Photo by Home Owner

Architects and engineers are addressing issues due to increasingly severe coastal storms and projected sea level rise. Approaches include constructing barriers, improved and extended sea walls, and modifying infrastructure designs to move key equipment higher in the building and providing for lower level space that can withstand flooding.

马萨诸塞州南海岸沿海地区（Google Street View）

When you drive (or in my case, bike) along the coast in Massachusetts, you’ll come across several houses that are being retrofit to make them more resilient. Houses are being raised several feet, basement space is no longer used, and in some cases the structures are raised on piers. I spoke with a friend who lives on the coast south of Boston who had her home raised, and she shared some thoughts about the experience:

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ENR: When did you first think about raising your house?

I had been thinking about it for at least 10 years and seriously for two years before making the decision to do it. The trigger event was the flood of January, 2018 and the subsequent bad storms we had that winter.

ENR: How did you go about finding an architect/contractor to help with the work? Did you find a lot of experienced people available to help you?

我首先求助于我多年来用来改进房屋的承包商 - 重建门廊，改建厨房，重做屋顶 - 等等。该公司一直以合理的价格做得很好。当他们承诺时，他们开始工作 - 稳定工作（除非等待出人意料的延迟子），然后再完成或几乎按时完成。我试图获得其他估计，但没有找到能够/愿意完成完整工作的承包商。我认为并且仍然认为，找到一支“全方位服务”团队来完成这项工作很重要。有很多任务是连续的，或者互锁或相互关联的，以至于零碎的建筑计划或独立的多方建设团队将是一场安排噩梦。

ENR: How was it decided how high to lift your house?

Great question! I tried all sorts of ways, including:

1. Looking at theFEMAandUnion of Concerned Scientists' studies(which give sets of possible ranges of likely sea level rise in various scenarios) and

2.与当地建筑商，我的调查工程师交谈，其他人提高了家的人。

I couldn't find any really clear guidance. I worked with the median UCS range of estimates and then tried to factor in storm surges (estimating values based on what we had previously experienced and then making them higher to add a factor of safety). Remember, you are raising the house to protect from both future sea level rise and storm surges - neither of which are subject to specific predictions at this point. So in that sense, it is difficult to find specific guidance because available information is, at best, an estimate. Fortunately the house is not next to the ocean and it is set a bit back from the bay. So we didn't need to take into account direct wave action as much in the estimate.

All along I talked about it with my family, my Love, and other people I respect to get their feedback and views. We settled on a raise high enough to avoid floor water on the first floor for at least 30 years (at which point the house will be ready for a re-do anyway, based on future conditions and technology) and not so high that access to it (with all the extra stairs) would be uncomfortable/daunting.

So, I made what I felt was an informed decision based on as much information as I could get, in consultation with others who had gone through a similar process.

ENR: Can you describe the general process that you and the contractor used to do the work?

In the general sequence:

• Consult with your local Conservation Commission about your permitting requirements and process; you'll probably need their approval and Orders of Conditionbefore you start any work
• You'll probably need a certificate of elevation to an Existing and Proposed site plan, and to fill out a form requesting Orders of Condition from your local Conservation Commission. They may need to make a pre-construction site inspection, too
• Shut off gas and water (my job) and work with electric company on continued service (both contractor and me)

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• Prepare the site for the machinery and bring in the beams for lifting
• Cut holes in the foundation for the lifting beams

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• Take out duct work from forced hot air system - removed (to be replaced with baseboard hydronic electric)
• Lift the house - jacks and beams lift it in a day - they gave special attention to my fireplace and flues, which lifted up with the house - We had it inspected after lifting and were told that the flues were intact and brick chimney structurally sound.
• Pour new footings and install understory piers supporting the center beam
• Pour new foundation on top of existing
• Set house down on sills
• Attach house to sills with metal straps - from understory - all around

From FEMA Homeowner’s Guide to Retrofitting, Chapter 5

• Cut holes for and install smart vents
• Cut new hole in basement cement floor to allow tidal in- and out-flow
• Fill to outside grade with sandy mix and gravel.
• 安装新的门以进行“底层”（我不再想称其为地下室，因为我们不将其用于存储）
• Run water, electric, gas service
• Spray in insulation on the underside of first floor

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• Reconstruct decks to new elevation
• Complete internal adjustments - closet where stairs to basement used to be, new heating, etc.
• Wait till spring to check to make sure all windows opened and closed (just two windows are slightly wedged)
• 补丁任何裂缝——只有三个小s!

ENR: What did you need to do to prepare your house prior to it being raised?

As the owner, I had to work with the gas company and water company to shut off their utilities. The gas company can take quite a while to coordinate! Also, work with electric company to continue electrical service.

I also removed pictures from walls and breakables from shelves. This turned out to be totally unnecessary!

ENR: Did you need to temporarily move out during the work, for how long?

Yes! We rented a house for three months, which is how long the contractor said the job would take to make it livable. We moved back in after 4 months. (There were workmen, dust and dirt, etc. making our return later than expected.)

ENR: Were you satisfied with the outcome, and can you share any lessons learned?

Yes. I'm satisfied with the outcome. During the job, it was a mess! It was complicated and a hassle! It was expensive!! But I feel much more secure and that the house is secured from damage.

Some lessons:

#1. Work with a general contractor who can/will handle and coordinate all or almost all of the tasks (This is what we did and I think it made all the difference!)

#2. Stay on top of the progress (or lack of) and make sure the contractor keeps your job a priority

#3. Make sure your contractor consults with you about materials to be used.

Most importantly, I hope readers are fortunate enough to have a love, spouse (which can also be a love), or close family members or friends who can be a constant consultant - someone who knows you, will listen to you, understands and shares your goals, and will help you through the many decisions and turning points during the process of planning and construction.

House raising may become more common and routine in the near future. You get the sense in the above discussion and in research that there are not yet clear guidelines for how much to raise a structure. But information and approaches for how to do it has been available for awhile. The methods have mostly been used for moving houses and structures to new sites, as opposed to raising them in place.

It is interesting that insurance looks to play an increasing role. The insurance process helps to provide incentive to improve coastal infrastructure resiliency. But another challenge is consideration of areas where it may too expensive to provide insurance.

It is one approach to retrofit coastal infrastructure to improve resiliency. Risks in living by the coast and in low-lying areas can reduced with help from AE designers and constructors.

Job complete- Photo by Home Owner