
Homes in New Jersey are on the up and up after Hurricane Sandy devastated the northeastern United States in 2012.

Photographer Ira Wagner has documented more than 100 houses in the Garden State throughout the painstaking and expensive process of being cranked up in flood-prone areas.

While raising an existing house anywhere from three to 10 feet off the ground can cost upwards of $150,000, property owners aren't taking any chances after Hurricane Sandy destroyed 346,000 homes in New Jersey.

In many cases, the construction work is an attempt to avoid expensive insurance premiums after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued advisory base flood elevations.

Others were forced to elevate their homes, with an Ocean City web page stating: 'You are required to elevate and/or meet new construction standards if your house is located in a flood zone and was declared substantially damaged by your local floodplain administrator or is new construction.'

Utilizing a hydraulic jacking system, houses are slowly raised until they are 'perched on wooden supports that look almost like Jenga games' while a higher foundation is built underneath, Wagner told Wired.

Wagner said he began traveling from Cape May to Raritan Bay in 2014, taking photographs with a Mamiya 7 camera to capture the flood prevention tactic.

'People want to be near the water, yet the water, for all its beauty, is a threatening environment,' Wagner said.

Homes in New Jersey are on the up and up after Hurricane Sandy devastated the northeastern United States in 2012

Photographer Ira Wagner has documented more than 100 houses in the Garden State throughout the painstaking and expensive process of being cranked up in flood-prone areas

Raising an existing house anywhere from three to 10 feet off the ground can cost upwards of $150,000

In many cases, the construction work is an attempt to avoid expensive insurance premiums after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued advisory base flood elevations

Others were forced to elevate their homes if they were severely damaged and located in a flood zone

Utilizing a hydraulic jacking system, houses are slowly raised until they are 'perched on wooden supports that look almost like Jenga games' while a higher foundation is built underneath

Wagner said he began traveling from Cape May to Raritan Bay in 2014, taking photographs with a Mamiya 7 camera to capture the flood prevention tactic

Hurricane Sandy destroyed 346,000 homes in New Jersey and $5.6billion was paid out to storm victims in the state

The process takes anywhere from 30 to 60 days, and families are not permitted to stay inside while the home is slowly cranked higher and higher