When we walk a house lifting job, we chalk the ground, measure clearances, and talk about two options in plain terms. Lift-in-place means we raise your home straight up, then a crew comes in to fix or build the new foundation, then set it back down right where it was. It’s the quick, clean route when the spot is fine—no flooding, no driveway pinch points, no septic in the way. Fewer moving parts usually means a shorter schedule and a friendlier price.
Lift-and-shift is different. We lift first, then relocate the house to a better spot on the lot—higher ground, better setbacks, room for a garage, or just a smarter layout. You’ll see dollies under steel beams, crib stacks staged like chess pieces, and a slow, steady move with spotters calling inches. It takes more planning (route, tree limbs, utilities, new footing locations), but for low, wet yards or homes squeezed by ledge, it can solve problems that lifting in place can’t.
Costs and timing come down to site reality. If you mainly need elevation for code or a new basement, lift-in-place keeps things simple: shorter crane time, fewer inspections, faster set-down. If water keeps finding your door, or the driveway never worked, lift-and-shift earns its keep—new orientation, safer height, cleaner traffic flow. That’s where our structural lifting CT team lays out side-by-side numbers and a real calendar, not guesses.
So, how do we choose on your property? We walk it with you. We mark a “Plan A” line where the house sits now and a “Plan B” pad on higher, drier ground. We check BFE, septic, tree canopies, and utility runs, then talk through what your week looks like during each option—noise, access, and when stairs go back. In the end, house lifting CT is about fit: if the location still works, lift-in-place; if the site is fighting you, lift-and-shift and don’t look back.
