Family-owned since 1995. We raise flood-prone homes, build new FEMA-compliant foundations and put everything back together, from our office in Freeport.
Gotham Builders of New York has been a family-owned contractor since 1995, more than 30 years, and holds Nassau County Home Improvement License #H18D7530000 and NYC License #0916825-DCA. After Superstorm Sandy we helped South Shore families raise and rebuild their homes through the NY Rising program, and house raising is still part of our work today.
Raising a house lifts the living space above the flood level your building department requires. That protects the home from the next storm surge, keeps the rebuild legal in a flood zone, and can help lower flood insurance costs. It is a big job, so it pays to have one contractor manage the whole thing.
In 2018 we raised this waterfront home in West Islip. We disconnected the plumbing and electrical, lifted the whole house onto steel beams and temporary cribbing, and cleared the ground underneath to build a new foundation that meets FEMA flood rules.
From there, the house was set down on its new foundation and reconnected, with the living space above the required flood elevation. It's proof that we go wherever the job is, from Nassau County well out into Suffolk.
If a home in a FEMA flood zone is damaged so badly that repairs would cost 50 percent or more of its pre-damage market value, the local building department can declare it substantially damaged. The same rule applies to big renovations and additions. Either way, the house then has to meet current floodplain rules, which often means raising it.
If you carry an NFIP flood insurance policy and your home is substantially damaged by flooding, Increased Cost of Compliance coverage can pay up to $30,000, on top of your regular claim, toward raising it. On the South Shore, towns also keep damage records from Sandy, so it is worth checking where your house stands before you plan any major work.
We coordinate the whole job, from permits and engineering to the lift, the new foundation, and putting the house back together inside and out.
Every lift needs stamped plans and a permit from the right office: an incorporated village such as Freeport, Island Park or East Rockaway, the City of Long Beach, or the Town of Hempstead or Oyster Bay. We coordinate the paperwork and inspections so the house passes on the first try.
Every house is different, but every lift follows the same basic steps.
If your home is in a flood zone and was substantially damaged, or if planned work costs 50 percent or more of its value, your building department will generally require it to meet current flood elevation rules. We can help you find out where your house stands.
Possibly. NFIP flood policies include Increased Cost of Compliance coverage of up to $30,000 for homes substantially damaged by flooding. Ask your insurance agent, and we will help with the documentation.
No. The utilities are disconnected and the house sits on temporary supports, so plan to stay elsewhere until it is back on its new foundation and reconnected.
Your village, city or town building department, depending on where you live. We file the permits and schedule the inspections.
Yes. New stairs and entries, decks, siding, and any interior work the house needs, all from the same team.
Across the South Shore of Nassau County, including Freeport, Baldwin, Oceanside, Island Park, Long Beach, Merrick and Seaford, and out into Suffolk County, where we raised this home in West Islip. Call or text (516) 377-0400.
