The main cost drivers
- The extent of the movement
- Bids are built mostly on a count of supports. A single dropped corner takes a few. An entire wall, or trouble beneath interior partitions, multiplies that.
- Depth to firm ground
- Every pier keeps going down until the soil pushes back hard enough. Extra feet cost steel, concrete and hours, and nobody knows the final depth until the crew is on site. Find out the rate for footage beyond the estimate.
- Getting to the work
- Open lawn is easy. Decks, concrete walks, mature beds, air conditioning pads and tight side yards all slow a crew down. Interior supports need tunnelling or openings cut in the floor.
- Slab or pier and beam
- The two are different jobs with different labour and materials. Pier and beam work can sometimes be staged; slab piers generally go in together.
- Engineering
- Corpus Christi requires an engineered, sealed foundation plan for a repair permit. Some companies include the engineer's fee and some list it separately.
- Permit
- The city permit carries a fee, and so may inspections. Check that the proposal says who applies and who pays.
- Plumbing
- Drain pipes cast below a slab get flexed when it is raised. Most jobs end with a pressure or flow test on them, and whatever that test turns up is a second bill, typically from a licensed plumber.
- Putting things back
- Drywall cracks, brick mortar, tile, flooring and landscaping disturbed by the job. Proposals differ widely on what is included.
- Drainage and soil work
- If water caused the problem, grading, gutters or drains may be recommended alongside the structural repair.
Comparing two proposals
Put the documents side by side and line up the same items: number of supports, type, expected depth, lift target, engineering, permit, plumbing test, cosmetic repairs and warranty. The cheaper sheet frequently covers less ground, which may suit the house or may not.
Ask each company to explain any large difference in the number of piers. One may be treating only the worst area while another is supporting a whole wall. Both can be defensible, but you should know which you are buying.
Paying for it
Standard home policies commonly carve out settlement, shrinkage and ground movement, while a few respond when a pipe bursts without warning and harms the structure. The wording in your own policy governs, so pull it out or put the question to your agent. An insurer's decision is the insurer's; no repair firm or website makes it.
A repair firm may introduce you to a lender. That is borrowing, with its own contract and interest, and deserves a separate read from the repair agreement.
Questions about cost
Why won't anyone give me a price over the phone?
Because the price depends on how many supports are needed and where, and that comes from measuring the floors. A figure quoted without readings is a guess. What the phone call can do is set up the visit where the measuring happens.
Is the inspection charged for?
Each company sets its own policy, and an independent engineer always charges a fee for an evaluation. Ask when you speak with the company so there is no surprise.
Does waiting make it more expensive?
Sometimes. Movement that continues can add to the area needing support and to the cosmetic damage. Other houses sit unchanged for years. Dated photos and pencil marks on crack ends tell you which kind you have.
Ready for someone to measure the house?
Dial the number and say what you have noticed. A foundation repair firm covering your part of the Coastal Bend answers, books a visit, and afterward sends its report and price under its own name. That firm is a separate business from this website.
Wall, ceiling or floor shifting while you watch? Gas in the air? Get everybody outdoors, then phone 911 or the gas utility.
House foundations only
Call (361) 217-1905Corpus Christi Foundation Repairs refers callers and repairs nothing itself. Calls may be recorded. Details: referral disclosure.