Foundation Repair is Expensive. It is also Useless and a Waste of Money for most houses. If you live in the Dallas & Fort Worth, as it is true for most of Texas, clay soils are something your concrete foundation has to deal with every day.
But don’t think a few cracks in the walls, floors, and ceiling means you need foundation repair. Most of the times, Foundation repair is Not necessary and doing a foundation repair might actually make your foundation worse.
Many cracks are not Foundation Related
Do you have any of these types of Cracks in your house?
Cracks in the sheetrock are fairly common. Most of the time these are simple cracks created by moisture, change in temperature, and other normal effects. If the house is very old, you can bet you’ll have a few cracks here and there. People often do not realize that plaster is used in the walls, and plaster is nothing but a type of cement, and cement sooner or later will crack. The location, size, and type of cracks in the sheetrock help determine whether you have a major foundation or other structural problem or if you have normal cracks.
Cracks in concrete are also common. Pull the carpet or wood flooring out of the rooms in your house and chances are that you’ll
find cracks in the concrete floor below. Concrete cracks; that’s what it does. It is true that the width, location, and length of the cracks in concrete also help determine if you’re looking at normal cracks or major foundation problems.
Cracks in Bricks are so common, we would be millionaires if we could get a penny for every time we find a crack in brick walls. The mortar gluing together the individual bricks is also made out of cement, and as we’ve learned, cement cracks. Cracks usually are more common in brick walls mainly because these walls are exposed to the outside weather.
Although some of these cracks could be caused by foundation movement, most of these cracks happen often in perfectly built foundations sitting on solid rock. If you see these cracks, do NOT assume you need foundation repair; most of the times, you still don’t need foundation repair.
But My foundation is Not Level, a Foundation Repair company told me so
Yes, your foundation is most definitely not Level and several foundation repair companies (and maybe other Engineers) told you that your house needed foundation repair or foundation leveling. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s called Marketing.
We’ve got Shocking news for you. 100% of House foundations are not level. That’s just the simple fact. You cannot build a house foundation that is 100% level. Even in commercial buildings, constructing a foundation that is 100% level is impossible. Why would any one do a leveling job on a foundation that wasn’t level to begin with?
As a matter of fact, not only are foundations not built leveled from the get-go, but they do in fact move, and that’s perfectly Normal. Every day, your house foundation is subject to the elements, like Rain, heat, moisture, and other natural events. Clay soil reacts with these daily natural events with the result of making your foundation move. All foundations resting on clay soil will move. This is perfectly normal. Sometimes, the movement is too much, but even then, the structure might be performing well despite cracks being visible. In such a case, foundation repair is still not needed.
In some cases, you may have unnatural events affecting your foundation, like water from your sprinkler systems. Sometimes that might be OK. Other times, you may have a severe water plumbing leak in the pipes below your foundation and that could cause a major problem. Depending on the Severity of the problem, you may or may not need foundation repair.
So, yes, your foundation is not Level. That, in and of itself, is no big deal. Don’t let a sales pitch make you waste thousands of dollars on a Foundation Repair or Foundation Leveling that you do NOT need.
Don’t Trust a Salesperson… and Someone who works for Commissions & Referrals
Speaking of sales pitches, shouldn’t a Qualified person be the one looking at your Foundation? We don’t have anything against salespeople, after all, our families and friends are salespeople. Salespeople are absolutely necessary.
But should you trust a salesperson, someone who sells foundation repair, to tell you whether foundation repair or leveling is necessary for your house? Even the most honest of salespeople would have a hard time being completely Honest and unbiased if their livelihood depends on them selling you a completely, unnecessary, foundation repair.
The person who designs foundations is a Structural Engineer. Therefore, the best person to tell you whether your foundation is performing correctly is a Structural Engineer. Many of these structural engineers are licensed professional Engineers. These are truly qualified people to inspect your foundation and tell you whether foundation repair is necessary.
Still, even some Professional Engineers have a conflict of interest because many of them, although work for themselves, are either hired or received commissions and referrals from Foundation Repair companies. Obviously, even the most well intentioned Engineer will have a hard time being completely impartial in his opinion after knowing that his livelihood is also dependent on these foundation repair companies.
Internet Reviews and a Lifetime Warranty, isn’t that Good Enough?
Almost all of the Warranty contracts say, in the fine print, that the warranty is void if the foundation rises. Those that put that in their contract say this because their foundation repair system doesn’t prevent the foundation from rising and in fact, many of these foundation repair systems increase the likelihood of these foundations to rise.So when your foundation rises and it cracks your walls, tiles, ceiling, etc then the foundation repair company will not do anything about your foundation.
But what if your foundation sinks or settles, what happens? Well, guess what. Your walls, ceilings, floors, etc will crack, even the plumbing below the foundation might leak. All those costs thousands of dollars to fix. What will the Foundation Repair company do through their warranty? They will simply re-level your foundation. That’s it. They’re not going to fix your cracks, or repair the plumbing. All that money and time spent will be your responsibility.
Some people keep having cracks reappear within a few months after a foundation repair or relevel. Imagine spending thousands of dollars on a so-called “foundation repair” or “foundation leveling” just to see the same or worse problem appear and reappear. This unfortunately is the reality for a lot of homeowners who decided to call a foundation repair company for a “free inspection”.
You might be wondering, how come so many foundation repair companies have so many good Internet reviews? As we explained above, the problems on a house start developing a few months after the first foundation repair. Most people review the repair after a week of doing the repair, not several months… of course they’re going to say the foundation repair was great! They didn’t wait enough time to let the repair show whether it worked or not.
Truly Independent, Unbiased, Licensed, Professional Structural Engineers
We know it’s enticing to call several foundation repair companies to come do a “Free” inspection of your foundation. You must realize, however, it’s not free if they’re selling you something you don’t need.
Our company refers qualified Engineers. We will have a third party, Independent, licensed, Structural Engineer, go to your property and look at your foundation to determine if your foundation is in need of a repair. This will truly be an unbiased opinion because the engineer gains absolutely nothing either way on his opinion; The Engineer we refer to your property does not work with any foundation repair company, does not get referrals or commissions from them, they are truly independent. Investing a few hundred dollars for a truly unbiased opinion on your foundation from an independent structural engineer can really save you tens of thousands of dollars in a foundation repair that you don’t need.
If you’re a homeowner who is concerned about your house, or if you’re looking to sell or buy a house, or if your Home Inspector, Bank, Mortgage company, or Appraiser, said that you may have a Foundation problem, please contact us and chances are we’ll be able to find you an engineer that will save you thousands of dollars by avoiding doing any type of foundation repair and give you peace of mind. If you’re in a rush to get a report, we also work with Engineers offer next-day service.
Schedule your appointment Online (you’ll be able to see related fees) and get exclusive discounts on your report as well as faster service. We work with Structural Engineers that serve Dallas, Fort Worth, and most of the Metroplex.