Foundation replacement
Foundation replacement and repair in Tama County
If the foundation under your house is failing, you do not have to lose the house. Van Hamme Construction lifts the whole house about four feet off the ground, builds a new foundation underneath, and sets it back down. We also repair foundations that do not need full replacement.
Foundation replacement
How does a foundation replacement work?
For a full foundation replacement we lift your whole house about four feet off the ground. Here is the sequence, in our own job photos.
Frame 01
Lift
We raise the whole house about four feet on steel beams and wood cribbing. It stays in one piece the entire time.
Frame 02
Remove
With the house up in the air, the old failing foundation comes out and the ground is prepared for new footings.
Frame 03
Build new
We form and pour a new foundation underneath: conventional poured walls or insulated concrete forms (ICF).
Frame 04
Set down
The house is lowered onto the new foundation and tied in. You keep the house you have, on a foundation built to last.
Poured or ICF
What can go under your house?
The new foundation can be conventional poured concrete or insulated concrete forms (ICF). An ICF foundation gives you an insulated basement at the same time. Either way we handle the footings, the walls, the floor and the drainage system.
We have lifted older two-story farmhouses, newer homes and a church. Every job is planned before the first beam goes in, because, in our words, we never skimp on quality.
Our crew keeps you updated on progress from the day the house goes up until the day it comes back down.
Lifted and replaced
Foundation jobs we have done
Straight answers
Foundation replacement questions
How do you replace a foundation under an existing house?
We lift the whole house about four feet off the ground on steel beams and wood cribbing, take out the old foundation, build a new one underneath, and set the house back down on it.
Can you replace the foundation under an old farmhouse or a church?
Yes. Our project photos include older two-story farmhouses and a church, each lifted on cribbing while a new foundation went in underneath.
Do you repair foundations, or only replace them?
Both. Some foundations need a repair, some need to be replaced. We look at the house and tell you which one it needs.
Can the new foundation be built with ICF?
Yes. We can pour a conventional foundation or build the new walls with insulated concrete forms, which gives you an insulated basement at the same time.
Updated September 2026
Tama County, Iowa
Where do you work?
From our shop in Tama we work across Tama County, including Toledo, Montour, Garwin, Gladbrook, Traer, Dysart, Chelsea, Elberon, Vining, Clutier, Lincoln, and in nearby Marshalltown, Belle Plaine, Grinnell. [CONFIRM WITH OWNER] See the service area
Talk to the crew that does the work.
Call and tell us about the house: how old it is, what the basement looks like, and where it sits. We will tell you if it needs a repair or a new foundation.