How a house goes up, and what happens to its pipes

The FEMA video on this page shows the sequence on a house in Hampton, Virginia. It is not New Jersey or Sandy work, and it does not cover flood openings or moving utilities, but the order is clear. Steel beams go under the house and are leveled. Hydraulic jacks at 16 points lift it evenly, about six inches at a time, and it rests on cribbing between lifts. The old foundation comes out, new footings and block go in, and the house is lowered onto them. Decks are built and services reconnected.

New Jersey jobs have reached the same stage. In a Cranford flood zone, Union County, in 2015, a brick house sat on steel I-beams and timber crib stacks with block walls going up beneath it. On Madison Street in Cape May in 2014, an old wood house stood high on stacked timber. Neither town is in Ocean County.

What happens to the plumbing?

Every connection between the ground and the house has to be dealt with before the first lift, because the house cannot rise with lines attached to it. That includes water, sewer or septic, gas and power. In New Jersey, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.15 keeps plumbing work with license holders, the one exception being single-family owners working on their own dwelling. On a lift, gas, service lines and electrical are jobs for licensed trades and the utilities.

What comes back runs farther through open air than what left. What changed under your house follows that through, and flood openings covers the new walls.

What should you ask before the lift?

• Who disconnects each line, and who reconnects it?
• Who pulls the permits for plumbing, and what gets inspected?
• Where will the water heater and other equipment end up relative to the flood level?
• Who tests the lines before the house is lived in again?

Bring the same list to your municipal construction office if an answer sounds unsure. A signed drawing of where every line ends up is a good thing to keep with the house papers.