Part 1: What is House Lifting and Why Ransone? – Elevate Your Santa Cruz Home
Thursday, October 02, 2025
Support Your Local Coastal Home
Worried about cracks in your Santa Cruz bungalow's walls or uneven floors in your Capitola cottage? In the greater San Francisco Bay Area, most homes built before 1960 sit on shaky post-and-pier or weak concrete foundations, prone to failure, settling or coastal erosion. With rebuilds costing $500–$700/sq ft, demolition isn't practical. House lifting offers a fix: Lift your home intact, install a modern foundation, and ensure future-proof stability for remodels. Ransone House Lifting & Foundation Services, a Santa Cruz expert since 1988, leads the way in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Carmel. Learn what house lifting is and why Ransone shines—stay tuned for cost savings and the fascinating process in Parts 2 and 3 here at SCCG.
What is House Lifting?
House lifting raises your home giving access to replace failing foundations with modern, stable ones using hydraulic jacks and steel beams, keeping interiors untouched. Unlike underpinning ($30K–$80K), which patches issues temporarily, house lifting delivers a new foundation for $130K–$200K, ensuring lasting value for remodels or additions. Perfect for pre-1960's homes in Santa Cruz, Watsonville or Pacific Grove, it preserves historic charm and preps for remodels, basements or second stories. With sea levels rising 0.1–0.3 inches yearly (NOAA), lifting protects coastal homes from flooding, beating rebuilds in cost and time.
Why Ransone? Local Experts for Homeowners and Contractors
Ransone, founded by Doug Ransone, holds licenses for general contracting (B) and structural moving and demolition (C-21). They've lifted hundreds of homes and installed foundations, from Pleasure Point and Carmel beach cabins to Soquel ranches, earning trust via word-of-mouth. As subcontractors, they partner with both Monterey and San Francisco Bay Area contractors on foundation upgrades and flood-proofing, also specializing in helical anchor systems for difficult and tight lots. Their crews master local soils—sandy Monterey shores to Santa Cruz clay hills. Example: A 1950s Soquel home was lifted, anchored and a new foundation installed, saving ~$400K vs. a rebuild for a typical small home. A Santa Cruz Construction Guild member since 2010, Ransone connects seamlessly with local pros.
Ready to Rise?
House lifting saves Santa Cruz homes, and Ransone delivers. Homeowners, call 831-479-0792 for a free eval. Contractors, join the Guild for trusted subs like Ransone. Next, Part 2: Just Lift It! Save Time, Money, and Hassle, reveals why lifting beats pricier alternatives.
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