When I first read this my brain interpreted it as "razing the house". I couldn't figure out why you were doing all the work if you thought you might tear it down. It took a moment to figure out my mistake.

I'm interested in the house raising as well. Is it like in the Keys, where the house is up on stilts, or more like a foundation of some type (I'm thinking cinder block?).

In either case, keep in mind going up and down all those stairs as you age. Best of luck.

It is on a slab. They can (and do) do this.

I'm not really sure. I think I have the option of raising it just above the flood elevation but that would leave unusable space under the house. I believe you could build up the driveway and still be able to park in the existing garage. I think one option is to raise it high enough to create garage space underneath. One of the houses down the street has been raised really high, which looks like they are adding parking space AND another floor of living space.

If we did this we would probably go with option 1 or 2 because doubling the living space means doubling property taxes, plus we just don't need a bigger house. If we did lift it, we could convert the existing garage to living space which would be more than enough room for us.

It's all just speculation now anyway. I seriously doubt that this sort of "improvement" ever gets paid back when we sell. Doing it would just mean we intend to live here for a long time, which we haven't decided on.

hehe