolls off to one side, or tile cracking in a line across the room, points to a slab that's out of level. The longer it goes, the more flooring you'll be replacing once the house is fixed.
Gaps where slab meets house
A patio, step or garage floor that's pulling away from the wall or tipping toward the house shows that something underneath moved. Left alone, that gap usually gets wider and sends rainwater straight at your foundation.
How we handle foundation raising
Before anything gets lifted, I work out whether your slab dropped or got pushed up, because lifting a slab that rose only shoves it further out of line, and there's no bringing it back down afterward. Next we look for what's behind the movement, and when the cause isn't clear, I'll suggest you have an engineer or geologist look at it before we go any further. Once we know, we talk through piers versus a slab lift, since they fix different problems. Then our crew gets the ground ready, puts the fix in and patches any concrete we had to open up.
Foundation work often leaves some concrete around the house to deal with. When we need a way through a patio or walkway to reach the foundation, concrete cutting gives us a clean opening that's easy to patch, so we aren't breaking it out by hand. If your driveway sank along with the house and is too broken up to lift, concrete driveway building on a dug-out, packed base is usually the better money. I'd spend on that base before I'd spend on a fancy finish, because a weak base is what let the old one sink.
Helical piers under the foundation
This suits a house whose footing, the wide strip of concrete the walls stand on, is sinking, because the piers carry the weight down past the soft ground. It's the fix when the trouble is under the walls and not just the floor.
Slab lift for a sunken slab
This suits a slab that settled on its own, like a patio, a garage floor or a house floor poured right on the ground, and we raise it by pumping foam or a cement slurry underneath. It's the lighter job of the two.
Finding the cause first
Sometimes the right first step isn't lifting anything. It's getting a clear answer on what's moving and why, so the money goes to the right fix.
Get a foundation raising estimate for your Apopka home
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up a visit. I come out, look at the settling and give you a free estimate that spells out what the price covers, with no obligation.
(407) 358-0192- Based in
- Apopka, FL 32712
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about a settling house?
Here's how a foundation job runs with us, from your first call to the final walk-through, so you know who you'll hear from at each stage.
- +01
Call us or send a message
Call (407) 358-0192 or use the form and tell us what you're seeing. We'll get back to you and set a time for me to come out.
- +02
I come out and measure
I look at the cracks, the floors and the ground around the house, take measurements, and ask a lot of questions about when you first noticed the problem. You get an estimate that spells out what's in it, so you know what you're paying for before anything starts.
- +03
We sort the permit, then work
Once you say go, we sort out the permit question with the office that covers your address. Then our own crew preps the ground, puts in the piers or lifts the slab, and patches any concrete we opened up.
- +04
We walk through it together
When we're done, we walk the job with you and look at the floors, the doors and anything we patched. It's your chance to ask what we did and what to keep an eye on.
Why Apopka homeowners call Custom Apopka Concrete about settling
With a settling house, the first thing that matters is knowing why it moved, so call or send us a message and I'll come take a look.
I come out to look myself
I usually come out myself to look at the settling and talk it through, and our own crew does the work. You won't explain the problem to one person and then have strangers show up to fix it.
In business since 2021
I taught myself concrete on my own house, learned the rest working on other crews, and started this business in Apopka in 2021, so it's been five years now. When something belongs to an engineer or the building office, I'll tell you so plainly.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured. That matters on foundation work in Apopka, where the city takes permit applications from licensed contractors registered with it.
Backed by our satisfaction guarantee
I want you to understand what we did under your house and why, and to ask me anything along the way. I'd much rather hear a question during the job than a complaint after it.
Foundation raising and permits for Apopka homes
In Apopka, permit applications go to the City of Apopka Building-Safety Department, and the city requires a permit before anyone repairs or alters any part of a building's structure. Before we start, we check with the city or county building office that covers your address, and when a permit is needed, we file it as the licensed contractor and keep you posted along the way. Homes in a flood area have more to clear. Under the city's floodplain rules, any work in the floodplain needs an approved development plan on top of the building permit. If a storm damaged the house and the repairs come to half or more of the structure's assessed value with the Orange County Property Appraiser, the city counts that as a substantial improvement, and the house then has to meet current building standards.
On jobs around here we see a lot of houses poured right on the ground, with patios, steps and driveways that dropped once the dirt under them gave way. So we look at the whole lot and where the water runs, not just the worst crack, and we work the same way on jobs in Ocoee and South Apopka.
Questions about foundation raising in Apopka
What is the best way to fix a settling house, a slab lift or piers?
Piers are the fix if the footing under your walls is sinking, and a slab lift is the fix only if the slab itself settled. Polyjacking or mudjacking a slab handles slab settlement, but it can't steady a sinking footing or carry the house's weight down to deeper ground. I'll help you figure out which one you have when I come out.
What does foundation raising cost near Apopka?
Pier installation for foundation repair in the Orlando area usually costs about $500 to $1,800 per pier or repair point. That's what the work generally runs around here, not our price, and your total depends on how many points the house needs, how far it's moved and how easy the spots are to reach. Your estimate spells out what's covered.
Do I need a permit to raise my foundation in Apopka?
Yes, in most cases, because the city wants a permit before any repair to a building's structure. A homeowner doing the work on their own single-family house can apply as an owner/builder, but when we do the job we handle the filing, and homes in the floodplain have the extra steps covered above.
How do I know if my settling is a sinkhole in Florida?
You usually can't tell by looking, because plenty of things besides sinkholes make ground drop. All of Florida sits on carbonate rock, so a sinkhole could in theory form anywhere in the state, though some regions carry much higher risk than others, and ground also sinks from compressing clay or organic layers, broken sewer or drain pipes, broken septic tanks, or dirt that wasn't packed well after digging. Ask whether a licensed geologist or engineer has looked at the cause, because often nobody has.
Can I stay in my house while the foundation is being raised?
Usually, yes. One pier maker's manual says its helical piles go in with portable equipment, even in tight indoor spaces and without vibration, so the house stays in use with little inconvenience. Outside, expect some digging, either a trench along the foundation or a hole at each pier spot.
How hard is it to raise a whole slab house?
It's much harder than bringing a settled house back near level, and harder than lifting a house on a crawlspace or basement, because the whole house comes up together with its slab. An older FEMA guide says only a highly skilled contractor with extensive experience lifting slab-on-grade houses should take it on. That's a separate conversation from the re-leveling this page covers.
Concrete work that often comes with foundation repair
Clean saw cuts let us open a patio, walkway or slab where we need access, then patch it neatly instead of leaving broken concrete behind.
When a driveway has sunk and cracked past saving, a new one poured on a dug-out, packed base usually holds up better than lifting the old pieces.
Service areas for foundation raising around Apopka
Custom Apopka Concrete is based in Apopka, Florida, and we take foundation raising calls across the Orlando area. The 12 cities below have their own pages, including Orlando and Winter Garden, and we work in other cities around them too.
Get your settling house looked at
Have your address handy when you call (407) 358-0192 or send the form, because it tells us which office covers your permit and whether the city's floodplain rules apply.
Apopka, FL