Questions to Ask About Foundation Repair
For homeowners who have found stair-step cracks, doors that will not latch or a floor that slopes, and now have a repair company coming out to inspect and quote. The questions run in the order that visit does: what is making the house move, the repair being proposed, the company and the permit, the price, the days of the work, and the warranty. A few apply only to a basement wall or a crawl space, and their notes say so.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The cause
What is causing this foundation to move?
Why ask it
The answer should name a cause you can check, such as clay soil that swells and shrinks, water pooling along one wall, a leaking pipe or fill that was never compacted. A repair that props the house up without dealing with the cause leaves the same forces working on whatever was not repaired. If the reply jumps straight to a pier count, ask the question again.
Which of these cracks matter, and which would you call cosmetic?
Why ask it
Walk the house together and have each crack sorted in front of you. Width, whether one side sits higher than the other, and whether it runs through brick or the slab itself are the things an estimator usually points to. Someone who treats every hairline in the drywall as structural is selling.
Can you tell whether the house is still moving, or whether it settled long ago and stopped?
Why ask it
One visit is a single snapshot, so an honest estimator will say what points each way: fresh cracks with clean edges, old cracks that have been painted over, doors somebody trimmed years ago. If nobody can say, crack gauges or a second set of readings a few months on will, at a small fraction of the cost of piers you may not need.
Does this have to be fixed now, or is it safe to watch it and measure again in six months?
Why ask it
This puts a timescale on the worry. Sometimes little will change and watching is reasonable; sometimes a wall is leaning or a beam has lost its support, and then it is worth paying an independent engineer to confirm how soon. If all you hear is that the price will go up, you have learned about the sales process and nothing about the house.
How did you measure the floors, and can I keep a copy of the elevation readings?
Why ask it
A thorough inspection maps how high the floor sits at points across the whole house, and the map shows where the low spots are and how far out they are. Get it on paper or by email before the estimator leaves. It is the one thing you can hand to a second company or an engineer so that everyone is arguing over the same numbers.
What did you find when you looked at the gutters, the downspouts and the slope of the ground around the house?
Why ask it
Water is the cheapest thing on the table to correct, so you want to know it was looked at before anything was priced. Listen for particulars: a downspout emptying at the corner that dropped, soil tilted toward the wall, a flower bed that holds a puddle. An estimator who never walked the outside has skipped half the inspection.
Could a leak under the slab be part of this, and should the plumbing be tested first?
Why ask it
A leaking drain or supply line can soften or wash out the soil under one part of the house, and piers do not mend a pipe. The useful detail is whether the company wants the test result in hand before it settles the plan, and who it would send to do the test. On a house with a crawl space, put the same question about standing water and dripping pipes down there.
Do the trees close to the house have anything to do with it?
Why ask it
Large trees can pull a lot of moisture out of clay during a dry spell, and the side of the house nearest them may drop. The remedies you may hear are a root barrier, removal or nothing at all. Taking out a mature tree changes the soil moisture as well, so look for a reason and not a reflex.
The repair
Which repair are you recommending, and why that one and not the alternatives?
Why ask it
The main choices are piers under the footing, lifting a slab by pumping material beneath it, bracing or anchoring a wall, rebuilding the supports in a crawl space, and correcting drainage. A good answer explains why the others do not fit your house. Companies lean toward the system they own the equipment for, so ask what a competitor would propose.
Would correcting the drainage be enough, or at least worth trying before anything structural?
Why ask it
Longer downspouts, regrading and sometimes a drain can steady a house whose soil is getting soaked or drying unevenly. None of that lifts anything back, and it takes a few seasons to judge. Ask what result would tell you both it had worked, and whether trying it first costs you anything but time.
What type of pier would you install, and what makes it right for this soil?
Why ask it
Steel push piers, helical piers and pressed concrete pilings go into the ground in different ways and suit different soils and house weights. You are listening for a reason tied to your lot, such as how far down the stable layer is or how light the structure is. 'It is what we always use' is a reason for them, not for you.
How many piers are in this plan, and can you mark each one on a drawing of the house?
Why ask it
The count drives the price, so see it on paper with the spacing between piers written in. Two companies often quote quite different numbers for one house, and the drawings let you ask each about the other's layout. Have the sketch attached to the contract.
How deep do you expect the piers to go, and what will they be resting on?
Why ask it
The whole point of a pier is to get past the soil that moves and reach rock or a layer that stays put. The depths they have reached on streets near yours are the best evidence, so find out where the figure comes from. A firm number offered with no local experience or soil report behind it is a guess.
How will the crew know each pier has gone far enough, and will I get the installation log?
Why ask it
Push piers are normally driven until they resist a set pressure, and helical piers until they reach a set torque. In both cases the depth and the final reading for every pier can be written down. Make that log a contract item, because it is the only record of work that will be buried by the afternoon.
Is the goal to lift the house back toward level or only to stop it from sinking further?
Why ask it
Stabilizing and lifting are different promises, and the contract should say which one you are buying. A full return to level is often not possible, since pushing too far can crack parts of the house that adjusted over the years. Ask how much lift they expect at the worst point and what would make them stop short.
Do any piers need to go under the middle of the house, and how would you reach those spots?
Why ask it
Interior piers mean either breaking through the floor from inside or tunneling in from the yard. Breaking through puts dust and a concrete patch in your living room; tunneling leaves the flooring alone and takes more labor. Ask which one is priced, and what becomes of the tile or wood over each hole.
Would lifting the slab with grout or foam work here, and how long would you expect it to hold?
Why ask it
Pumping material under a sunken slab, sold as mudjacking or foam lifting, raises it without tying it to deeper ground. That suits a driveway, a porch, a garage floor or an interior slab that floats better than it suits a wall carrying the house. The plain question underneath is whether the soil is likely to keep settling and take the lift down with it.
The basement wall is bowing in. Would you brace it, anchor it or rebuild it?
Why ask it
Skip this on a slab house. For a block or poured wall the usual options are carbon fiber straps, steel beams, anchors run out into the yard, or digging the wall out and rebuilding it, and how far it has moved tends to decide between them. Have the lean measured in inches while you watch, and find out what figure would push them to the next option up.
What did you find in the crawl space, and does it need new supports, new wood or just drier air?
Why ask it
This one is for a house on piers and beams. Sagging floors there often trace to rotted wood or to supports that have sunk or tilted, which is a different and frequently smaller job than underpinning the perimeter. Photos from under the house of every item on the estimate are a fair request, since you are unlikely to crawl in and look.
Which part of the house are you leaving as it is, and could it move differently from the part you support?
Why ask it
Piers on one side tie that side to deep ground while the remainder keeps riding the surface soil. Ask whether new cracks could open where the two meet, and why the plan stops where it does. If the true reason is your budget, better to hear that now than to find it out in three years.
The company
What is your role at the company, and are you paid on commission for the jobs you sell?
Why ask it
A free inspection is often free because the person doing it earns on what you sign, which does not make the diagnosis wrong but is worth knowing when you weigh it. Estimator, salesperson and engineer are three different jobs, so get the title too. Raise it lightly and early, and notice whether the answer is direct.
Will a licensed structural engineer design or review this plan, and who does that engineer work for?
Why ask it
An engineer on the repair company's payroll and one you hire yourself are both real engineers, but only one has no stake in the size of the job. On a large proposal, ask whether they mind you paying for an independent review before you sign. A company sure of its plan usually says go ahead.
Does foundation work need a permit where I live, and who applies for it?
Why ask it
Permit rules for structural repair are set locally, so ask the company and then call your building department to confirm. Where one is required, the company should apply under its own name and show the fee on the estimate. Be wary of an offer to skip it to save money: unpermitted structural work is the kind of thing a buyer's inspector asks about.
What license or registration does foundation work need here, and do you hold it?
Why ask it
What a foundation contractor has to hold differs from place to place, and some areas have no specific license for it. Take down the number and the name it is under, then look both up with whoever issues it. If the name on the license is not the name on your contract, find out why before you sign.
If the lift damages the house or a worker is hurt here, whose insurance pays, and can the agent send me the certificates?
Why ask it
This job has people digging beside your house and jacking it up, so the two policies to see are general liability and workers' compensation, both current through your start date. A certificate sent from the agent's office is harder to doctor than a photo on a phone. What happens when an uninsured worker is hurt on your property depends on where you live, so settle the coverage before anyone picks up a shovel.
How long has the company repaired foundations under this name, and how much of that work was near here?
Why ask it
A long warranty is only useful if the company is still around to honor it, which is why the years under one name are worth knowing. Local work counts because soil can change from one part of a city to the next. A company that has renamed itself more than once deserves a search under each of the old names.
Could I speak to a homeowner whose repair you did at least five years ago?
Why ask it
A foundation repair proves itself over several wet and dry seasons, so a customer from last spring cannot tell you much yet. Put two things to the older customer: whether anything has moved since, and what happened the first time they called the company about it.
The price
What is the cost per pier, and what is the total with everything included?
Why ask it
A per-pier price lets you check the arithmetic and see what one more or one fewer would do. Then ask for the all-in figure with permit, engineer, tunneling and patching added, because that is the number to set against other quotes. Costs swing a great deal by region and method, so those other quotes are your only real yardstick.
What does this price leave out?
Why ask it
Use these exact words and write the list down as they talk. The usual gaps are the plumbing test, the engineer's letter, permit fees, replanting, drywall and flooring repairs, and repointing brick. Anything described as included that is missing from the written estimate needs to be added before you sign.
What happens to the price if the piers have to go deeper than you planned?
Why ask it
Many contracts include pier depth up to a set number of feet and bill by the foot past it. Find that clause, ask what the extra footage has come to on jobs near you, and ask for a cap. Without one, the final bill gets decided underground where you cannot watch.
What could make you add piers or other work once the job is under way, and how would I approve it?
Why ask it
Digging can expose a footing that is shallower, wider or more broken than it looked from above. That is fair grounds for a change, as long as it arrives with a photo, a price and your signature before the extra work starts. Settle now who can say yes if the call comes while you are at work.
Is a plumbing test before and after the lift included, and who pays if a pipe breaks when the house is raised?
Why ask it
Raising a slab can strain the drain lines under it, and older pipe is the usual casualty. A test beforehand shows what was already leaking; one afterward shows what the lift did. Look in the contract for a line saying the company is not responsible for plumbing, and ask how that would play out on your job.
How much is due when I sign, and can the last payment wait until I have the final measurements and paperwork?
Why ask it
Holding back the last payment until the elevations, the pier log and any engineer's letter are in your hands is the simplest way to make sure they turn up. If the company wants most of the money before a crew arrives, ask why. Limits on deposits differ from place to place, so find out what applies where you live.
If I finance this through you, who is the lender, and what is the rate once any promotional period ends?
Why ask it
Financing offered at the kitchen table is usually a loan from an outside lender, and the terms are that lender's, not the estimator's. Read what happens to deferred interest if the balance is not cleared in time, and get the total you would repay as one number. Then price the same amount at your own bank or credit union before you choose.
How long is this quote good for, and does the price change if I do not sign today?
Why ask it
A house that has been settling for years is unlikely to change much in the two weeks it takes to collect other quotes. A discount that ends when the estimator pulls out of the driveway is a closing technique. Get the quote in writing with an expiration date on it and keep it.
Could my homeowners insurance cover any of this, and what would you document in case it does?
Why ask it
Policies often exclude settling and soil movement, though damage traced to a sudden plumbing leak is sometimes handled differently. The repair company cannot tell you what yours covers; your insurer or agent can. What the company can supply is dated photos, the elevation map and its written opinion of the cause, so request those whichever way the claim goes.
The work
How many days will the job take, and can we stay in the house while it is done?
Why ask it
Piers set from outside are often a matter of days with the family still living there, while interior work or tunneling adds time, noise and dust. Rain is the usual thing that stretches the schedule, so find out what the crew does with open holes when it comes. If water or gas has to be shut off at any point, you want to hear the day before.
Is the crew employed by you, and who is in charge at my house each day?
Why ask it
Get a name and a phone number for the person running the site, which will not be the estimator. Ask how many of these jobs that foreman has run, since knowing when to stop a lift is learned by doing it. Where the installation is subcontracted, ask whose insurance and whose warranty apply.
How will you locate the gas, water, sewer, electric and sprinkler lines before you dig?
Why ask it
The public marking service where you live will flag some lines and leave others alone, and the company should know which. Private runs such as sprinkler pipe, a cable out to a shed or a septic line are often on nobody's map, so tell the estimator about every one you know of. Then ask who pays when a line no one marked gets cut.
What will happen to the plants, the sprinkler heads, the deck and the concrete along the walls where you work?
Why ask it
Every exterior pier needs a hole dug against the foundation, so shrubs in the way come out and may not survive going back in. Ask whether plants are set aside and watered, whether a patio or walk will be cut and poured again, and whether the patch will match. Photograph the beds and the paving before the crew arrives.
What damage should I expect inside when the house is lifted, and who repairs it?
Why ask it
Raising a house that has sat crooked for years can crack drywall, pop tile, bind a door that was planed to fit or pinch a window. Contracts often leave those repairs to the owner, so read yours for it. Ask how long to wait before patching and painting, because a house can go on adjusting for a while after the lift.
After the lift, which of these cracks should close and which doors should work again?
Why ask it
Go room by room and have the estimator commit to what will improve and what will only stop getting worse. Cracks in brick often narrow without closing and still need a mason afterward. Writing the expected result down now heads off an argument on the last day.
How will you backfill and compact the holes, and will the soil be left sloping away from the house?
Why ask it
Loose backfill sinks over the following months and can leave a trough that steers rain to the very wall you paid to fix. The two things to pin down are whether the soil goes back in compacted layers and whether the crew returns to top it off. After the first heavy rain, go outside and see where the water sits.
Will you take elevation readings again when you finish and give me the before and after?
Why ask it
The second set of readings is your proof of what the job achieved and the baseline for any warranty claim years from now. Have it drawn on the same floor plan as the first, with the date on it. A buyer's inspector may want to see both one day.
The warranty
What exactly does the warranty cover: the piers themselves, the labor to adjust them, or the whole foundation?
Why ask it
Coverage is often limited to the piers that were installed, with a promise to adjust them if that area moves again, and says nothing about the remainder of the foundation, cosmetic damage or plumbing. Have the estimator put a finger on the sentence in the warranty document. The brochure and the contract do not always say the same thing.
If the warranty says lifetime, whose lifetime is that, and can I read the full document before I sign?
Why ask it
It might mean the life of the structure, the years you own it or as long as the company exists, and those three are far apart. Read the complete text at home and not the summary line on the estimate. A term in years that you understand beats a 'lifetime' nobody will define.
Is the warranty transferable when I sell, and what does the transfer require?
Why ask it
For many owners this is the most valuable piece of the repair, because the next buyer will ask about it. A transfer can come with a fee, a form and a deadline counted from the closing date, and a missed deadline may end the coverage. Ask for the steps in writing and staple them to the warranty.
How much movement counts as a warranty claim, and who does the measuring?
Why ask it
Some warranties act only when movement passes a stated amount, as measured by the company's own technician. Get that threshold as a number, along with whether a return visit carries a service charge and how soon they come out. If you would have no say in the measurement, ask whether a reading by an outside engineer would be accepted.
What could void the warranty after the job is finished?
Why ask it
Read the exclusions aloud together. Ones to raise are plumbing leaks, drainage you were told to correct and did not, a new addition, flooding, and trees planted or removed close to the piers. If any of them asks something of you, such as a yearly inspection, put it in your calendar the day you sign.
Who stands behind the warranty if the company is sold or closes?
Why ask it
A warranty from a company that no longer exists is a sheet of paper. Some are backed by the pier manufacturer, a national network or an insurance policy, and some by the local owner alone. Get the name of whoever backs it and confirm with them directly.
What should I do from now on to keep the foundation stable?
Why ask it
Expect instructions about gutters, grading, watering in dry spells where the soil is clay, and keeping watch on the plumbing. Have them written down, since the warranty may depend on your following them. The answer also shows whether the company has been thinking about the cause or only about the piers.
What paperwork will I have at the end, and what will a future buyer want to see?
Why ask it
A complete file holds the contract and pier drawing, the installation log, both sets of elevations, the closed permit if one was needed, any engineer's letter and the warranty with its transfer terms. Whether and how a past repair has to be disclosed in a sale depends on where you live, so ask a local agent or attorney. A tidy file makes that conversation with a buyer far easier.
How to handle a foundation repair estimate
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the estimator arrives
Write down what you have seen, with dates
List each crack, sticking door and sloping spot and when you first noticed it. Photograph the cracks with a ruler or a coin in the frame. The history of when things changed is something no inspection can see, and it bears directly on whether the house is still moving.
Dig out the house's papers
The seller's disclosure, any earlier repair invoice, old inspection reports and plumbing records all help. If a previous owner had piers put in, there may be a warranty tied to the address, and that company is worth a call before anyone else.
Clear a path to the walls
An estimator needs to see the inside of the outer walls, the garage floor, closets on the low side and the crawl space hatch if there is one. Boxes stacked against a cracked wall mean part of the diagnosis is inferred instead of seen.
Book two or three companies
Choose ones that install different systems if you can, so you hear more than one idea of what the house needs. Do not show any of them another company's proposal until they have given their own diagnosis.
While they are at the house
Walk the inspection with them
Follow the estimator inside and out and ask what they are looking at as they go. You will learn more from ten minutes at the corner that dropped than from the presentation at the table afterward.
Settle the cause before the price comes out
Work through The cause while the estimator is still measuring. Once a figure is on the table the talk turns to payment plans, and the reason the house moved gets a sentence at most.
Leave the visit holding three things
The elevation map, the drawing with every pier marked, and the full warranty text. If any of them will be sent later, say you will wait for it before you decide.
Sign nothing on the day
Take the contract away and read the clauses on extra depth, plumbing and what the owner repairs. Ask whether a contract signed at your home can be canceled within a set number of days where you live, and do not rely on that as your plan.
Setting two proposals against each other
Start with the diagnosis, not the total
If one company blames drainage and another blames deep soil, the gap in price is really a gap in diagnosis. That disagreement is what an independent structural engineer is for, and the elevation maps are what to bring.
Make the scope match
For each proposal note the pier type, the count, the depth included, whether it promises lift or only stability, and what is left to you. A cheaper proposal with fewer piers and a short included depth may not be cheaper once the job is done.
Lay the warranties side by side
Compare what triggers a claim, what a return visit costs, how a transfer works and who backs the promise. A shorter warranty with clear terms and a company that has been there for decades can be the stronger of the two.
When the numbers are far apart
Ask the higher bidder what the lower one is missing and the lower bidder what the higher one is overdoing. Their answers, put to each other, usually show which one looked harder at your house.
When to get another opinion
A pier count with no cause attached
If you ask why the house moved and hear only how many piers it needs, the inspection was a measurement for a sale. Have someone else look before you pay for a repair to a problem nobody has named.
A deadline on the discount
Manager's specials, end-of-month pricing and a number that is only good tonight are there to stop you collecting other quotes. Thank them and collect the quotes.
Every crack is urgent
Houses crack for ordinary reasons, including shrinkage and seasonal movement. An estimator who cannot point to a single crack and call it harmless is not sorting what they see.
No permit, no engineer, no log
Any one of these can have a fair explanation where you live. All three missing together means there will be no independent record that the work was needed or done as sold.