Had a feeling it was coming with the actual hell we are living in currently. Have one door that has been sticking, but all of a sudden we started finding cracks in the floor tiles that all seem to be new.

Obviously something needs to be done, but I've never been through the process before. What are the steps I need to take to get things fixed and any recommendations on who to use. We live in North McKinney.

Good luck. I feel a class action lawsuit against these home automation companies that made me excited about my front door auto-unlocking for me when I got in the neighborhood instead of locking me out of my house in 105 degree weather because the foundation shifted again.

May just be extremely dry conditions. May be too water around the foundation a bit more.

Do a walk around the house, looking at the dirt coming up to the foundation. If you see a gap between the dirt meeting the foundation, you need to water it more or have soaker hoses going. This heat is brutal and can dry things out so quickly.

Also - our old house had tons of cracks and foundation issues. We ended up spending about $16k to get it fixed with 13 out so piers.

My brother-in-law (contractor) thinks its just the house settling and to add soaker hoses and let loose. Ground is definitely pulled away from the foundation. The pessimist in me says my house is about to slide down the side of the hill we're on

I thought I was going to have a serious situation - doors sticking, external trim not fully flush at two corners, basically what you hear on the north texas foundation repair commercials. A foundation repair guy that I know looked at my pics and said it probably needs work. I then had an engineer out who took some measurements and said he wouldn't touch the foundation. It is performing within tolerances and the issues were cosmetic. I decided to trust the engineer.

Thats what my BIL was saying. I'm probably gonna have an engineer come take a look at some point here in the near future

I just turned on my foundation drip zone for 1 hr as I read this.

I'm in the same boat, please share recommendations on engineers as you get them

Good news for you folks in the Metroplex. About 15 years ago I found an Aggie-owned foundation repair company. I live on a hillside and while replacing some flooring in the house I saw some minor cracks in the floor. I called Structured Foundation Repair owned by Tom Kidd '83 (engineer). The company sent out a rep to take measurements with what appeared to be sophisticated instrumentation. He found no significant shifting. He was "not a hammer looking for a nail"! He would not take any payment.
Then in 2013 I noticed some separation between a few of my bricks on one exterior wall. I had Structured Foundation repair come out and repair the foundation. The price was reasonable and they provide you with a lifetime transferable warranty. I've referred them to family and they were pleased as well. I recommend them without hesitation. Tom & the company were honored in the "Aggie 100" in 2010 and 2013. Their phone number is 972-330-4995. Website: https://www.structuredfoundation.com/

Peak Floyd said:

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Good news for you folks in the Metroplex. Over 15 years ago I found an Aggie-owned foundation repair company. I live on a hillside and while replacing some flooring in the house I saw some minor cracks in the floor. I called Structured Foundation Repair owned by Tom Kidd '83 (engineer). The company sent Jeff out. He found no significant shifting. He was "not a hammer looking for a nail"! He used what appeared to be sophisticated instrumentation obtain baseline measurements. He would not take any payment. Then in 2013 I noticed some separation between a few of my bricks on one exterior wall. I had Structured Foundation repair come out and repair the foundation. The price was reasonable and they guaranteed their work. I referred them to family and they were pleased as well. I recommend them without hesitation. Tom & the company were honored in the "Aggie 100" in 2010 and 2103. Their phone number is 972-330-4995. Website: https://www.structuredfoundation.com/

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I've used these guys and they have to adjust my piers every 5 years. They can't seem to get down to bedrock and it's bullshlt that I have to have them dig up my yard and destroy my landscaping.

Went through this a few years back, two foundation companies said I needed peers but two structural engineers said I was good. I took out a couple of medium sized trees as suggested by both engineers, fixed the cracks and moved on with my life.

I saw probably close to an inch gap on the south side and a half inch on the north (most exposed areas) a few weeks back.

So I am running the sprinkler zones that run along those sides of my house about 30 minutes twice a week. Soaker hose would be more efficient, but I'd be less likely to do it.

As opposed to doing it in right before dawn like you would for your grass, I set the zones off right before going to bed to let it sink in.

def a structural engineer first

Before we bought the home we knew it had foundation issues (buyer before us backed out when concessions weren't offered, and we were ultimately offered concessions on it). Our initial home inspector mentioned them as well.

Still worth calling a structural engineer out first to take a look at it, or skip right to the foundation repair people?

I would still spend the money for an independent engineer. In my experience a foundation company sends out a sales person, I'm sure they're knowledgeable, but doubtful they are engineers.

Dp

I'm in Houston, but thought I'd chime in as I've had and am currently having the same issues as you.

I had a couple of doors begin sticking, and began seeing some hairline cracks in ceramic tiles and on the ceiling, so I called out a structural engineer. He came out and took all of the measurements and said my foundation was in good shape and well within the variance (or whatever the term is). I think my most "off" was from the front of my formal living room to the back of the master closet, which was around 1/4" or so over the course of like 60 feet. This was on the side of the house where I was most concerned as well.

He then began explaining how the foundation in this area (and I'd say DFW as well due to similar soils) always moves given the clay soil it's built on. He also went over my concerns that prompted me to call him out and how what I was seeing was normal, especially due to the age of my house (built in '97).

Calling a foundation guy out is like taking your car to Jiffy Lube and telling them to let you know if something is wrong. He knows you're calling because you have concerns, and he's hoping he can use your ignorance to make a sale.

wbt5845 said:

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I saw probably close to an inch gap on the south side and a half inch on the north (most exposed areas) a few weeks back.

So I am running the sprinkler zones that run along those sides of my house about 30 minutes twice a week. Soaker hose would be more efficient, but I'd be less likely to do it.

As opposed to doing it in right before dawn like you would for your grass, I set the zones off right before going to bed to let it sink in.

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This might help.

Not going to argue about having a structural engineer take a look at it and a sticking door is one thing (you have room to make adjustments with doors), but reality is if you have floor tiles popping, you probably need your foundation repaired to some degree.

It's North Texas, foundations constantly shift here. As long as you stay on top of it the work usually isn't too bad.

Just to add another perspective, I called two foundation companies out about 10 years ago and both said that their services weren't needed. They addressed my concerns and suggested root barriers and soaker hoses.

This was in Houston.

anyone have a structural engineer contact / recommendation?

Rich is one of the nicest guys I've ever met

Decay said:

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Know Your Enemy said:

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Rich is one of the nicest guys I've ever met

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The older I get, the more I trust websites like that. Dude would have gone out of business long ago if his work wasn't up to par with that 1998 monstrosity.

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No kidding if he will come over to the 214. I will give him a call

Know Your Enemy said:

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Rich is one of the nicest guys I've ever met

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Any idea of the range he typically charges for his flat fee?

drewser95 said:

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Know Your Enemy said:

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Rich is one of the nicest guys I've ever met

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Any idea of the range he typically charges for his flat fee?

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His website says "My Standard fee is $399.00 within 50 miles of the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport." Sounds pretty reasonable, I will reach out to him to be educated on my new house. Thank you for sharing!

Decay said:

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Know Your Enemy said:

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Rich is one of the nicest guys I've ever met

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The older I get, the more I trust websites like that. Dude would have gone out of business long ago if his work wasn't up to par with that 1998 monstrosity.

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LOL, yeah. He's certainly not a tech or marketing guy. He's been in the game a long time so he knows his stuff and you're not going to find many people more honest than him.