How to Choose a Foundation Engineer or Repair Contractor - 4 Foundation Contractors, 4 Opinions

Choosing a foundation repair contractor: Four contractors, four opinions, how do I decide whom to believe?
- How to Perform Visual Diagnostic Inspection of a Foundation Wall or Slab
- Types of foundation damage
- Extent of foundation damage
- Photographs of foundation crack patterns
- Advice on choosing a foundation engineer, contractor, or expert to diagnose and repair problems
Questions & answers about choosing a foundation repair contractor
References

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This article describes how to choose a foundation crack diagnostic engineer or contractor, how to choose a foundation repair expert, and how the expert will evaluate building foundation damage. This article series describes how to evaluate and repair foundation damage. Types of foundation cracks, crack patterns, differences in the meaning of cracks in different foundation materials, site conditions, building history, and other evidence of building movement and damage are described to assist in recognizing foundation defects and to help the inspector separate cosmetic or low-risk conditions from those likely to be important and potentially costly to repair.

4 Different Contractors, 4 Different Opinions about Foundation Cracks: Who's Correct?

Question: I've now asked four foundation contractors and gotten very different opinions

Sketch of differential settlement (below left) is provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates.

I'm going a little nuts here about this foundation crack and would love some guidance. When I bought my 100 year old home in Brooklyn a year ago, the basement side-wall right near the front of the house had a diagonal crack from a window to the corner. it's about 4 feet and starts a little wider and gets smaller. This sidewall is on the detached side of the house.

A few weeks ago, I noticed a new, very thin horizontal crack. After researching it, I realized it goes almost the full length of the house. It wavers up and down a little, but is mostly a little above grade and near the middle of the wall. Next to this wall is an unused driveway (it's actually too small for a car...so it really hasn't been used).

I've now seen 4 contractors and gotten very different opinions.

Foundation contractor #1, Modesto (20 years experience in masonry -- though not foundation cracks) says not to worry. it's not serious.
Foundation Repair Contractor #2, Quality First, which specializes in foundation repair, says it's due to outward pressure from the soil under the driveway pushing horizontally against my basement wall and that eventually the wall could bow. They recommend a 5k fix including epoxy and carbon straps. The guy seemed very knowledgeable, had a great sales pitch and tons of materials and references.
Foundation repair contractors #3 and #4: Two other contractors suggest the cracks might be due to moisture and suggest taking out the broken areas, re pouring concrete and adding some steel in the area with the "more serious" diagonal crack. Neither specialize in foundation work., but both were experienced.

I'm kinda at my wits end with time and money and appreciate any advice. Best, - BL

Reply: We need to know the type of foundation movement, its cause, and its impact on structure to decide on urgency and type of foundation repair needed

A competent onsite inspection by an expert who is familiar with the causes and cures of foundation damage usually finds additional clues that help accurately diagnose a problem beyond what would occur to a homeowner to describe in email. Put another way, we cannot reliably diagnose the cause, nor evaluate the significance of a crack by email text description, though knowing the type of foundation material, site characteristics, drainage issues, and seeing some photos, measurements, and building history would help. That said, here are some things to consider:

Some foundation cracks are insignificant, and are easily and immediately recognized by an engineer, contractor, even most home inspectors who have experience. For example, most concrete slab or wall shrinkage cracks are not structural in nature. See Shrinkage Cracks in Slabs.
Diagonal foundation cracks are often from settlement or on occasion frost heave at a building corner. On occasion, lensing - frost sticks to and lifts a foundation. In extreme cases of horizontal foundation movement, diagonal cracks may of course appear at building corners, especially in block or brick foundation walls. Details are at SETTLEMENT IN FOUNDATIONS and VERTICAL MOVEMENT IN FOUNDATIONS
Horizontal cracks in foundations are typically from frost pressure, earth pressure, or other loading against the foundation wall. The height of the crack in your description, as it's closer to the top of soil, suggests it may be due to frost pressure on the wall (check roof drainage at that wall - notice if the wall is below a roof eaves (likely) or at the gable end of the home (no roof spillage, less likely). See BULGED vs. LEANING FOUNDATIONS.
Complex foundation damage includes multiple crack or movement patterns - that does not sound like your case. COMBINATIONS OF FOUNDATION MOVEMENT
Old Foundation cracks Can "Suddenly" Appear in Our Consciousness. Of course it's possible that that horizontal crack has always been there, caused by earth loading by heavy equipment that drove close to the foundation wall during the time that the driveway was constructed. Often a crack in a foundation is present for years but goes unnoticed until something gets people worried. Then it suddenly "appears". A careful inspection of the interior of a a crack can often tell us if it's new or old.

The urgency of foundation repair depends on several factors such as

The total amount of foundation movement that has occurred
The rate of of foundation movement
The impact of foundation movement on the structure - water entry, or loss of structural stability.
The cause(s) of foundation movement

A foundation expert may also consider:

The foundation materials: what was used. For example, a crack in steel-reinforced poured concrete foundations has different implications from the same crack size, shape, location, pattern in a masonry block foundation. For non-trivial foundation damage, the inspector, engineer, or contractor may want to identify the building foundation construction type, materials, sequence of construction - the history of the site, the foundation itself, and its construction details. See FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION TYPES.

Site factors affecting the structure such as slope, drainage, rock, or nearby activities such as blasting. See SITE FACTORS AFFECTING FOUNDATIONS.

The construction type, materials, sequence of construction - the history of the site, the foundation, and its construction details. See FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION TYPES.

First Identify Severe or Dangerous Foundation Damage - collapse risk

Watch out: As we introduce at our home page for this topic, FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE, since certain masonry structure defects, such as even slightly-bulged structural brick masonry walls (above or below ground level - BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS) or severely bulged below-ground masonry block or stone foundations, (BULGED vs. LEANING FOUNDATIONS) can lead to sudden precipitous and catastrophic building collapse, dangerous conditions may be present at some properties.

While there are often hidden conditions which can disguise building conditions, the ability to recognize those potentially urgent or dangerous conditions which can be detected is important in a foundation inspection.

Get the Details that Support the Contractor's Opinion

Watch out also and avoid or at least defer non-urgent repairs that may be unnecessarily costly in comparison with the impact of the crack on the structure or that fail to first identify and understand the cause of the foundation cracking and second to evaluate and understand its impact on the structure.

Some fellows who work in construction are very experienced, knowledgeable, and honest, but they were not English majors in school. You have to ask to hear more of the contractor's reasoning before you'll be comfortable with an answer like "Nah, don't worry about it!" much less "Yeaaah, this is a big problem and needs a big expensive repair."

Make a Thorough and Technically Accurate Foundation Inspection

In addition to the outline of how we approach foundation inspection found (described beginning at FOUNDATION INSPECTION METHODS), here is some basic advice about how to evaluate foundation damage:

If it is not apparent that a major problem exists (see our Watch out: warnings throughout this website) it's ok to start with a contractor. Any building inspector, building contractor, masonry repair contractor, or carpenter needs to be able to recognize when additional expert evaluation or repair is needed by a foundation or structural engineer or foundation repair specialist.

All of these people are constantly called-on to make first-level inspections and to form opinions about all sorts of building components. Often very simple non-engineering analysis can be helpful or even essential in deciding when more expert help is needed. Examples include simply making a measurement to establish that a foundation wall has moved or is leaning.

See

FOUNDATION CRACK EVALUATION - how do we evaluate and diagnose the type of crack in a foundation
FOUNDATION BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS - how do I measure the amount of foundation movement that has occurred
FOUNDATION DAMAGE SEVERITY - how bad is the foundation crack? how urgent is repair
FOUNDATION MOVEMENT ACTIVE vs. STATIC - is the foundation crack a sign of ongoing movement?
SLAB CRACK EVALUATION - for evaluating cracks in concrete floors or in poured concrete monolithic slab-foundations

Ask for a Foundation Inspection Report

Evaluate the information which has been collected (history, observations, clues), visual evidence of their impact on the structure, and their importance.

When the foundation expert you are consulting suggests that costly or dangerous conditions exist, it is important that you have an accurate understanding of the problem and that the repair is appropriate. A professional foundation inspector, engineer, architect, or contractor should be able to communicate her/his observations and recommendations to the client with clarity so that the client understands the implications of the findings and the need for action (if any). See FOUNDATION DAMAGE REPORTS for details.

Choose a Qualified Foundation Expert

For costly or potentially dangerous foundation damage, be sure that your "expert" really is one.

A civil engineer or structural engineer who is specifically experienced in building foundation diagnosis and repair can give reliable and often economical advice on what foundation repair is needed. So can some experienced foundation repair contractors.

Foundation Damage Repairs

Depending on the condition of the foundation system, repairs may be needed, and in emergency cases such as the threat of imminent collapse, other measures such as installation of temporary foundation support, or even evacuating an unsafe structure and keeping people away from it could be in order. An example is the discovery of a bulged structural brick wall - a condition that can cause sudden catastrophic building collapse. See FOUNDATION REPAIR METHODS

Watch out for "foundation experts" who don't know foundations: OPINION-DF: even licensed professional engineers or architects who do not have specific experience and training in building foundations. Those experts can often design a repair that will be "safe" and "work" but we have found that some who are not familiar with foundations are not aware of repair products and procedures specifically designed for these problems.

The result can be "overkill" or a foundation repair design that was more complex, more disruptive, and more expensive than necessary. At Vertical Foundation Movement Repairs we mention a case where just this problem occurred at a home built over a landfill.

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Technical Reviewers & References

Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.

Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. Mr. Cramer serves on the ASHI Home Inspection Standards. Contact Mark Cramer at: 727-595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com
John Cranor is an ASHI member and a home inspector (The House Whisperer) is located in Glen Allen, VA 23060. He is also a contributor to InspectApedia.com in several technical areas such as plumbing and appliances (dryer vents). Contact Mr. Cranor at 804-747-7747 or by Email: johncranor@verizon.net
Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. The firm provides professional home inspection services & home inspection education & publications. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The Home Reference Book & illustrations from The Illustrated Home. Carson Dunlop Associates' provides:
- Commercial Building Inspection Courses - protocol ASTM Standard E 2018-08 for Property Condition Assessments
- Home Inspection Education Courses including home study & live classes at eleven colleges & universities.
- Home Inspection Education Home Study Courses - ASHI@Home Training 10-course program.
  Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on these courses: Enter INSPECTAHITP in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
- The Home Reference Book, a reference & inspection report product for building owners & inspectors.
  Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
- The Home Reference eBook, an electronic version for PCs, the iPad, iPhone, & Android smart phones.
  Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter inspectaehrb in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- The Illustrated Home illustrates construction details and building components, a reference for owners & inspectors.
  Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Illustrated Home purchased as a single order Enter INSPECTAILL in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
- The Horizon Software System manages business operations,scheduling, & inspection report writing using Carson Dunlop's knowledge base & color images. The Horizon system runs on always-available cloud-based software for office computers, laptops, tablets, iPad, Android, & other smartphones.
Thanks to reader B.L. for discussing how to decide on the urgency and nature or foundation crack repair, February 2011.
Quality Standards for the Professional Remodeling Industry, National Association of Home Builders Remodelers Council, NAHB Research Foundation, 1987.
Quality Standards for the Professional Remodeler, N.U. Ahmed, # Home Builder Pr (February 1991), ISBN-10: 0867183594, ISBN-13: 978-0867183597
"Concrete Slab Finishes and the Use of the F-number System", Matthew Stuart, P.E., S.E., F.ASCE, online course at www.pdhonline.org/courses/s130/s130.htm
Sal Alfano - Editor, Journal of Light Construction*
Thanks to Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for technical critique and some of the foundation inspection photographs cited in these articles
Terry Carson - ASHI
Mark Cramer - ASHI
JD Grewell, ASHI
Duncan Hannay - ASHI, P.E. *
Bob Klewitz, M.S.C.E., P.E. - ASHI
Ken Kruger, P.E., AIA - ASHI
Aaron Kuertz aaronk@appliedtechnologies.com, with Applied Technologies regarding polyurethane foam sealant as other foundation crack repair product - 05/30/2007
Bob Peterson, Magnum Piering - 800-771-7437 - FL*
Arlene Puentes, ASHI, October Home Inspections - (845) 216-7833 - Kingston NY
Greg Robi, Magnum Piering - 800-822-7437 - National*
Dave Rathbun, P.E. - Geotech Engineering - 904-622-2424 FL*
Ed Seaquist, P.E., SIE Assoc. - 301-269-1450 - National
Dave Wickersheimer, P.E. R.A. - IL, professor, school of structures division, UIUC - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture. Professor Wickersheimer specializes in structural failure investigation and repair for wood and masonry construction. * Mr. Wickersheimer's engineering consulting service can be contacted at HDC Wickersheimer Engineering Services. (3/2010)
*These reviewers have not returned comment 6/95

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The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.

Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.


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