Lincoln Street House Lift: Preserving a Home, Creating Equity
One of our most rewarding recent projects was the Lincoln Street House Lift, completed in collaboration with the expert team at Nickle Bros. This project is an excellent example of how thoughtful planning, the right partners, and modern building methods can preserve an existing home while dramatically increasing its value and functionality
LIFTING A 5,500 SF HOME
Nickle Bros mobilized to lift the 5,500-square-foot home using two structural I-beams, allowing us to safely elevate the entire structure while we performed extensive demolition and excavation work below.
With the house temporarily supported overhead, our crew removed:
Over 100 cubic yards of concrete
More than 300 cubic yards of soil
The lift opened the door to a complete reimagining of the foundation and basement beneath the home.
From a 7-Foot Basement to 9-Foot headroom
Originally, the basement had approximately seven feet of headroom, limiting its usability and overall value. As part of this project, we:
Lowered the foundation system
Increased the basement height to 9 feet of clear headroom
Set the house one foot lower than its original elevation
The result is a basement that feels like true living space rather than an afterthought—brighter, more comfortable, and far more versatile for future use.
Building a New Foundation with ICF
To support the home long-term, we poured approximately 200 linear feet of 12" x 48" concrete footings, designed to carry 8-inch Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) foundation walls.
ICF construction offers several significant advantages:
Superior strength and durability compared to traditional concrete foundations
Excellent insulation, helping stabilize interior temperatures year-round
Improved energy efficiency, reducing heating and cooling costs
Sound dampening, creating a quieter, more comfortable living environment
Long-term resilience against moisture, rot, and pests
For foundation systems, especially in retrofits like this, ICF provides performance and longevity that traditional methods can’t match.
Why Lifting a House Can Be the Smarter Investment
Lifting a home is undeniably a significant investment, but projects like the Lincoln Street House Lift show why it often makes financial sense.
By lifting and rebuilding beneath the existing structure, the homeowner:
preserved the entire house rather than demolishing it
retained structural and architectural value
gained new, usable square footage without changing the home’s footprint
increased equity substantially
In many cases, the cost of lifting and rebuilding is offset by avoiding full demolition, reducing rebuild scope, and dramatically increasing the home’s long-term value.
A Project Built on Planning and Collaboration
This project was a true collaboration between skilled trades and specialized contractors. With Nickle Bros handling the lift and our team managing demolition, excavation, and foundation construction, the Lincoln Street House Lift stands as a great example of what’s possible when experience and craftsmanship come together.
If you’re considering a foundation replacement, basement upgrade, or house lift, projects like this show that preserving and improving an existing home can be one of the smartest moves you make.