HUDSON, Fla. — When Bobby Laramore and his wife were forced out of their Hudson home last year, they spent 10 months living in a trailer while crews worked to raise the house above flood levels.
“We are elevating our home and we’ll live happily ever after,” Laramore said to Tampa Bay 28 back in April.
This summer, they finally moved back in.
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“We are super happy. It’s like a totally new house just moving back in it,” he said.
The home now sits 12.5 feet higher and is protected from the kind of flooding that Hurricane Helene brought to their neighborhood in 2024.
“The peace of mind that my wife and I have now from where we were. There’s not a price tag on that,” Laramore said.
Joseph Fairley, who works with Unified Foundations, explained the process.
“This slab was poured whenever the house was built. We tunnel underneath it and install these steel beams,” he said.
Fairley said the number of homes being elevated has grown since last year’s storms. His company has about 20 projects underway in Florida and twice as many in the permitting stage.
“It’s a passion of mine getting these houses lifted. Saving them from the landfill. And just getting people moved back in their own homes. And they are like, ‘do I have to remove my contents.’ We are like, ‘no, you can keep them all up there. We will lift them up and it will be safe,’” Fairley said.
The idea to elevate the Laramores’ house came after Hurricane Idalia in 2023. The permitting process was already underway when Helene struck, but not in time to prevent flooding.
And while this hurricane season has been quiet so far, Laramore said the decision to elevate has been worth it.
“It’s like washing your car. You know you want it to rain, wash your car. So, we built this up. If nothing happens that’s great,” he said.
The cost of elevating a home typically ranges from $150,000 to $350,000. Some of those expenses can be offset through Elevate Florida, a state grant program designed to help homeowners reduce their risk of flooding. The program was created after repeated storm damage in Florida and provides funding for elevating, rebuilding or relocating homes in flood-prone areas.
But money is limited. The first round of Elevate Florida funding covered about 2,000 homes. The state received more than 12,000 applications. Priority goes to homeowners with repeated flood losses, leaving many others without help.
“Just like most grant programs, there’s a selection process and it depends on how many flood events you’ve had and that will move you up or down the list,” Fairley said.
Laramore still has about four months before the work on his home is finished. When it is, he said he looks forward to the reason he stayed in the neighborhood in the first place.
“The whole reason we are here is that boat in the backyard. That’s what we love to do. That’s why we are here.”
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