Guide
Foundation inspections: who looks, and what they measure
Two kinds of people inspect foundations, and they are paid in different ways. Knowing which one you are talking to helps you weigh what they say.
Repair company or engineer
A foundation repair company sends someone to look at the house, work out what has moved and propose a repair that the company would carry out. That visit leads to a proposal.
A structural engineer is a licensed professional who inspects, writes a report and, where needed, designs the repair, and who has nothing to sell beyond the report.
Many repairs go ahead on the company's own assessment. An engineer earns the fee when the damage is serious, when two proposals disagree, when a sale depends on the answer, or when the city requires engineered plans.
Kansas licenses engineers through the State Board of Technical Professions. You can confirm that a named engineer holds a current Kansas licence with the board's licence lookup.
What gets measured
- Floor heights through the house, taken with a levelling instrument and drawn as a map of high and low spots.
- The width, direction and offset of each crack, inside and out.
- How far basement walls are out of plumb.
- Door and window openings that are out of square.
- Drainage: the slope of the ground, downspouts, low spots.
- In a crawl space: the state of the piers, beams and wood.
Clear the way beforehand. Move storage back from basement walls and make sure the crawl space hatch opens.
Ask for it in writing
- The floor-height map, with its numbers.
- A statement of the likely cause.
- A drawing showing where each pier, anchor or post would go.
- Whether the goal is to stop movement or to lift, and the result expected.
- What is left out.
- The warranty terms in full.
A proposal you can lay beside another one is worth more than a figure on the back of a card.
Before the visit
Walk through the house and list what you have seen, with dates if you know them. Photograph each crack with something for scale. Note any plumbing leaks, changes to drainage or trees taken out. If you have papers from an earlier repair, dig them out.
Inspection questions
Do I need an engineer before I call a repair company?
No. Many people start with the repair company and bring in an engineer only if the findings are serious or disputed. If you already know that a sale or a lender will want an engineer's letter, starting there can save a step.
Can the same person inspect and sell the repair?
Yes, and most repair companies work that way. Keep in mind that their proposal is also a sales document. Clear measurements and a stated cause are what make it worth trusting.
Ready to have it looked at?
Talk to a foundation repair company near Wichita
Call and describe what you are seeing. You will speak with an independent local company that can arrange to inspect the house and give you its findings and its price.
Foundation repair for houses
Basement walls, settling, cracks, crawl spaces and sloping floors in Wichita and nearby towns.
Call (316) 555-0119Calls may be recorded. See the referral disclosure and privacy policy.