Guide
Foundation inspections
Two different people may offer to look at your foundation, and they are not doing the same job. Knowing which is which helps you weigh what each one tells you.
Who inspects
Option one
A foundation repair company
Sends an estimator who walks the house, takes floor readings and writes a proposal for the work that company would do.
This is the visit you book through this site. The findings come with a price attached, and the company has an interest in the answer, so read them with that in mind.
Option two
A structural engineer
A professional engineer licensed in Texas whom you hire and pay directly. The engineer writes a report on what the foundation is doing and whether it needs repair, and sells nothing else.
People choose this route when the stakes are high, when two proposals disagree, or when they are buying or selling.
Both routes meet at the permit
Frisco will not issue a foundation repair permit without a stamped engineer letter, so an engineer is involved either way. The difference is who that engineer works for: the repair company, or you.
How thorough
Three levels of evaluation
The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers describes three levels. Ask which one you are getting.
- Level A
- First impressions. The engineer asks about the history of the house, reads any papers you have, and walks through looking. No measurements are required.
- Level B
- Everything in Level A, plus floor elevations measured in enough places to show the shape of the foundation, and a drawing of the readings.
- Level C
- Levels A and B, plus whatever testing the engineer thinks is needed: soil samples, a plumbing leak test, a survey of trees, checks on the steel or cables in the slab.
On the day
What gets looked at
- Floor heights across the house, taken with a digital level and corrected for different floor coverings.
- Cracks in brick, drywall, tile and the slab edge, and which way each has opened.
- Doors and windows: which are out of square and in which direction.
- Outside: the slope of the ground, gutters and downspouts, trees and large shrubs, sprinklers, the pool.
- Anything you can tell them: when it started, past repairs, past leaks.
One set of floor readings shows the shape of the slab on one day. Engineers caution against treating it as proof, because nobody knows what shape the slab was when it was new. Readings repeated a few months apart show actual movement.
Before they leave
Ask for these in writing
- A plan of the house with the floor readings marked on it.
- Where each proposed pier goes, shown on that plan.
- What they believe caused the movement, in a sentence or two.
- What the repair is expected to achieve and what it will not.
- The name and license number of the engineer who will stamp the design.
- What is excluded: plumbing tests, cosmetic repairs, landscaping.
An engineer's license takes a minute to confirm. Search the name or number in the state roster of professional engineers kept by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.
Inspection questions
Should I get an engineer's report before calling a repair company?
You do not have to. Many owners start with a repair company's visit and bring in their own engineer only if the proposal is large or two companies disagree. If you would rather have a neutral opinion first, hire the engineer first.
How long does an inspection take?
It varies with the size of the house and how much is measured. Ask the company when you book so you can plan to be home, because they will need to get into every room.
Foundation repair in Frisco and nearby
Describe the problem, book the inspection
This number is for foundation repair on houses. Say where the cracks are, which doors stick and how long it has been going on. If part of the house shifted all at once, there is a gas smell, or brickwork seems about to come down, clear the house and dial 911 or the gas utility before anything else.
Ready to have someone look at it?
Phone and say what you have noticed. The foundation repair company on the other end is independent of this site and takes on houses in your part of Collin or Denton County. Ask it for a time to come and inspect.
Call (972) 430-3959Your call may be recorded. Read how referrals are paid for and what happens to call details.