Fast decisions cost the most
Seeing a new crack across a slab or a bedroom wall makes most people want an answer the same day. Foundation movement almost never demands one. Settlement usually plays out over seasons, which means the cheapest thing you can do right now is gather information. This guide is arranged as a timeline, so you know what belongs in each stretch and what can wait.
If something is changing by the hour, such as a door that suddenly won't open, a crack you can fit a finger into, a gas smell or a water leak you can hear, skip ahead and call the relevant utility or a professional now.
Days 1 to 7: capture the starting point
Your goal in the first week is a baseline you can compare against later.
1. Photograph every crack you're worried about, with a tape measure or coin in the frame. 2. Pencil a tick at each end of each crack and write the date next to it. 3. Measure the widest point with a ruler or a feeler gauge and note it. 4. Open and close every interior and exterior door; list the ones that rub, stick or won't latch. 5. Set a marble on hard floors in a few rooms and note which way it rolls, if at all. 6. Read the water meter with every tap closed, then again an hour later.
Keep all of this in one notebook or one folder on your phone.
Weeks 2 to 6: measure, and separate wood from concrete
Return to each mark every week or two and photograph it from the same spot.
Some of what looks like foundation trouble is wood moving. In an average year at Waco-Madison Cooper, NOAA counts about 1,889 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 3,503 hours above 67°F. Doors, jambs and trim take up moisture from the air and swell, then shrink back as it dries. A door that binds evenly along its edge in one stretch of weather and works fine in another is often just wood. A door whose gap is wedge-shaped, tight at one top corner and wide at the other, suggests the frame itself is being pulled out of square. Note which you have.
The same station's data gives a 1% summer design temperature of 99°F and a 99% winter design temperature of 26°F, with about 22 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year. Write the date and the weather next to each reading, so an evaluator can see whether a crack opens and closes with temperature or keeps widening in one direction.
During the next hard rain
NOAA's engineering weather data for Waco-Madison Cooper lists a 100-year rainfall rate of 4.0 inches per hour. When a heavy storm comes through, put on a raincoat and walk the outside of the house. Watch for:
- gutters spilling over the front edge;
- downspouts emptying against the wall;
- water running toward the house across a patio, walk or bed;
- puddles that sit along the slab for hours afterward.
Every one of those is worth fixing whatever the foundation verdict turns out to be, and they are usually the least expensive items on the list.
After a windstorm
The same data lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph, a 3-second gust measured at 33 feet. Once the wind drops, look for gutters pulled away from the fascia, downspout sections lying in the yard and limbs blocking a drain path. Put the water path back together promptly.
Around week 6: bring in an evaluator
By now your notes show whether things are stable or moving. You can ask a repair company for a free inspection or pay a structural engineer who doesn't sell repairs. The engineer costs money up front but has nothing to sell you afterward. Either way, bring the notebook. Ask for a written finding that covers what is moving, what is causing it, whether it is still active, and what repair or monitoring the evaluator would advise.
Weeks 6 to 10: line up comparable bids
Give every bidder a copy of the same report so the proposals answer the same question. Ask each to put in writing:
- the repair method and why it suits your house;
- the count, type and location of piers, anchors or injection points;
- drainage changes included in the price;
- cleanup and restoring the yard and plantings;
- which city permits the job needs, and who pulls them;
- proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation;
- the payment schedule and the warranty terms, including transfer to a buyer.
If one company proposes far more work than the others, ask it to explain the gap in writing.
The week of the repair
Clear a path along the walls where the crew will dig. Take pictures inside the house before work begins, because lifting a slab can open small new cracks in drywall and tile, and you'll want proof of what was there before. Move fragile items off shelves on the affected walls. Tie payments to finished stages instead of paying most of the price at the start.
Months 1 to 12: watch it settle in
Mark the old cracks again after the work and keep checking them monthly for a year. Keep the downspouts extended and the gutters clear. Check again after every heavy rain and every strong wind. If a crack reopens or a door begins sticking in a way the swelling notes don't explain, call the installer in writing, with your dated photos, while the warranty still applies.
The folder that outlasts the repair
Keep the baseline notebook, the engineer's report, every bid, the contract, the permit paperwork, final invoices and the warranty in one place. A buyer's inspector will ask about foundation work, and a complete, dated record answers most of their questions before they ask them.