The single biggest factor in how a house is raised, and what it costs, is the foundation it sits on now. In St. Tammany Parish you will mostly see two types.
Pier-and-beam homes
The floor is framed on beams resting on piers, with a crawlspace underneath. Older cottages, camp-style houses and many homes near the water are built this way.
Why they’re easier to raise: the steel lifting beams slide under the existing floor framing with little digging, and there’s no slab to lift or remove. This usually makes pier and beam house raising the least expensive and quickest type of elevation.
Watch for: rotted sills or joists and failing piers, which are best repaired while the home is up.
Slab-on-grade homes
The house sits on a concrete slab poured on the ground. Most subdivisions built from the 1960s onward in Slidell use slabs.
Why they cost more: crews must either lift the house with the slab attached (tunneling beams underneath) or separate the house from the slab and build a new framed floor. Either way there is more labor, more steel and often more engineering. See slab house raising.
Watch for: a cracked or unreinforced slab, which usually means separating the house from it.
Which is right for you?
You do not get to choose your foundation, but you do get to choose the method and height. An on-site inspection will tell you which approach fits your home and budget. Request a free estimate.