Three kinds of foundation inspection
Around Austin, “foundation inspection” can mean three different visits. They answer different questions and produce different paperwork.
| Compared | Repair contractor | Home inspector (TREC) | Licensed engineer you hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Diagnose and price a repair | Report the home’s condition for a sale | Give an independent engineering opinion |
| Usually includes | Walk-through, elevation survey, written plan and price | Visual check and a written opinion on foundation performance | Walk-through, often an elevation survey, a sealed report or letter |
| Can recommend a repair design? | Proposes a plan | No: the engineers’ board says an inspector can’t give an engineering opinion on a foundation without a PE license | Yes |
| Typical cost | Set by the contractor; ask | Part of the home inspection | Report averages $550 (HomeAdvisor) |
| Watch for | It’s also how the contractor sells the job | It’s visual only | Whether the engineer also works for the contractor |
A Texas home inspector is required to give a written opinion on the foundation’s performance and to list the visible signs behind it, such as binding doors, sloping floors and cracked masonry. That opinion is often what sends a buyer or seller to a contractor or engineer in the first place.
What a contractor’s inspection usually covers
- The story. When you first noticed the problem, whether it changes with the seasons, past repairs, any plumbing leaks.
- Inside. Doors and windows that bind, drywall cracks, gaps at trim and ceilings, floors that slope, tile or slab cracks.
- Outside. Brick and siding cracks, the gap at the frieze board, how the yard drains, gutters and downspouts, trees close to the house.
- The survey. Readings across the floor with a zip level or laser, from which the contractor draws a map of high and low areas.
- The plan. Where the contractor would put piers or shims, how many, the price, and what’s excluded.
On a pier and beam house, the inspector also looks underneath: the piers, the beams, the shims and any rot or standing water in the crawl space.
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The floor elevation survey
The survey measures each spot on the floor against one reference point. Plotted on a drawing of the house, the readings show the foundation’s shape: a corner that dropped, a middle that heaved, or a tilt from one side to the other.
Two cautions from the engineers who write Texas guidance:
- It’s a snapshot. The Foundation Performance Association calls an elevation survey a snapshot of the foundation at the time it’s taken. Houses aren’t built perfectly flat, so one survey can’t always tell original construction from later movement. A second survey six to twelve months later can show whether the house is still moving.
- It isn’t the whole answer. The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers says a floor elevation survey should not be the only basis for judging deflection and tilt. Cracks, door fit and the age of the damage count too.
Austin’s seasons matter here. Clay soils east of I-35 shrink in a dry summer and swell after rain, so a survey taken in August can look different from one taken the following spring. If a plan hinges on one reading taken in the middle of a drought, ask how the season was accounted for.
When are the readings “too much”?
Engineers in Texas use two measures, and published guidance gives each a threshold:
| Measure | What it is | Guideline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deflection | How much the floor bows between two points, compared with the distance between them | No more than L/360 | Foundation Performance Association |
| Tilt | How far the whole foundation leans from one end to the other | 1% or less | Foundation Performance Association |
| Measuring span | The shortest distance that deflection should be judged over | At least 20 feet, or the foundation width if smaller | Foundation Performance Association |
ASCE Texas adds that a tilt over 1% is usually noticeable, and that a reading past the deflection limit with only minimal symptoms doesn’t settle the question on its own; the guidelines’ verdict for that case is additional information needed. These are engineering guidelines, not building code. A contractor’s plan won’t always cite them, but asking “how far out of tolerance is the house, and by whose measure?” is a fair question.
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Engineer evaluations: Level A, B and C
If you hire a licensed professional engineer, the ASCE Texas guidelines describe three depths of investigation:
| Level | What it includes |
|---|---|
| A | An interview, a walk-through and visual observations. The guidelines call it a report of first impressions. |
| B | Everything in A, plus a relative elevation survey and a scaled drawing of the readings. |
| C | Everything in B, plus whatever testing the engineer judges necessary: soil sampling, plumbing and material testing. |
The Foundation Performance Association’s evaluation procedure requires Level B or C: in other words, an elevation survey, not just a look around. If you’re paying for an engineer’s opinion on whether to repair, ask which level you’re getting. The engineer guide covers when one is worth hiring.
Plumbing checks
Lifting a slab can stress the drain lines inside it, and a leak under a slab can be the reason the slab moved. Some inspections include a plumbing test or recommend one before and after the lift. When a buyer orders one in Texas, the TREC addendum has a licensed plumber run the hydrostatic test. Ask whether a plumbing test is part of the plan, and who pays for it.
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How to prepare
- Photograph every crack with a date and something for scale, and repeat a month later.
- List the doors and windows that stick, and when they started.
- Find the year the house was built and any past repair paperwork.
- Clear access to the crawl space on a pier and beam house.
- Note where water stands after rain and where downspouts empty.
What you should leave with
A written plan or report, the elevation readings or drawing, the pier or shim locations, the price and what it excludes, and a clear answer on permits and warranties. If the visit ends with pressure to sign that day, take the paperwork and get a second opinion.