Slow down first
A foundation repair is one of the larger checks a homeowner writes, and the first sight of a crack can push people toward signing quickly. Most settlement happens over months or years, not days. Unless something is changing fast, there is time to work through the steps below in order and spend money only once you understand the problem.
Step 1: Rule out seasonal swelling
Doors and drawers that bind in summer and free up in winter are often a wood problem, not a foundation problem. In an average year at Augusta/Bush Field, NOAA counts about 1,242 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 2,890 hours above 67°F. Wood frames, trim and doors take on moisture in air like that and swell, then shrink back when the air dries. If a door sticks only in muggy months and the gaps around it stay even, run a dehumidifier or air conditioner for a few weeks and see whether it improves. If the gap around the door is wedge-shaped, tighter at one top corner than the other, that points to the frame being pulled out of square, which is worth tracking.
Step 2: Start a crack log
For every crack you're concerned about:
- photograph it with a ruler or coin beside it;
- draw a short pencil line across each end and write the date;
- measure its widest point and note it;
- record any door or window nearby that has changed.
Revisit the log every few weeks, photographing from the same spot. Steady cracks and growing cracks lead to very different decisions.
Step 3: Watch the yard in a downpour
NOAA's engineering weather data for Augusta/Bush Field gives a 100-year rainfall rate of 4.0 inches per hour. During the next heavy rain, walk the outside of the house and note where water collects. Downspouts that discharge beside the wall, soil sloping toward the house and puddles along a slab edge all deserve fixing whatever an evaluator later finds. These are usually the cheapest repairs on the list.
Step 4: Walk the house after wind
The station's data lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph as a 3-second gust at 33 feet. After a strong storm, check for gutters pulled off the fascia, downspouts knocked loose and fallen limbs blocking drainage. A broken downspout can send a roof's runoff to one corner of the foundation until someone notices.
Step 5: Note temperature swings
The NOAA data puts the 1% summer design temperature at 94°F with a 76°F mean coincident wet-bulb, and the 99% winter design temperature at 25°F, with about 40 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year. Add a line to your log when cracks appear to open in hot, dry spells or after a cold snap. That pattern helps an evaluator separate thermal and moisture cycling from settlement that keeps going in one direction.
Step 6: Choose an evaluator
You have two kinds of choices: a repair company's free inspection, or a paid evaluation from a structural engineer who doesn't sell repairs. The second costs money up front but gives you a report with no product attached. Bring your crack log and photos either way. Ask for a written finding on what is moving, what is causing it, whether it is still active and what repair, if any, is needed.
Step 7: Collect comparable bids
Hand each bidder the same report and ask for proposals that spell out the method, the number and placement of piers, anchors or injection points, the expected result, cleanup and landscape restoration, and the payment schedule. When one bid proposes far more work than the others, ask it to explain why in writing.
Step 8: Check each company
Ask what state license, if any, the company holds and look it up on the Georgia Secretary of State's license lookup. Ask for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation. Ask which permits the repair needs and who pulls them, and whether an engineer will sign off at the end.
Step 9: During the work
Clear the area the crew needs, move valuables away from walls that may be lifted, and photograph the interior before work starts, since lifting can open new cosmetic cracks in drywall. Keep payments tied to completed stages rather than paying most of the price up front.
Step 10: Afterward
Keep the crack log going for at least a year. Mark the old cracks again and note whether they have stayed closed. Keep gutters clean and downspouts extended, and recheck after every big storm. If a crack reopens or a door starts sticking again outside the muggy months, call the installer back promptly and in writing, while the warranty clock is still running, and send along the dated photos from your log so the company can see exactly what changed and when.
Keep one folder
File the photos, log, engineer's report, bids, contract, any permits, the warranty and final invoices together. When you sell, a buyer's inspector will ask about the repair, and a complete record shows what was done and why.