Repair My Foundation-A Homeowner's Look at the Options

In 2006 I had my concrete slab foundation inspected by a local structural engineer and wrote about it on this blog. I also scanned his report into a PDF file and posted it. However, in the throes of changing hosting companies the link to this report was broken and remained so for some time.  The link to the inspection report has now been fixed. My apologies for taking so long to do so.

If you’d like to see a sample of the kind of information you should get back when hiring an independent structural engineer to inspect your slab foundation you’ll find the link in this post.

You’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the report and you can get it here.

A friend of the family is down-sizing and has put his home up for sale. He and his wife have too much house and are looking to move into a condo. A real estate agent was engaged and the process started.

The home inspector said there was a “dome” on the floor of the master bedroom. Nobody else could see what he was talking about, but a foundation repair company was called to check the concrete slab. The inspector for the repair company didn’t find a problem with the master bedroom floor, saw no “dome” but thought the house could use 9 piers. He had used a Compulevel or similar tool according to my friend.

Wanting to verify the need for piers and having good sense, the real estate agent called a different foundation repair contractor who sent out an inspector we’ll call “Bob.” Armed with similar tools, “Bob” came to a different conclusion. No need for piers.

The real estate agent then called a third foundation inspector who, it turns out, knows Bob and respects his work. “If Bob says there is no problem and no need for piers, then you can take that to the bank”, said inspector number three who was also willing to sign disclosure forms giving the foundation a good to go status.

The lesson here is to always get at least three inspections and bids from foundation repair companies. You may not get the happy ending my friend did, but you won’t be relying on the word of just one contractor.

In 2006 I wrote about my then neighbor Dennis’ foundation repair job. The contractor used the “pressed piles” method of repair. He then sold the house to a young woman we’ll call Shelia and moved.

I was passing by last week and saw that a garage sale was going on at this same house. I figured this was a good opportunity to ask if the new owner was happy with the work done on her concrete slab. Apparently she is. “Shelia” was at work but her talkative mother was there running the garage sale.

It turns out “Shelia” had come into some money and let Dennis know she would be paying cash for the house. At that point Dennis, wanting to avoid complaints in the future, had the foundation repaired by a company that transfers a lifetime warranty to the next owner.

Mom says there has been no cracking or shifting, and “Shelia” is happy with the house. I thanked her for the information but didn’t buy anything at the sale. I have plenty of my own junk already.

We are experiencing a pretty long hot dry spell in my part of the world. That means making sure the clay soil around my concrete slab-on-ground foundation doesn’t dry up and pull away. I’ve been running the soaker hoses pretty regularly and they do a nice job keeping the ground around the perimeter of my foundation moist or at least not too dry. We call it “watering the foundation.”

I did notice that one of the soaker hoses in the front was sending a 2 foot spray in the air. The problem with that is a reduction in the water pressure down stream from the spray and a less even distribution of water around that part of the foundation.

The fix is simple since soaker hoses are such low tech creatures. Mark the hose where the spray comes out, let the hose dry out a bit, then wrap the area with hose repair tape. Electrical tape works too. You are just trying to knock down a spray, not stop a leak.

If you are using soaker hoses to keep even moisture around your slab foundation it is a good idea to walk the perimeter once a week or so and look for breaks or big leaks that need fixing.

You have the classic signs of concrete slab foundation distress. OK, your house does. Doors and windows don’t work right, you have cracks around the frames or cracks in your brick veneer. You think your foundation is going to need some work. Then you open the mail or the newspaper and there it is. A “valuable coupon” offering a tidy little sum off the foundation repair job.

The fine print says you must present the coupon at the time you receive your free estimate. It also says you only have a couple of weeks to make that call or the coupon expires. What to do?

First, take a deep breath and rest in the knowledge that these coupons will be coming back around every few weeks. Unless you have really sudden and severe damage to your house and foundation you have some time to make an educated choice.

Next, have an independent structural engineer with foundation experience inspect your slab and generate a report detailing the findings. Your foundation leveling job may cost several thousand dollars. The inspection will cost several hundred dollars depending on the size of your home. Spend. The. Money. The information about the state of your foundation will be coming from a professional engineer who’s obligation is your best interest and not from a professional pier salesmen who’s obligation is to sell foundation repair services.

Then get bids from at least two other foundation repair contractors. See what they have to say about your slab, and after they leave, compare it with the engineer’s report (about which you’ve said nothing.) Keep their bids on hand and only then call the company with the coupon.

This way you can view the company offering the big dollar off coupon in an educated light. You’ll have a better sense of the true value of that coupon and won’t be time squeezed into making a rash decision that may or may not be a good deal on foundation repair. That is all.

In my part of the world the spring rains are coming to an end and the soil is getting drier. Since my concrete slab foundation sits on shrink-swell clay soils, I have to make a concerted effort to keep the dirt around the foundation moist. It’s really not that big of a deal because of the easy availability of soaker hoses. You can find them at major hardware stores, home improvement centers and in the lawn and garden departments of the “big box” discount stores.

In an earlier post, I included a diagram of a typical soaker hose setup. With not that much cash you can ring your foundation with soaker hoses and regular garden hoses to get an even distribution of water to keep the soil moist. Most experts say to put the hoses 12-18 inches out from the edge of your slab. Mulch and other landscaping techniques can hide them. They need not be an eyesore. You can see the tools and techniques you’ll need here.

No one has ever accused me of being the handiest guy on the planet, so if can I put together a soaker hose system you can too. And you will be doing your concrete slab-on-ground foundation a huge favor.

Every concrete slab that may need repair presents its own symptoms and problems. Each situation is different. The guy next door to me had piers installed all around the perimeter of his house. But the guy down the street only needed piers under the east and south side of the slab. This is one of the reasons the cost of foundation repair varies, and why the prudent home owner gets bids from at least three different foundation repair contractors. Spending a few hundred dollars on an inspection by an independent structural engineer is a good idea as well.

The Dallas Morning New recently ran an article on the damage to slab foundations caused by the shrink-swell clay soils and the weather in North Texas. The piece also touched on costs of foundation repair and how the lowly soaker hose is indeed your friend. Here is a link to the article.

The house behind and across the alley from mine is up for sale again. A fellow named Bobby used to live there but he just left one day. I know Bobby had once owned the house because he had converted the garage into a den, added a swimming pool and had made other improvements you just don’t do if you’re renting.

However, hard times came upon Bobby (largely self inflicted) and as luck would have it, the foundation went bad just when he needed to sell the house he could no longer afford to keep. He didn’t get the slab foundation repaired and therefore the house did not sell. There are just too many other properties for sale around here for buyers to even consider a house with a bad foundation.

So the bank forecloses and a house flipper buys it. Mr. House Flipper wants to spend a minimal amount of money to fix it up for re-sale and hires El Cheapo No Name Foundation Repair and Lawn Care to repair the slab. These guys show up after hours and on weekends to work on the foundation. They installed drilled piers and I had my doubts at the time about the quality of work.

Those suspicions were confirmed by a handyman I spoke with who had been hired by Mr. House Flipper to repair cracks in the walls and ceilings that had already been fixed once after the alleged foundation repair. He showed me where the floor plates of two walls were again coming apart at the corners. It was easy to see the long crack that had developed again in the ceiling of the same room. He said the foundation repair job was “terrible.”

The lesson here is to pick your foundation repair contractor carefully. Be suspicious of anyone who says they can fix your slab on the weekends for a ridiculously low price. Get at least three different bids from established contractors. Hire an independent structural engineer with experience in residential foundations. It’ll cost several hundred dollars but could save you thousands in the long run.

And just say “no” to El Cheapo No Name Foundation Repair and Taxidermy Inc.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of cosmetic fix-up inside the house over the last 10 months or so since I had root barriers installed. At the same time I had large shrubs removed from the west side of the slab foundation.

In the meantime I’ve been fixing drywall and painting. There were some small wall cracks that needed filling and some areas where sheet rock tape had popped, things to be expected of a thirty year old house that has a concrete slab foundation sitting on shrink-swell heavy clay soil. So far things have stayed fixed.

The was one crack in the ceiling near the patio door that was always kind of an indicator of foundation movement for me. It would open and close ever so slightly depending how much rain we had gotten or how faithful I had been with running the soaker hoses.

Well sir, that crack has stayed closed for several months now. I don’t know if it’s because of all the rain we’ve had this year, the root barriers, the soaker hoses or a combination of all three. It’s probably the latter. At any rate, it’s nice to give the drywall mud knife a rest.

My next door neighbor Don had his concrete slab-on-ground foundation repaired three years ago. He paid close to $7,000 and the job came with a lifetime warranty.

Don wasn’t satisfied with the results of the first job. His foundation was moving more than he thought it should and not as level so he called them back out. The company did another half day’s work adjusting the shims between the slab and the piers.

Don called them a third time. After all, he had a lifetime warranty. This time, the company was out of business. Some of the same management was there, but operating under a different name and not the one on Don’s warranty. That company is out of business and Don is screwed. I guess that’s how some of the shady smaller companies get out from under their warranty obligations.

In Texas we have a thing called the Texas Foundation Warranty Trust. If your foundation repair contractor participates in the program you get a transferable lifetime warranty to pass on to the buyers of your house. If the repair isn’t done right the first time they have to come back at no extra cost and make it good. Most importantly it covers the repair if the original contractor goes out of business. Most of the major players in Texas are a part of the warranty program.

If you live in Texas and need foundation repair add the Texas Foundation Warranty Trust availability into your decision making. Sometimes it’s good to run with the big dogs. Just ask Don.