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House settling on one side: house leveling
In North Texas, house leveling means raising the part of a foundation that has dropped so the house sits closer to how it was built. It starts with working out which part moved, and whether it sank or the rest rose.
What it looks like
Signs that one side has dropped
- Brick cracks on one face of the house that are wider at the top than the bottom.
- Window and door frames along one wall all leaning the same way.
- A gap between the brick and the garage door frame, or between the wall and the eaves, on one side only.
- Floors that run downhill toward that wall.
- Soil pulled an inch or more away from the slab along that side by late summer.
Edges move more than the middle because they are closer to the weather. The clay under the rim of a slab dries out in a hot summer and shrinks, while the clay under the middle of the house stays damp. The corner nearest a big tree, or the side that bakes in the afternoon sun, is often the first to go.
Other causes
When the low side is not sinking
Seasonal movement. An edge that drops in August can come most of the way back after a wet winter. Lifting it in August may leave it too high in March.
Heave. If a leak or poor drainage has swollen the clay under one part of the house, the rest looks low by comparison. Piers under the low part will not cure that.
Fill. Lots on a slope are cut on the high side and filled on the low side. Fill that was not packed well settles under the weight of the house.
At the inspection
What a company checks
A floor elevation survey of the whole house, to see the shape: tilted, bent at one corner, or domed.
What sits near the low side. Trees, downspouts, a pool, the air conditioner's drain, a neighbor's higher yard.
Whether to test the plumbing under the slab before deciding anything.
If it is settlement
What house leveling involves
Piers are placed at intervals under the edge beam of the low section. Jacks on top of the piers raise the slab in stages while someone watches the walls and doors indoors.
Only the supported part improves. Engineers' repair guidelines say that underpinning does not change how the rest of the foundation behaves, and that a lift is unlikely to end perfectly level.
Water and drain lines should be leak-tested after a lift, because pipes under the slab move with it.
In Frisco
Paperwork that comes first
The City of Frisco asks for a stamped engineer letter and stamped pier drawings with the permit application, and the engineer's inspection report when the work is complete. Permits for foundation repair in Frisco has the details.
Ask the company who the engineer is and get a copy of both documents. You will want them if you ever sell.
House leveling questions
Will leveling close the cracks in my walls?
Often they narrow as the slab comes up, but nobody can promise they close. Brick and drywall repairs are a separate job, normally done some weeks after the lift once the house has settled into its new position.
Does the whole house need piers?
Not necessarily. Many proposals cover one side or one corner. Ask the company to show on a drawing which areas it will support, and what it expects from the parts it leaves alone.
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.