contractor recommendations.. house raising poss second story... (sales, construction)

[Funky1200]

Hoping for some good recommendations for contractors on suffolk county.

Small 2 bed 1 bath 900 sq ft - would need raising and poss second story added. Though this would be a good place to try - Looking for reliable and with good testimonials..

Callahan construction are one i have heard good things about..

[DesignBuild516]

Let me give you my personal recommendation as an Architect who has dealt with several house lift projects.

The best thing to do is get a general contractor or a carpenter you trust who will focus on the constriction portion of the project such as the second floor addition and typical construction work. Then ask him for his recommendation for a house-lifter.

Do not just hire one of those all in one house-lifter and general contractor companies because you are not going to get the true expertise your project deserves. Basically, any house-lifter that says that they do construction is really just going to subcontract out the construction. Any general contractor who says they do house lifting is just going to subcontract the house lifting. Best thing to do is to select both guys separately. That will insure that your project gets the attention it deserves on both fronts. It is important that the house-lifter and contractor you select have a good relationship and can work together but they do not need to be one company.

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by Funky1200

Hoping for some good recommendations for contractors on suffolk county.

Small 2 bed 1 bath 900 sq ft - would need raising and poss second story added. Though this would be a good place to try - Looking for reliable and with good testimonials..

Callahan construction are one i have heard good things about..

Sent you a DM.

[Kbinspections]

Feel free to send me a PM for a referral.

[Funky1200]

DesignBuild516

That sounds like great advice something I would not have thought of.. Thank you

[peabodyn]

Do you know if the price to build up and to raise a 900 sq ft 2 bedroom house would be more than tearing it down and building a larger, and raised house? Or finding a different house?

Seems like a huge project on a very small home.

[Funky1200]

Well this is one of the questions we need to find out... once we speak to the pros we can gauge this

[DesignBuild516]

Originally Posted by Funky1200

DesignBuild516

That sounds like great advice something I would not have thought of.. Thank you

Thanks for appreciating. I see this happen all the time. People hire one of those post sandy house lifting companies to do a whole house renovation and they get upset because although the house lift went well all of the other construction work isn't good or the service is bad because it is subcontracted out.

The same guy who is going to be framing your second floor and tiling your new bathroom is not going to be employeed by the same company that is going to be lifting up your house. Even if the sales person says they are, they aren't. As I stated, any house-lifter that says that they do construction is really just going to subcontract out the construction. Any general contractor who says they do house lifting is just going to subcontract the house lifting.

To be honest, many of the house lifters actually subcontract out the foundation work. Many will tell you that they do it in house but there is a good chance they actually are just using a concrete sub contractor to do your new foundation. That is okay if they use a concrete sub or even a helical pile sub because that is their forte, and their domain. They are fit to manage and oversee this work even if they are not doing it all themselves. They should not however, not be in charge of doing your second floor addition or alteration work.

Either way though, hire one company to be in charge of lifting the house and droping it on the new foundation. Hire another company to do all of the alteration work.

Good Luck!