What to Expect During Your Elevation Project

From the first site visit to the final stamped Elevation Certificate, a structural home elevation project runs roughly five to seven months on a typical Florida coastal property. The single day of actual lifting is the moment people picture — but it is one day inside a six-phase process, most of which happens with the homeowner still living in the house. Here is what every phase actually looks like.

Phase 1 — Site Assessment & Geotechnical Report (Weeks 1–3)

The project begins with a site visit. We walk the property, look at the existing foundation, confirm flood zone and BFE, and discuss the homeowner's elevation goal — typically BFE plus two or three feet of freeboard. We also assess access: where equipment can stage, where utility disconnects will run, and whether neighboring structures or trees affect the lift plan.

Within the first three weeks, a geotechnical engineer performs soil borings to determine bearing capacity at depth. The geotech report drives the foundation design — specifically, the length and capacity of the helical or driven piles that will support the elevated home.

Phase 2 — Engineering Design & Permitting (Weeks 4–10)

With the geotech in hand, a Florida-licensed structural engineer produces a complete set of stamped drawings: pile layout, new foundation design, lift beam plan, and connection details. The drawings package becomes the basis for the building permit application.

Permit review takes between four and eight weeks depending on the jurisdiction. Coastal counties — Lee, Collier, Sarasota, Pinellas — review elevation projects through both building and floodplain departments, and questions during review are normal. We handle every comment cycle directly with the plan reviewer so the homeowner is not in the middle of the back-and-forth.

Phase 3 — Pile Installation (Weeks 11–14)

Once the permit is issued, crews mobilize for pile installation. Helical piles are advanced into the ground around the existing structure using torque-controlled hydraulic drives, and each pile is documented with installation torque to verify capacity. Driven concrete piles, where used, are jacked or cast on similar schedules.

Pile installation typically runs two to three weeks for a single-family home. The homeowner remains in residence throughout this phase — the work is happening outside the building envelope, and the home remains fully functional.

Phase 4 — The Lift Itself (1–2 days)

This is the day people picture. Steel beams are threaded through openings cut in the foundation stem walls; cribbing is stacked at each lift point; hydraulic cylinders are placed and connected to a unified controller. Utilities are temporarily disconnected at the property line.

Phase 5 — New Foundation & Re-Connection (Weeks 15–22)

With the home held on cribbing at design elevation, crews construct the permanent foundation underneath: pile caps, grade beams, and either reinforced concrete columns or stem walls depending on the design. In VE zones, breakaway perimeter walls or open piling layouts are framed to the specifications in the engineered drawings.

Once the new foundation is cured and structurally connected to the steel grid above, the cribbing is removed in stages and the home transfers fully onto its permanent supports. Plumbing, electrical, and mechanical connections are extended up to the new floor height and reconnected. Exterior stairs, ramps, and landscaping follow.

Phase 6 — Final Inspection & Elevation Certificate

The municipal building department conducts final structural, plumbing, electrical, and floodplain inspections. Once each inspection is signed off, a Florida-licensed surveyor visits the site to measure the as-built elevations and produce the final FEMA Elevation Certificate. The EC is filed with the county and submitted to the homeowner's flood insurance carrier — and the premium reduction applies at the next renewal.

From kickoff to final EC, the typical project runs five to seven months. Larger or jurisdictionally complex projects can run longer; permit-ready projects with prior engineering on file can run shorter.

Can You Stay in the House?

For most of the project — yes. During Phases 1, 2, and 3, the home remains fully occupied and functional. Pile installation happens outside the building envelope, and there is no interruption to interior systems.

The lift day itself and the foundation construction phase that follows require the homeowner to be out of the house — typically four to eight weeks total, depending on the design. Most owners arrange a short-term rental or stay with family during this window. Once the home is back on its permanent foundation with utilities reconnected, the family moves back in while final exterior work and inspections wrap up.