Foundation Repair FAQ — Round Rock, TX

No. Texas has not licensed the trade since the state's engineering practice rules were changed, and there is no state licence to ask for. That surprises most homeowners, and it is the single most important thing to understand before you hire: the burden of vetting sits entirely with you. What you can verify instead is general liability and workers' compensation insurance, how long the company has operated under its current name, and whether a licensed professional engineer is involved in the design of your repair.

Before, if you can. An independent engineer you pay directly has no stake in whether your house needs piers. They produce a scope you can hand to several contractors, which turns a set of unlike sales pitches into comparable bids on one defined job. Engineers who are paid by, or referred by, the company doing the work are in a different position - not necessarily wrong, but not independent.

It is free in the sense that no invoice arrives. It is worth understanding who is performing it: in this industry the free inspection is almost always carried out by the company that profits from finding a problem. That does not make the findings false, and plenty of them are correct. It does mean a second opinion is worth more here than in most trades, and an engineer's assessment is the cleanest one.

Because they are frequently not the same job. Pier type, pier depth, spacing, how many piers, whether drainage correction is included, whether interior piers are part of the plan, and what happens to landscaping and flatwork afterwards all move the number enormously. Get an engineer's scope first, or at minimum insist every bidder specifies depth, count and type in writing - then the spread usually collapses.

Read it for three things. What it covers: only the piers installed, or the whole perimeter? What voids it: many exclude further movement caused by drainage or watering, which is most of what actually happens next. And whether it is transferable to the next owner, and at what cost - because that is the part that matters when you sell.

You do not, and a lifetime warranty is only worth the company behind it. Look at how long they have operated under the current name, whether the entity has been dissolved and re-registered, and whether the warranty is backed by a third party. A newly formed company offering a lifetime transferable warranty is making a promise it has no track record to support.

Often yes, and requirements differ between municipalities in this area. A contractor who tells you a permit is unnecessary for underpinning work is either unfamiliar with local rules or avoiding inspection. Ask who pulls it and confirm it was actually pulled, because unpermitted structural work becomes your problem at resale.

Repaired and documented is far better than unrepaired. What buyers and their inspectors want is the paper trail: the engineer's report, the scope of work, the permit, and a transferable warranty. Undocumented repairs raise more questions than no repairs. Keep every piece of paper from the job.

Most residential exterior pier jobs run one to a few days, and homeowners typically stay in the house. Expect heavy equipment access, excavation along the affected perimeter, and disruption to beds, walkways and irrigation. Ask specifically who restores landscaping and flatwork, and get the answer in writing before work starts.

Frequently the drainage is part of the cause, not a separate project. Repairing piers while water still collects against the slab treats the symptom. A good assessment addresses grading, gutters, downspout discharge and irrigation as part of the plan, not as an upsell afterwards.

No. We are a referral service. We own no equipment and we do not perform foundation work - we connect you with independent, licensed and insured contractors working your area, and we are paid by them. You never pay us anything, and you deal with the contractor directly.

Often, and that is deliberate. In a trade with no state licence and enormous variation in scope, two or three assessments is how you find out what your house actually needs. If you would rather hear from only one, say so when you submit and we will route it that way.