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 put in all around the perimeter of his house. He had concrete push piers installed under a 2,000 square foot single-story house and he said he paid right around $7,000. We live in the Dallas area.
But the guy down the street in pretty much the same sized house only needed piers under the east and south side of the slab. He also paid close to $7,000 for concrete push piers. However, two of his piers had to go under the driveway. Maybe that added to the cost.
The number of piers required and the type of piers used for underpinning are two of the variables that affect the cost of foundation repair. Steel piers are generally more expensive.
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.
Hello – I am new to Texas and a new homeowner in Corpus Christi. I am learning about the foundation problems in the area and am often confused by it all. I have read that consistent watering of the lawn is fine. I do not have soaker hoses but I do water the bushes and shrubs around the house and I also water the lawn consistently. About every other day right now but perhaps more this summer if it needs it? . I have no idea if the water is draining away from the house. On the front side the lawn slopes toward the streeet. On the backside of the house it all looks pretty flat to me. I had noticed some inside cracking in the wallboard and some brick veneer cracks outside. Once I started regular watering of the borders around the house and lawn watering every other day the cracks closed up. Can I keep doing what I am doing? Also, according to the inspector when I was buying the house, there are piers under the house. I believe they are on the East side only. My problem is that I’m never sure whether I am underwatering or overwatering. How do you know? The cracks have closed up but what if I overwater? Also, what about the winter time? Should watering still be done regularly? What about now in the Spring? I read the Dallas Article link and it stated soaker hoses should be run everyday for a number of hours. Is this in the summer only or all year round? I can’t seem to find answers to these specific questions anywhere. Also, should I water less since there are piers under the house? I’ve noticed some neighbors run their sprinkler systems nightly, some every other night, some have soaker hoses and some appear to do nothing. My neighbor runs her soaker hoses every night for 15 mins. Help! Everyone seems to do something different. Melissa
If your neighbor runs her soaker hoses for 15 minutes per night and it seems to work, then I would do the same given that the soil conditions are probably quite similar. I wouldn’t worry about over watering around the foundation if you have good drainage.
How much the lawn is watered is a different concern once you get a couple feet away from the foundation. All you need to worry about is keeping an even amount of moisture around your slab even if you do have piers. That means more water during hot dry months and less during cooler, wetter months. Plenty of mulch around the slab will help a lot to regulate the moisture as it will keep a lid on evaporation. If you do not see ponding of water around your house for an hour or so after a rain then your drainage is fine.
Generally, you will need to run the soaker hoses more often in the late spring and summer (hot weather) , then less in the fall and winter. Let the cracks be your guide. If they stay closed, then whatever you are doing is working.
Welcome to Texas and the wacky soils and weather swings!
Thank You! I think I am going to keep doing what I am doing for now and I appreciate the feedback. Your site has been very helpful to me. Melissa
do u have a twitter
Not tweeting at the moment.