Before you sign a foundation repair contract: the questions that separate good companies

Six questions that tell you most of what you need to know

Before you hire a foundation repair company, ask to see the elevation readings behind its plan, why it chose that pier type and pier count for your house, what is causing the movement and whether its plan fixes that cause, who will do the work, what the warranty covers and what voids it, and whether it will tell you if no repair is needed. A good company answers all six plainly and puts the answers in writing. If the answers are vague, keep looking.

I evaluate foundations for FCS Foundation & Concrete, and I sit on the other side of these questions every week. I would rather a homeowner grill me than sign something they do not understand. The rest of this guide explains each question, what a solid answer sounds like, and the answers that should make you slow down.

Can you show me the measurements behind this plan?

Every honest foundation recommendation starts with an elevation survey: readings taken across the floor to map which areas are high, which are low and by how much. That map is the evidence. Without it, a pier plan is an opinion. When I finish a survey, I walk the homeowner through it room by room, because the readings are what justify every pier on the estimate.

Ask to see the readings, not just a sketch with dots where piers go. Ask where the low point is and how far it is from the high point. Our Dallas page treats a floor slope of more than about 1 inch over 15 to 20 feet as a warning sign, so ask how your numbers compare. If a company cannot or will not show you its measurements, you are being asked to trust a guess.

Why this many piers, and why this kind?

The pier count is the biggest driver of the price, so it deserves the most scrutiny. A good answer ties each pier to a section of the slab that the survey shows has dropped, and explains why the plan stops where it does. A weak answer is a round number with no reasoning. Our own pricing page warns that unusually low quotes may under-pier a home, which is how the same house ends up needing a second repair a few years later.

The pier type matters as much. Pressed concrete, steel push piers, drilled concrete, bell-bottom and hybrid systems each fit different soil, loads and depths. Ask why the company chose its method for your house specifically. If every house it looks at gets the same pier, that is a product being sold, not a diagnosis. I explain how I decide in my comparison of steel and concrete piers, and the price side of these choices in what foundation repair costs in Dallas.

What do you think caused this, and does your plan fix it?

Piers support a slab. They do not stop the water that moved it. On our expansive clay, the usual causes are drought followed by heavy rain, poor drainage, downspouts that dump at the foundation, large trees drawing moisture from one side, bad grading and leaking plumbing under the slab. A company that proposes piers without naming a cause is treating the symptom.

Ask directly: what moved my house? If the answer involves water at the foundation, ask whether the plan includes drainage correction. If there is any sign of a plumbing leak, such as a section of floor pushed up rather than dropped or an unexplained jump in the water bill, ask whether they test the plumbing before lifting. We keep a licensed master plumber on staff for exactly this reason, so the leak and the lift are handled in the same plan.

Answers that should make you slow down

Some answers are not necessarily dishonest, but each one is a reason to get another opinion before you sign. If you hear more than one of these from the same company, I would treat that as your answer.

If you get a second opinion and it differs, do not average the two. Ask both companies to explain the difference using their readings. The one that can is usually the one to trust.

• A price quoted over the phone or from photos, before anyone measures
• Pressure to sign the same day, or a discount that expires when the estimator leaves
• No elevation readings, or readings you are not allowed to keep
• The same pier type recommended for every house regardless of soil or load
• No mention of drainage, plumbing or any other cause of the movement
• A lifetime warranty described in one sentence, with no written terms

Who will actually be at my house?

The person who sells the job and the people who do it are often different. Ask whether the crew is the company's own employees or a subcontractor, who supervises the lift, and who you call if something goes wrong on day two. At FCS the work is done by in-house crews, and I think that matters, because the company that installed the piers is the one standing behind them.

Ask about credentials you can check. Our company is a member of the National Foundation Repair Association, and our inspectors, including me, are NFRA-certified. For any plumbing work, ask for the plumber's license and look it up on the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners public license search. Ask whether the company carries insurance and is registered with the city where your house sits, and who pulls the permit, since many cities in the area require permits for structural foundation work.

What exactly does the warranty cover, and what voids it?

Lifetime transferable is a phrase every company uses. The details are what you are buying. Ask for the warranty in writing before you sign, and read the exclusions as carefully as the promise. Our own lifetime warranty, for example, covers pressed pilings and states its goal in numbers: stabilizing the repaired portion to within one part in 240, about 1 inch in 20 feet. It also says plainly that it does not guarantee no future work will ever be needed.

Any honest warranty has conditions. Ours requires a passing plumbing test from a licensed plumber within 90 days before any warranty work, payment within 30 days of completion, and reasonable maintenance of watering, gutters and drainage. It is void if another company alters the piers or a story is added without written approval. A transfer to a new owner has to be requested in writing within 30 days of the title transfer, with a $100 fee. I cover how to keep a warranty alive in what to do after foundation repair.

• Which parts of the work carry the lifetime coverage, and which carry shorter terms
• What measurable result the warranty promises
• What you must do to keep it valid
• How a transfer works when you sell, and what it costs
• What the company will do, and not do, if the house moves again

Will you tell me if I do not need a repair?

This is the question I would ask first if I were the homeowner. Plenty of the cracks I look at are cosmetic or seasonal, and some movement calms down once drainage is corrected. A company that has never told a homeowner no is not diagnosing. It is selling, and every crack it sees becomes a reason for piers. You can test this gently: ask what it would recommend if the budget were zero, or what you should fix around the house before anything structural. The answer tells you whether the estimator is thinking about your house or about the sale. Our evaluation is free, and our stated policy is to say so, in writing, when no repair is needed.

Watch how the company handles a borderline case. A good answer sounds like this: the movement is small, here is what to fix around the house, and here is when it is worth measuring again. If you are still working out whether you have a problem at all, my guide to stair-step cracks and sticking doors walks through the signs.

Putting the answers side by side

Before you decide, ask the practical questions too. How many days will the crew be on site, and can we stay in the house? Will any piers go inside, and who restores the flooring? Which plants or beds along the foundation will be disturbed, and who puts them back? When should I patch drywall and repaint? For reference, our average job takes two to three days, most of the work is exterior so families usually stay home, and our FAQ recommends waiting 8 to 12 weeks before cosmetic repairs so the structure can settle. A company that has clear answers to the logistics usually has clear answers to the engineering as well.

Invite two or three companies out, ask every one of them the same questions, and write the answers down while they are in front of you. Then compare the readings, the pier counts and methods, what each plan does about the cause, and the warranty terms. The total price belongs at the bottom of that list, not the top.

If you would like us to be one of those opinions, the evaluation costs nothing. I measure the house, explain what the readings show, and if repair is warranted you get a written, itemized estimate on the spot or within 24 hours. Bring your other bids. I am happy to explain where we agree and where we differ.

Questions people ask me