Giving a house a lift, literally

Published 12:47 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

SNOQUALMIE – One can’t help but wince when they see Dan Janson at work.

During most of his day, Janson is hunched underneath more than 50,000 pounds of weight as he builds what will be the ground level to a elevated house.

“People think this job would be great because you get to work outside,” said Janson, who believes there is really nothing like working underneath a house during the wet season in the Valley. “Once they get underneath here, they get a rude awakening.”

Elevated houses may look a little peculiar to visitors of the Valley, but they are common in Snoqualmie, the most flood ravaged city in Washington. Floods have done so much damage to Snoqualmie over the years that residents in the flood plain can apply for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that help fund the elevation of homes.

Janson wants to get the house on Falls Avenue Southeast he is working on to higher ground, but it is being done without help from FEMA. The owner of the property wants to renovate the house, replace its floor, add on an additional floor and market it as office space.

For the complete story, pick up a copy of this week’s Valley Record