House raising in progress

Raise the house. Build the life underneath.

We lift the house, build the whole level below, and hand it back as one finished job — lift, steel, slab and construction managed together. No juggling trades.

Start a Project How we work
Where
Townsville & Western QLD
Typical duration
4–8 months typical
Typical range
$350k–$600k typical
Overview

More house. Same block. Same address.

If you love where you live but the home has run out of room or sits too low, a raise and build-under can create a complete lower level without moving. JKC manages the lift, new structure, slab, services and build as one project; we do not offer lift-only shells.

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One contract, one builder

A raise is really three jobs — the lift, the steel, and the build-under — and the trouble starts when they're split between contractors. We do all three under one contract. On a Hughenden job, about six hundred kilometres out, that meant trucking our own gear west, raising the house, setting new steel and piers, then building the whole lower level in — one crew, start to finish.

See the raises

House Raising02 / 03

Our own lifting gear & crew

JKC owns and runs its own hydraulic lifting gear, and the people on the jacks are our crew — not a lifting contractor booked for the day. Patrick's rule: use your own gear, get the steel right the first time, and fix anything that looks like trouble before it becomes someone else's problem down the track. Out west, bringing your own gear is the difference between a job that happens and one that doesn't.

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Steel done right the first time

New steel under a lifted house is the part you can't see once it's finished, so it's the part we're fussiest about: new columns and piers engineered for the site, bearers and floor frame squared and set, and Q100 flood compliance handled where the block needs it. Swales St went up on new galvanised columns over a fresh slab and came back finished — built once, certified once.
House raising in progress
What We Handle

Lift, steel, slab, build-under — managed together.

  1. Structural assessment & engineering up front

  2. Controlled hydraulic lifting — our own gear and crew

  3. New steel sub-frame, posts and piers

  4. Slab & full lower-level construction

  5. Q100 flood compliance where required

  6. New stairs, services and connections

  7. Any rot, steel or bearer repairs found on the lift

  8. Certified, finished handover — one point of contact

How it works

Five steps, no surprises.

  1. First chat & site look

    We work out if it’s a fit, and eyeball access and the house.

  2. Plans & engineering

    Plans reviewed or drawn; structural engineering for the lift.

  3. Detailed quote

    A real number on finished plans — not a phone guess.

  4. Lift & structure

    Controlled hydraulic lift, new steel, piers and slab.

  5. Build-under & handover

    Lower level built, services connected, certified handover.

See how a project runs
Priced under a regulated contract
  • QBCC: Licence No. 1069118 — statutory warranties on every job
  • MBA: Master Builders Queensland member
  • Owner: Patrick manages every project — the person who quoted it is responsible for it
What It Costs

Straight guidance, before you commit.

No two raises are the same — but we won’t be coy about the number. Here’s where most of our projects sit, and what moves it.

Most lift-and-build-under projects we take on land between $350k and $600k.

We can’t give you a fixed price without finished plans — and any builder who would, shouldn’t. The range above is honest guidance to help you work out if it’s worth a conversation.

What shapes your number

Site access and slope, relocating the switchboard and services to ground level, whether you build in the lower floor or leave it open, a re-roof or repairs we find once the house is up, and your finishes level. We walk you through all of it before any quote.

How a quote comes together

Builds from Townsville across North and Western Queensland — about 650 kilometres by road along the route shown.

Where we build

Townsville is home. The west is where we grew up.

TownsvilleHome base · est. 1972
via Charters Towers
Hughenden≈ 380 km
Richmond≈ 495 km
Julia Creek≈ 650 km

Distance changes the logistics. Not the standard.

Townsville is home base, but the job has always taken us further — and we've been building out west long enough to know what bites you if you get it wrong. Distances shown are approximate road kilometres from Townsville.

Service areas

Common questions

House raising, answered plainly.

  • Most timber Queenslanders can; some houses shouldn't be. The engineering makes that call, not optimism — and we'll give you a straight read early.

  • Most JKC lift-and-build-under projects currently sit between $350k and $600k. Access, services, repairs, the amount built in underneath and the finish level all move the final number.

  • For the lift and structural stages, yes. We'll sequence the job so the time out of the house is as short as the work allows.

  • That is not the work we are set up for. JKC is the best fit when the lift, new structure and lower-level build stay under one accountable contract.

  • Patrick remains accountable for the project, working alongside the onsite foreman. You still have one clear point of contact from the first conversation through to handover.

Last reviewed

Is this your project?

The lift is worth it when…

The right fit

  • You love the house, not the floor plan
  • The block floods and the house shouldn't
  • Moving would cost more than staying
  • You want the whole extra level as one job, not a chain of trades

Not the right fit

  • Houses the engineering says shouldn't be lifted
  • Raise-only shells handed to someone else mid-job

What we'll be honest about: Not every house suits a lift. If yours doesn't, we'll tell you on the first call — before it costs you anything.

Keep Exploring

More of what we build.

All services
A living area stripped back to the timber frame with new louvres and steel roof battens installed

Major Renovations & Extensions
A completed custom home at golden hour, seen across the lawn

Custom New Homes
The Flinders Discovery Centre — a JKC commercial build

Commercial Building
A completed JKC custom home — the entry, verandah posts and garden at dusk

View Our Work

Start a Project

Thinking about raising your home?

Tell us about the house and the block. We’ll let you know quickly whether it’s a fit and what to expect.

Start a Project