Foundation repair in College Station TX - a fix aimed at what moved the house
Doors that stick or new cracks in the walls? I find what's moving your house first, so the repair goes after the cause.
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When does a College Station house need foundation repair?
Foundation repair in College Station fixes a foundation that has shifted under your house, most often by adding piers or piles, extra supports set under the slab to hold the house where it belongs.
Most folks call me after a door starts dragging or a crack shows up that wasn't there last year, and what they really want to know is whether it's serious. The price depends on how many supports your house needs, where they have to go and how much floor or yard has to be opened up to reach them. The schedule depends on the city permit and inspection and on what turns up when we look for the cause. Your written estimate spells out the work and materials for your house.
How can you tell if your foundation is moving?
Doors that stick or won't latch
Sometimes it's just humidity swelling the wood, but when several doors start dragging or missing the strike plate at once, part of the house is usually shifting and pulling the frames out of square. Waiting tends to spread the damage into trim, drywall and brick.
Cracks at the wall corners
Check the corners of doors and windows and where the walls meet the ceiling. A thin line there can be plain settling, but a crack that keeps growing or opens wider at one end points to movement, and patching it over only hides how fast it's changing.
Stair-step cracks in the brick
Outside, a crack that climbs the brick in steps along the mortar joints usually means the wall underneath has dropped or lifted a little. Left open, it lets water into the wall, and that water does its own damage long before the foundation question gets settled.
How we handle foundation repair
Sticking doors and cracked walls don't always mean the foundation moved, so I look for the cause first. Clay soil is only one thing that decides how a foundation behaves, so I also check for plumbing leaks, trees and big shrubs close to the house, how the yard handles water, whether the lot slopes and how the house was built. A pier won't fix a leak under the slab. Once we know what's moving the house, we lay out where the supports go, our crew sets them, and I check the work as it goes.
When a house moves, the brick moves with it, so we often follow a foundation repair with tuckpointing, which means raking out the cracked joints and packing in fresh mortar matched to the old so the repair doesn't stick out. A chimney often sits on its own footing, so if yours has pulled away from the wall or cracked along with the rest of the house, chimney repair is part of the same conversation.
Finding the cause first
This is for you if you've got a sticking door or a new crack and aren't sure it's the foundation. I check plumbing, trees and drainage before anything else, so you aren't paying for piers to fix a leak.
Foundation repair with brick follow-up
This is for houses that have clearly moved and cracked the brick on the way. We support the foundation first and then repoint the cracked joints to match, so the outside looks right again too.
Get an on-site look at what's moving your house
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free, done at your home, and comes with no obligation. Tell us which doors stick and where the cracks are, and I'll start there.
(979) 393-7020What foundation repair in College Station involves with the city and the soil
The City of College Station requires a building permit for foundation repair. The permit needs a plan with dimensions that shows how the house will be repaired and where the piers or piles will go. The city also inspects before any concrete is poured, and you or your contractor schedule that inspection with Planning & Development Services or on eTRAKiT, the city's online permit system. When the permit is ours to pull, we pull it and set up the inspections. If you'd rather pull it yourself on your own home, I'll tell you what the city will want to see.
Texas has large areas of clay soil that shrinks as it dries and swells as it takes on water, so the same house can look fine one season and show new cracks after a dry one. We meet that ground on jobs in Bryan and Navasota too, so we pay attention to how wet or dry the yard has been before we read anything into a crack.
What happens when you call us about your foundation?
Call or send the form
Reach us at (979) 393-7020 or through the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. Jot down which doors stick and where you've seen cracks so we can start there.
Walk the house together
I come out myself and look the job over with you, inside and out, and talk through what I'd fix and what I'd leave alone. You get a written estimate that spells out the work and the materials, so you can see where your money goes before you decide anything.
Sort out the city side
We take care of what the city needs before anyone starts digging. The permit and its inspection before concrete set the pace of the work.
Do the work and walk it
Our crew of masons does the work, and I check it as it goes. At the end we walk it together, and we leave the place clean.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit for foundation repair in College Station?
Yes, College Station requires a building permit for foundation repair. It comes with a repair plan and an inspection before concrete goes in. When the permit is ours to pull, we handle it and set up the inspections.
Is every crack in my walls a sign of a foundation problem?
No. Cracks in sheetrock, brick veneer and floor tile can come from plenty of things besides foundation movement, so a crack by itself doesn't prove the foundation moved. A pattern tells me more, like doors sticking on the same side of the house where the cracks are.
What is the best way to handle a tree growing close to my foundation?
Don't cut it down until someone has looked, because taking it out can cause trouble of its own. A tree or big shrub near a foundation may dry out the soil under it and make it shrink. Removing it may stop that, but it may also let the ground swell back up and lift the slab, especially if the tree was there before the house. I'd rather look at the tree, the cracks and the soil together before you call the tree service.
How much does foundation repair cost in College Station?
Your price comes down to how many piers your house needs, where they go and what has to be opened up to reach them. Your written estimate gives you the figure for your house. One Texas contractor's guide says a slab that sags in the middle needs interior piers, and those cost significantly more to install. That's because crews either break through the floors, which makes dust and means new flooring, or hand-dig tunnels under the slab, which is cleaner.
Should I have my plumbing tested before foundation repair?
It's worth doing. One contractor's guide says lifting a house can stress aging pipes and treats a water pressure test on the pipes as a necessity. A leak under the slab can also be what moved the foundation in the first place, which is why leaks are on my list when I look for the cause.
How do I check if dry soil is pulling away from my foundation?
Walk around the house and look where the soil meets the foundation. A gap there means the ground has dried out and needs watering, and no gap means the soil moisture is good. Note where you find gaps and tell us when you call.
College Station, TX
Get the cause found before the fix
Tell us which doors stick, where the cracks are and any gaps you've found along the slab, and I'll know where to start when I come out for your free estimate.