Q. I share a house with lots of cousins, but there is one major problem. The house sits too low on its stone foundation, so low that some of the siding is underground. The land also slopes down toward the house. I know I have to regrade the property to expose the foundation and to level the property, buhow? And would it be costly? If I have the house lifted, how do they handle fireplaces and chimneys?

A. Whew! For starters, it might be possible to dig down several inches, enough to expose 8 inches of foundation (the standard minimum for exposed foundations). This trench could be 10 or 15 feet wide, with a retaining wall on the outside perimeter to keep unexcavated earth from pushing its way into the trench.Then install a drainage system to keep this trench from filling with water. This may not be the best idea, but it may not cost an arm and a leg. Most anything will be better than leaving siding underground. Hope that decay has not spread too far.Another way, much more expensive, is to have a foundation engineer lift the house bodily, insert a concrete cap on top of the foundation and let the house back down, gently.Fireplaces and chimneys might be cut at the floor line and lifted bodily along with the house.By the Boston Globe