The drought did a number on my foundation. Time to bite the bullet and get it repaired. Does anyone have a first hand recommendation? Thanks in advance.

Parents used Du West this summer for a job. About 45 feet of tunnels and about 20 peirs around the house (6 inside and 3 breakouts outside). Pricey job, but holy cow, house is so much better now.

Plumbing was broken at the Master bath area, but near exisiting tunneling. So the repair job was a little cheaper, since they only had to go about 3 feet in the tunnels. Fixed in a day.

I would definitely make sure you get the pre and post plumbing test. If not, you could be flushing stuff under your house. Literally.

~egon

Thanks doc. The previous owners actually had it "fixed" before we closed on the home, and I have the "lifetime warranty". Once we moved in I had the 3 cracks above a couple of doorways completely fixed. 2 of them are now back. Called the foundation repair company to come out and fix it, as per lifetime warranty, and they told me the other side of the house was sinking, and they had only fixed one side. Theoretically, that makes sense to me, because only one side of the house was fixed, but I don't know if I actually believe that to be true. I want a couple more opinions before moving forward.

Unless you are absolutely positive you need it repaired, I would have a structural engineer take a look at it first. It was the best $400 I've ever spent. They don't have an interest in selling you $20k on foundation work unless it's really necessary. Cosmetic repairs are a lot cheaper!

Arrow Foundation. The guy's an Aggie and friend, he's put piers around our house.

If you are going to stay there for more than 5 years then cry once with Dawson foundation repair.

If less than 5 go with duwest or the other highly advertised companies.

[This message has been edited by stroodles (edited 2/20/2012 8:16p).]

Jericho is the only company I'd use.

I used Jericho and was happy. I have had them recommended by several realtors as well.

How old is the house and has the cast iron underground plumbing ever been replaced? I learned the answer to this question the hard way.

I typically avoid contractors that advertise incessantly because I have found that they are 20%+ higher on their bids.

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Unless you are absolutely positive you need it repaired, I would have a structural engineer take a look at it first. It was the best $400 I've ever spent. They don't have an interest in selling you $20k on foundation work unless it's really necessary. Cosmetic repairs are a lot cheaper!

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Agree completely with this statement. I did the same thing during the drought, had an engineer come out and shoot measurements, and inspect the foundation. We had doors that weren't latching and couldn't even lock/unlock the front door. Our foundation is nearly 60yrs old, and he said we were well within tolerable limits of movement and stress for a foundation that old.

Not to mention, that if you DO need foundation repair an engineer will also provide you with guidance on where the repair should be done, and how many piers etc.

If you call 4 different foundation companies, I'll be you get 4 different approaches to the repair.

With foundation repair you have the cost of the repair job plus any additional cosmetic fixes that are necessary as a result of their job. They are not responsible for cracked tile or busted sheet rock as a result of "re-leveling" the foundation.

Well worth $400.

Dawson Foundation Repair "fixed" it before we purchased the home. The sellers had Dawson do the repairs after they had moved out, presumably because it was keeping them from being able to sell the home. There is a lifetime warranty, which was transferred to my name. They installed 9 piers along the entire east side of the house. I have the engineer's report prior to and after the work was done. I have the engineer's inspection saying the work had been properly completed. I have the quote and recommendations from Dawson. Piers were installed in all places recommended. That was in October 2009.

Fast forward to early 2011 (maybe March). I had 3 cracks in the sheetrock completely replaced (not just tape and float) before we moved in March 2010. One year later the cracks re-appeared in the exact same places. I called Dawson Foundation to come out and look at it since there is a lifetime warranty. I was told by the person that looked at the cracks that now the west side of the house was sinking, and they would have to put piers in all the way along that side of the house to fix it....and it would cost around $5,000. I told him I didn't understand how the same cracks would be caused by the opposite side of the house sinking, and that it made more sense to me that the east side they had fixed in 2009 must be sinking again. He promptly dismissed that theory. There was no engineer's report to make this determination. I didn't believe him and wanted a different opinion. I put it off b/c of the drought, so I'm just now getting to it.

If Dawson is supposed to be the place to go if I want a long term solution, then I'm wondering why it wasn't fixed completely to begin with. The warranty states that it only covers the piers they install, and does not apply to other areas of the home that may need work in the future. Sounds like they have a vested interest in telling me the other side of the house needs to be raised instead of there being a problem with the side they already "fixed".

Sounds like an engineer report along with a couple of quotes from other foundation companies will give me a better idea. There is definitely something wrong with the foundation. We got to a point where we couldn't lock the deadbolt in the front and back door last summer. So something needs to be fixed. I really want to make sure it's done correctly this time, because I want to do some remodeling too, and I don't want there to be other issues a year from now.

Can any of you guys recommend a solid structural engineer based in Houston?

Foundation repair - Church Services (ask for JR Hernandez) or Olshan.

Structural engineer - Robert Taylor with Chelsea Architects

Bluto, I had similar issues at a house I owned and know it's frustrating. But I also learned that just because there were cracks and doors sticking, etc it doesn't necessarily mean the foundation is actually compromising the structure. You run the risk of 'fixing' one part of the house and everything is fine for a while. But that fix could put more pressure on the untouched parts and it sinks, etc. You also run the risk of cracking underground plumbing. I am in no way suggesting yours may actually need work, just giving an alternate point of view that save me big $$$$. (Had a handyman come out and rehang doors and do drywall work instead).

Saturn, I've used the 1st one linked below twice (on separate homes) and can vouch for his knowledge despite his unimpressive website design (look at his credentials - pretty impressive). My brother and another friend used the guy on the 2nd link and were happy.

http://www.r-michael-gray-pe.com/houston%20engineering%20foundation%20inspection%20reports%20in%2012%20hours.html

http://www.profengineering.com/

Oh, my folks lived in the house since 1992, so the foundation REALLY needed to be fixed. 2 chinese tallow trees and about 3 different droughts did a number on the house.

Pretty much all around piers, inside and out. Had 4 different quotes with 2 different outcomes. One was for $5k, only outside. The other 3 were inside/outside and about $25k.

~egon