After the piers go in: keeping the warranty valid and the repair worth something at sale

The short list for the months after a repair

After foundation repair, get a passing plumbing test from a licensed plumber and send in the results within 30 days, pay the balance within 30 days, and file every document: the final elevations, the scope of work and the warranty. From then on, keep watering, gutters and drainage under control, let no one else alter the piers, and get written approval before any work that changes the load on the foundation. When you sell, request the warranty transfer in writing within 30 days after the title changes hands. Those steps keep the warranty alive and give the next buyer answers instead of questions.

I am a structural analyst at FCS Foundation & Concrete, and I use our own warranty as the example throughout this guide, because it is the one I know line by line. Other companies' terms differ, so read yours. But the logic is the same everywhere: a warranty protects a repair only as long as the conditions around it stay reasonable.

The first 30 days decide whether you have a warranty

Two deadlines start the day the work is completed, and missing either one voids our warranty. The first is the plumbing test. Lifting a slab moves the pipes inside it, so our terms require a passing domestic water pressure test and a sewer hydrostatic test by a licensed plumber, with the proof received within 30 days of completion. If either test fails, a leak locate is needed. Cleanouts may be required for the test and are not part of the foundation work.

The second is payment, which is due within 30 days of completion unless your contract says otherwise in writing. Neither deadline is difficult, but both are easy to forget once the crew has gone and life returns to normal. Put both on the calendar the day the job is finished. If you want to see where these steps fall in the overall job, my walk-through of a foundation repair week covers the days of work and the weeks after.

• Schedule the water pressure and sewer hydrostatic tests with a licensed plumber
• Send the passing results in within 30 days of completion
• Pay the balance within 30 days unless the contract says otherwise
• Collect the final elevations, scope of work and written warranty
• Photograph the finished work and any remaining cracks for your records

Build a foundation file and keep it forever

Start a folder, paper or digital, and keep everything in it: the original evaluation and elevation survey, the estimate and contract, the final elevations, the warranty, the plumbing test results, any permit, and photos from before and after. Add anything that happens later, such as drainage work, a plumbing repair or a tree removal near the house, with dates.

This file does three jobs. It is what we ask for if you ever need warranty work. It is what a buyer, an inspector and a lender will want to see when you sell. And it is the baseline that lets anyone measuring the house in ten years tell what has changed since the repair.

Keep a copy somewhere other than the house itself, such as a cloud folder or an email to yourself, so it survives a move, a renovation or a flood. If you ever lose the warranty document, ask the company for a copy while the job is recent and the records are easy to find.

What can void the coverage

Every foundation warranty has exclusions, and reading them tells you what actually threatens a repaired house. These are the conditions in our written terms. Most of them describe changes to the soil or the structure that the piers were never designed to handle.

Two practical points follow. Before any warranty inspection or work, our terms require a passing plumbing test from within the previous 90 days, so keep the plumbing healthy and test it before you call. And if you are planning a pool, an addition or a second story, call before you sign with the builder, not after.

• Proof of the plumbing test or payment not received within 30 days of completion
• Another story added, or similar load-changing work done, without prior written approval
• A pool or underground structure built closer to the foundation than its own depth
• The foundation undermined by plumbing leaks, erosion, creek beds or excavation
• The house not reasonably maintained, including improper or uncontrolled watering, gutters or drainage
• Another company repairing, adding, adjusting or changing piers

A yearly routine that protects the repair

Piers hold the parts of the slab they support. The soil under the rest of the house still responds to water, which is why maintenance is written into the warranty. A short routine, done a few times a year, covers most of it.

Watering matters most in long dry spells. If you are in Dallas, the city's water utility states that foundations may be watered any day, at any time, with a hand-held hose, a soaker hose, a drip device or a bucket, even though sprinklers are restricted. Water evenly on every side of the house and back off in wet months. The full routine for watering and drainage is in what you can do yourself about foundation movement.

• Spring: clean gutters, confirm downspout extensions are in place, check grading after winter
• Summer: water the foundation evenly in dry spells and watch for soil pulling away from the slab
• Fall: clean gutters again and look for new cracks as the soil re-wets
• Any time: compare the water bill to last year and fix leaks quickly
• Once a year: walk the house, open every door and note any crack that is new or growing

Cosmetic repairs, new cracks and when to call

Wait 8 to 12 weeks after the work, depending on how much was done, before patching drywall, repointing brick or repainting. Our FAQ recommends that window so the structure can settle into its new position. Patching early often means patching twice.

After that, a new hairline crack is not automatically a warranty problem. Houses on clay move a little every year, and our warranty promises stabilization of the repaired portion within a stated tolerance, not a house that never moves. A crack that keeps growing, a door that starts binding again in every season, or a floor you can feel changing is worth a call. Have your foundation file ready, and a recent plumbing test, and we will measure and compare against the final elevations. Why no honest company promises zero movement is in foundation myths I correct every week.

Selling a house with a repaired foundation

A documented repair answers the questions a buyer's inspector will raise. When you list, give your agent copies of the scope of work, the final elevations and the warranty, and be ready to explain what caused the movement and what was done about the cause. Buyers are reassured by a story that ends with drainage corrected, a leak repaired and a warranty that moves with the house.

The transfer itself is simple but has a firm deadline. Our warranty transfers to each new owner with no limit on the number of transfers, provided the request arrives within 30 days after the title transfers, or the warranty is void. The request goes by certified mail with the new owner's name, the property address and a $100 check, using the transfer fee in effect at the time. Put it on the closing checklist. A guide to what the title company handles between contract and closing is in this walk-through of the 30 days under contract.

Buying a house that already had foundation work

If you are the buyer, ask for the foundation file early in the option period. Look for the company name, the date of the work, the pier count and type, the final elevations and the written warranty terms. Ask whether the warranty is transferable and who is responsible for completing the transfer, and make sure it happens within the deadline after closing. Shorter warranties for other work, such as pier-and-beam re-shimming at one year or concrete and drainage at one year, may already have expired.

Read the exclusions with your own plans in mind. If you hope to add a pool, build a second story or regrade the yard, the warranty terms may require written approval first, and a pool built too close to the foundation can void the coverage. It is far easier to learn that before closing than after the contractor has started digging.

An independent evaluation is worth having even when a warranty exists. It tells you how the house has behaved since the repair and gives you your own baseline. Our evaluation is free, and I can measure the house and compare the readings against the documents the seller provides.

When it is time for a check-up

Whether you had the repair done years ago, bought a house with one, or are about to sell, a fresh set of elevations settles questions quickly. I measure the house, compare the readings with whatever records you have, look at the drainage and the plumbing signs, and tell you plainly whether anything has changed. If no work is needed, that goes in writing too, and it becomes one more useful page in your foundation file.

A check-up makes the most sense at a few predictable moments: before you list a house, during a buyer's option period, after a long drought or an unusually wet season, after a plumbing leak has been repaired, and when a crack you have been watching keeps growing. Our evaluation is free anywhere in our Dallas–Fort Worth service area, and you get the readings and the explanation in writing either way.

Questions people ask me