House leveling in Corpus Christi
How to tell a house has gone out of level
Stand back from the house and look along the brick courses and the roof edge against something straight, such as a neighbour's eave. Indoors, look for a gap that tapers along the top of a wall, crown moulding pulling away at one end of a room, or countertops no longer level with the backsplash.
Settling on one side usually gathers its symptoms in one area: a corner bedroom with a sticking door, a crack over the window and a floor that falls toward the outside wall.
Sunk edge or raised middle
This is the question the inspection has to answer before anyone lifts anything. If an edge has sunk, the soil under it has given way and the fix is to support that edge. If the middle has been pushed up by wet, swollen clay, the edges only look low, and jacking them higher makes the house worse.
Elevation readings across the whole floor separate the two. A slope that falls steadily toward one outside wall reads as settlement. A dome with a high point near a bathroom or kitchen reads as heave and sends the search toward a leak. Why foundations move in Corpus Christi covers the soil behind both.
What leveling a slab house involves
Details vary by company and by pier type. This is the usual order.
- 1
An engineer's plan
The City of Corpus Christi asks for an engineered, sealed foundation plan with the permit application for foundation repair. The plan shows where the supports go.
- 2
Digging at each support point
Holes are dug beside the slab at intervals along the low side. Interior points are reached through a tunnel dug below the slab, or through squares cut out of the flooring.
- 3
Installing piers
Steel tube, concrete segments or drilled shafts go down to soil stiff enough to bear the load.
- 4
Lifting
Jacks seated on the pier heads nudge the concrete upward in small bites. A crew member indoors keeps an eye on plaster, door swings and the altimeter.
- 5
Locking off and backfilling
The jacks are replaced by permanent shims or brackets, the holes are filled, and plumbing under the slab is commonly tested because pipes can be strained by a lift.
What level means in practice
Do not expect billiard-table flatness. Crews try to return the sunken end most of the way home, stopping short of harm to walls and pipes, and then pin it there. A good proposal states the target in plain terms and admits that some slope may remain.
Expect some new hairline cracks in drywall and possibly in tile as the house moves back. Ask which cosmetic repairs are included. Raised houses are leveled from underneath using bottle jacks and fresh shims; see the pier and beam guide.
Questions about house leveling
Must we move out during the lift?
Families generally remain when digging is confined to the outside walls. Piers placed indoors bring jackhammers, grit and holes in the flooring of the affected rooms. Ask the company what its plan needs from you. It is the company's call, and yours, not something this page can settle for your house.
Will the cracks close up?
Many narrow when the low section comes up. They seldom close completely, and brick mortar joints usually need repointing afterward.
How long do the supports last?
That depends on the pier type, the depth reached and how the soil around the house is looked after. Ask each company for its warranty in writing and read what voids it. The site that referred you gives no warranty of its own.
Before any jack goes under the house, somebody has to map which end dropped. Start there.
Call (361) 217-1905Ready 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.