By Brenda Masse
Special Contributor
According to Groundworks, seven of the top 15 cities in the US for foundation problems are in Texas, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area comes in at No. 3. So if you own a home, or are considering buying a home, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, chances are pretty good that you’ll have to deal with foundation issues at some point.
What the Groundworks report doesn’t tell you is that there are a few different professionals involved when you’re dealing with foundation problems: a home inspector, a structural engineer, and a foundation repair person. Let’s look at some examples to help understand what each one does.
Home Inspector
This video is a great example of the kind of analysis a home inspector will do. He observes and reports any damage or movement indicators to create a picture of the current state of the foundation, and makes recommendations for further analysis if needed. They will give you a general opinion of the state of the foundation.
When you’re buying a home, ask lots of questions of your inspector and make sure you understand how to maintain the foundation and address any problems there might be.
Structural Engineer
A structural engineer is an expert who will take detailed measurements and give you a complete picture of any foundation movement or damage, and help you develop a plan to repair and/or mitigate future damage. They don’t do the repair or sell you anything — it’s more like a diagnosis. Many people will go straight to the foundation repair company because they will do an analysis for free. But foundation repair techs are not engineers, and they are there to sell you their services.
This is a good read about choosing a structural engineer vs. foundation repair.
In this video, our inspector got a rare look directly at the slab because the homeowners were replacing the flooring. This would be a good time to call a structural engineer.
Foundation Repair
The foundation repair company comes in when it’s time to do the work. They will use your engineer’s report, if you have one, and do their own analysis to fix the problems while causing the least disruption to the property.
Here you can see a previous repair on a pier-and-beam foundation. Originally, the wood beam was sitting directly on the concrete pier, but movement caused a gap and a foundation repair person placed these metal shims to close the gap. Now, you can see that there has been more movement. If you look closely, there is a gap on the right side between the shims and the concrete pier, so this will need to be propped up again so the house is being properly supported.
Here you can see a large crack in the perimeter beam of the foundation. This is a clear indication of movement, and the foundation will almost certainly need work. In an older-aged home like this one, the owner may have had work done previously, so a buyer could ask for those receipts and consult the same foundation repair company that would have records.
As a homeowner in Texas, it’s not a matter of if you’ll have to do foundation repair, but when you’ll have to do foundation repair. Get to know the folks who can help you with that so you can take care of your property and plan for future costs.
