Foundation Repair

I hear and see this question all the time. Often one of the first pieces of advice someone gets is “hire an independent structural engineer.” And I could not disagree with this more.

Let me start by saying engineers are great. But I do not recommend hiring an independent engineer. In my opinion, that is a bad plan. While I do believe a structural engineer should be involved in the foundation repair process, YOU hiring one is a bad idea.

You need to first be aware that anything an engineer, or a foundation company for that matter, tells you is an opinion. It’s an opinion based on experience and professional knowledge but is an opinion nevertheless.

So let’s say you pay an SE to come out and create a plan for a foundation company.

Most SEs will charge anywhere from $300 to $600 to come out and give you their opinion. However, at this time none of the foundation repair companies in the Dallas area charge to come out to evaluate your foundation and come up with a plan.

So you can get a good foundation repair contractor to come out and give you an equally good opinion for free.

Who Should Hire the Structural Engineer?

Now, once the foundation company comes up with a plan and you agree to get the work done, an engineer can be hired by the repair company to validate the plan.

I realize there are people who worry that if the SE is hired by the company, they are no longer independent and will just “rubber stamp” anything the foundation company comes up with.

But this isn’t necessarily the case. The foundation repair company has a vested interest in making sure their plan works. It’s called reputation and warranty.

No good company wants to have to go back and redo something they’ve already done multiple times because they did bad work. That is going to cost them a lot of money.

And if they don’t go back and fix things that they are at fault for, what do you think happens to their reputation? They get bad reviews. Their Better Business Bureau ratings plummet. And word gets out all over social media. Their reputation is ruined.

You do a great job for somebody and maybe they tell 3 people about it. You do a bad job, they most definitely will tell 10+ people. And it’s even worse in the social media era we live in today.

Bottom line, their reputation is on the line.

The Independent Structural Engineer’s Liability

Another reason I don’t recommend you hiring an independent engineer is because they often aren’t liable for their own plan.

Here is an engineer’s report from a house that I owned. An SE was hired at the time of my selling the house in February 2020.

I first want to point out a couple of things.

You’ll see on page 4 of the report:

“In the event that other information becomes available that could affect the conclusion reached in this investigation, this office reserves the right to review and change some or all of the opinions represented herein, if it is required.”

So #1. If they don’t have all the information, which they admit it, If you give them more information, the opinion could change.

#2. Everything they did was based on visual observations and the engineer’s judgement. What’s another word for that? His opinion. Again, based on his training and experience. And again, still an opinion.

Another thing it says a few paragraphs down on the same page, it is assumed that the foundation was constructed based on requirements of building codes and was inspected by local building officials during construction.

This particular house was built in 1984. The report was created in 2020. You can assume the house was built according to code and inspected all you want but was it? We can hope but really, nobody knows.

Now, this is what I like the most:

“No warranty is either expressed or implied as to the future performance of this structure. Liability is strictly limited to the fee charged in this report.”

So let’s say this engineer charged $300 for this report. What’s his liability if you go back to him after you implement his plan and it doesn’t work. And the chances of that happening are pretty good.

You go back to him and say, you’re responsible for this. He’s gonna give you your $300 back, at best.

That doesn’t help when you just paid the foundation repair company a lot of money to implement that engineer’s plan and now you have to get it refixed.

$300 is nothing in this situation.

What really matters is what is a reputable foundation contractor going to do and go with that foundation repair contractor. If he has an engineer in his “pocket,” so to speak, fine.

But if you choose that contractor from reputation, and you trust that contractor, then he is the one that has his neck on the line. He’s the one who is going to have to make sure that the work gets done the way it should. And if it doesn’t, he’s the one you’re gonna call back out.

And his liability from a legal standpoint, theoretically, in court would be much more than the engineers, #1. And #2, his liability from a reputation and warranty standpoint for his company is going to cost him A LOT more than what you paid the engineer.

Choose the Best Foundation Repair Company Instead

So while I do think a structural engineer is an important part of the foundation repair process, it is my opinion that you shouldn’t be the one hiring one.

If you choose a good and trustworthy foundation repair company, you can feel confident the engineer they hire will also have yours and your home’s best interest in mind.

Thanks to the type of soil we have here in the Dallas area, foundation problems are common for North Texas homeowners.

The soil in Texas is expansive clay which means it contracts when it’s dry and expands when it’s wet. And because of that, a home’s foundation moves and shifts and the expanding wet soil can push up and out against the foundation.

If you are dealing with signs of foundation problems like uneven floors or cracks in the walls of your home, it’s time to look for a foundation repair company.

But with so many to choose from, how do you know who to trust?

Why Price per Pier Shouldn’t Matter

I get asked about pier price a lot. What is a good price per pier? And I understand why this might seem like something to take under consideration when evaluating your options.

But in my opinion, it’s not even close to being one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a foundation repair contractor.

What if one company says you need six piers and another tells you you need 20 piers? And what if you legitimately only need six piers but this other company just really wanted to sell 20 piers that particular day? Maybe it’s been a slow month and they need to make up for it. (I hate to say it, but it happens more than you’d think.)

So in the grand scheme of things, price per pier means nothing. The only thing that truly matters is what needs to be done. What type of piers you get, where they put the piers and why, and how deep the piers will go.

Go cheap and you can count on paying more now and later when they put in extra piers and the piers move quickly and have to be redone.

How many people have you known that have had to have work done twice? Or even over and over again? Or what about finding out the contractor who did the work went out of business?

Going on price alone is a bad, bad plan.

You get what you pay for. It’s not about price. It’s about trusting the contractor. It’s about having a contractor who stands behind the work.

Things to Consider When Hiring a Foundation Repair Company

So how do you find a trustworthy contractor?

Well it’s going to take a little bit of work on your part. But it’s worth it when you consider the amount of money you’re going to spend to get your foundation fixed.

Check their reputation

Make sure you check the reviews, the company’s social media pages, the Better Business Bureau ratings, etc. And what they say when they come out there in person also matters.

You’re looking for a contractor with the heart of a teacher, not the heart of a salesman. Are they teaching you something or selling you something? There is a major difference.

Get six opinions

I usually recommend calling six contractors, give or take, to come out and give you a repair plan. Remember, it’s free but will take some time.

I saw a social media post not too long ago where someone asked, “Can I just skip the process? Just give me a name of someone I can trust. I don’t want to worry about the process.”

You cannot skip the process. You need to get those opinions.

Typically you can throw out the least expensive and the most expensive. Look at the ones in the middle and the ones that overlap. See what they all agree on and that is most likely what you need done. Then go with the one you trust.

Take a look at this diagram. You’ll most likely get something that looks very similar to this.

So with the most and least expensive plans thrown out, you’re left with about four opinions.

Let’s say one contractor tells you you need 1 – 12 piered. And another tells you you only need piers 5 – 8. And the other two tell you you need 4 – 9.

You can assume then that you need 5 – 8 for sure.

Then you just decide who it is you trust, and if you think you should get it 4 – 9 or if you think you just need 5 – 8 piered.

Warranty on Repairs or Whole House?

A quick note about warranties here — I go a little more into warranties later in the post as well.

If you want a warranty on the WHOLE thing — which nobody does — and you want them to cover anything in the future that needs to be done, then you’re going to have to go in and have them pier everything.

All interior. All exterior. Everything. Every inch of the house that can be adjusted by the piers. Otherwise you’re only getting a warranty on what the contractor piered. Don’t think that you can just get a small section repaired and then your house is warrantied forever for any foundation problems.

That repair solves that problem but it doesn’t solve if there’s ever a problem in a different spot.

So say the repair company only piered six exterior piers and later something inside moves, they can’t fix it from the piers they did before. They’re gonna have to come in and add more piers to be able to fix it.

Every foundation company is different but I use a general 10 foot rule.

Give or take, if your problem is more than 10 feet away from the piers they fixed, they can’t fix the problem from those piers. Even if it’s less than 10 feet, the problem could be emanating from a place that is more than 10 feet away, it’s just affecting less than 10 feet.

So they have to actually go out to the further spot to be able to fix it and then maybe they also have to adjust some of the piers on the warranty.

Just don’t be under the illusion that having them fix some piers means your entire foundation is covered no matter what.

A Word (or Two) About Reviews

As far as reviews go, they are a good indicator about the company you are researching. No doubt about it.

But, it’s important to keep in mind there is not a company or person in the world who is perfect. It’s just not possible.

So don’t look for perfectection, 5 star ratings across the board. It’s not a bad thing to see a bad review or two or even a couple complaints on the BBB. Nobody can please everybody. Any company in business long enough is going to run into problems.

What matters is if there’s a pattern.

When it comes to the bad reviews, what you want to look at is the overall situation. Was the customer being reasonable and the contractor refused to do something about it? Or was the customer being unreasonable and holding the contractor to an unrealistic expectation and the customer retaliated with a bad review?

And these days reviews are being used as extortion. “If you don’t do what I want, I’m going to give you a bad review!” Not to mention fake reviews being left by a competing company.

It is a bit of a he said/she said situation when it comes to a legitimate negative review. But you can see if and how the contractor responded to the bad review to get an idea of what happened.

Reviews are a double edged sword. They are good but they can also be abused.

And on the flip side, if there are zero negative reviews, that’s not necessarily a good thing either. It could be a case of fake reviews or companies incentivizing good reviews with prizes or discounts (which is against most review site policies).

But the bottom line is you should never make your decision based on JUST the reviews. You want the whole picture which is why I recommend looking at a number of different factors when choosing the right company for you.

Foundation Repair Warranties

Back to warranties. The warranty is only as good as the contractor doing the work.

What do I mean by that?

Companies in the service industry are upping their warranties. The industry standard is a couple of months to a year. A long time ago, foundation companies had lifetime warranties. But what good is a lifetime warranty if the company doesn’t honor it?

I once bought a house that had foundation work done by the previous owner. After I bought the house, I could never get a hold of anyone at the company to transfer the warranty much less have them out to do any kind of work on the foundation.

So what I mean by the warranty only being as good as the contractor:

• If they don’t answer your calls, the warranty means nothing.
• If they won’t come out there and do anything, the warranty means nothing.
• If they come out and they blame it on something else, the warranty means nothing.

What you’re looking for is honesty and integrity. Can you trust them to answer the phone if there is a problem and honor what they’ve said and actually do something about it? That’s a big deal.

How many times have you had a problem with someone who ignored your calls? How many times have you known somebody else who’s experienced that? And I will tell you, in the contracting world, in the service business, that is a huge huge deal.

Unfortunately a lot of contractors ignore people’s phone calls when there’s a problem.

I don’t personally put a lot of stock in warranty. Because here’s another thing I believe about warranties.

I don’t need a warranty on my work to stand behind anything that we did wrong.

If I find out 10 years from now that we did something wrong originally and it took that long for us to find it out, I don’t need a warranty to stand behind my company’s work and do something about it. To fix it at no charge to the homeowner.

With good quality contractors, it’s not about warranty. It doesn’t matter. You go with a good quality contractor, and you can trust that they’re not gonna ignore your problems, warranty or no warranty.

Beware of Foundation Companies Who Do This

Another thing I want to address quickly is foundation repair company addresses and names.

Now there are several companies, especially in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, that have similar names. They are independent companies and don’t have anything to do with each other. They just happen to have similar names.

But there is also the reverse of that situation. You’ve got two or three or four completely different names but they are actually the same company.

In this case, look at the addresses. Sometimes three different foundation companies have the exact same address or something really, really close to that. It’s probably the same company masquerading under different names.

So if you want to get six estimates and you call a company with three different names, you’re really only getting one company’s opinion out of those three.

Buying and Selling a Home with Foundation Problems

A quick word about buying and selling a home and potential foundation issues.

Foundation work is often done when a house is being sold. And most sellers don’t want to have to do anything they don’t have to do.

Now I have a different philosophy about this. I believe if everyone selling a house approached it from the buyer’s perspective, we would live in a different world. But unfortunately, I’m different and that’s not what most people do.

Most people selling a house don’t want to have to do anything. And if they do, only what they have to do. And some people do their best to cover up anything that does need to be done. And then others who will do something go with the absolute cheapest options possible.

So just know, if you’re buying a house and the seller did any foundation work, they probably went with the cheapest option available, probably press piling piers (read more about pier types here).

And this means it is extremely likely you are going to have to deal with it on the back side.

The truth of the matter is, all piers are like that. Nobody can guarantee a pier for life to never move again. They just can’t. (It’s just much more likely with the press pilings.)

Remember What is Important

I hope that this helps you if you’re looking for a foundation repair company.

There are a lot of factors to take into account.

Price is not everything and actually it shouldn’t be anything. In fact, price is way down the list.

Getting it done right is the most important thing. Cause if you don’t do it right at first, it’s going cost you a whole lot more down the road.

So take your time. Go through the process. Keeping everything I’ve said in mind, you should be able to find a company you can trust.

Not all foundation pier types are the same.

The best pier types are the ones that hold the best. And those aren’t usually going to be the cheapest option. But as with most things in life, you get what you pay for.

Weather Affected Zone

Let’s quickly cover what the weather affected zone is in a foundation.

As I mentioned in a previous post, our expansive clay soil in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex contracts when it’s dry and expands when it’s wet.

So the piers, any of them, need to go below the weather affected zone. Some people also call this the active zone which is about seven to 15 feet below ground in the Dallas area. Otherwise, the soil movement will make the piers shift like crazy.

Any pier, regardless of pier type, that does not go below the weather affected zone will not support or stop the house from moving.

Press Pilings

This is what’s called a press piling.

But I can tell you, I would never personally install or recommend installing press pilings to anyone.

I know a press piling company in town and that’s 50% of what they do. And the other 50% is going back to fix things. In fact, they keep a warranty crew on staff at all times. The warranty crew only does warranty work.

Steel Piers

Helical Piers

Drilled Concrete Piers

Mud/Foam Jacking

Plumbing Test

Also if you pump mud or foam under the house, make sure the company tests the plumbing system beforehand because you don’t want that mud or foam getting into the plumbing system. Nobody should ever pump foam or mud under the house without having a plumbing test first.

And it’s my recommendation that they run water through the system when they’re pumping the foam even after they’ve checked to make sure there are no leaks.

When they are pumping the mud or foam, not only should they be running water through the whole system but that they also have a dedicated person watching the sewer system to make sure that nothing gets in there while they’re doing it.

This is especially important if they’re lifting the foundation. Anytime you lift and level a house, the possibility exists of pulling the plumbing pipes apart. Whether that be from putting in piers or from the mud/foam jacking.

You want to make sure nothing happens during the lifting process. That the lifting didn’t create a leak even if there wasn’t one beforehand.

A Few More Things to Keep in Mind

Whether you just got repair work done or you want to keep your current foundation safe, here are a few things to help you out with that.

Rain Water Drainage

You need to keep water away from the foundation.

Gutters will help with keeping water away from the foundation. If you’ve got a pooling spot around the foundation, even a small pooling spot, that’s not good for the foundation at all.

You’ve got to keep excess water away from the foundation at all times. The expanding and contracting clay soil we have in D/FW can cause serious damage to your foundation.

Roots

Roots can also cause problems to foundations.

Consider getting a root barrier drilled into the ground. This is a barrier that is buried to keep those roots away from the foundation. It’s buried between the trees and the foundation.

Or if it’s an option you are OK with, cut down the trees. You’ve got to do something to keep roots out from under the house.

Roots grow to water. And they absorb a lot of moisture, a lot of water out from underneath the foundation.

Foundation Watering System

Something that helps to protect your foundation is a foundation watering system.

This is a fantastic video. It will tell you how to build your own foundation watering system.

Foundation watering systems keep your foundation consistently moist at the right amount of moisture. This prevents the soil from expanding and contracting against your foundation. It’ll cost you a couple hundred bucks, and I highly recommend having one.

Wrapping It Up

As far as the pier types, a lot of people believe there are good things about all of them.

I’m personally a huge fan of drilled concrete and steel piers. And again, I will never use press pilings — ever — in a house I own. And helical I feel is overkill in most cases.

But I always recommend you find a good foundation repair contractor that you trust and go with what that person says. That is my general rule of thumb.

And remember, if you go cheap then you should count on paying more now and later when they put in extra piers. So be sure to keep that in mind.