Foundation Engineer or Repair Company: Who to Call First

You've found a crack, or a door has started to stick, and now you have to decide who to call. A repair company will come out for free. A structural engineer will charge you. You may also be wary of calling someone who sells repairs and asking them whether you need one.

That's a fair worry, and it has a fair answer. Both are good first calls, for different reasons, and you can talk to both. This guide explains what each one does, when each makes more sense, what the cities around New Braunfels require, and how to check an engineer's license in a couple of minutes.

A foundation repair company's inspection is usually free. Someone visits, looks at the cracks and doors, and may measure the floors. They'll tell you whether they think the house needs work and, if so, what they'd do and what it would cost.

That's genuinely useful. It's quick, it costs nothing, and a good company will tell you plainly when a crack is cosmetic. The limit is the obvious one: the person giving the opinion also sells the fix. You can make the advice easy to check by asking for the measurements behind it.

We pass requests to repair professionals, so this is the route we can help with. It's a sensible place to start for most homeowners.

A structural engineer charges for the visit but has no repair to sell. The Texas section of the American Society of Civil Engineers sets out how the job should be done. The engineer should come to the house in person, and you and the engineer should agree on what the visit covers.

The guide sets out three steps:

• Level A, first impressions. The engineer talks with you, looks at any papers you have, and walks through the house looking for signs. You can ask for a written report.
• Level B, measured. Level A plus floor heights measured across the house and drawn to scale, with a report on how much the floor bends and tilts compared with accepted limits.
• Level C, tested. Level B plus tests picked for the house, such as soil samples, plumbing leak tests, tests of the concrete and steel, post-tension cable tests and a survey of nearby trees.

The guide also says that reading someone else's report is only advice, not an inspection. If you want an engineer's view, make sure it comes from a visit.

When a repair is needed, an engineer can also write the repair plan. The same guidelines say it should show the foundation, how each repair part is built, any checks needed during the work, and a floor survey after it. If the engineer is hired to oversee the job, they can write a letter once it's done.

A free inspection from a repair company makes the most sense when:

• You want a quick read on whether the house is moving at all
• The signs are small, like one crack or one sticking door
• You'd like a quote to compare against later
• You're not ready to spend money yet

Ask them to measure the floors and to show you the readings. Our foundation inspection page lists what a thorough one should cover.

An engineer you hire yourself makes the most sense when:

• A repair company has suggested a big repair, and you want a second view before you sign
• Two companies have given you very different answers
• Your house sits on rock, like the thin soils over limestone west of New Braunfels, and you think water or a leak is to blame
• You suspect the slab is rising, not sinking, which changes the fix
• Your city requires an engineer's plan for the repair anyway

On the last point, the engineer you hire for an opinion may also be able to draw the plan the permit needs. It's worth asking up front.

Some cities put an engineer on every permitted repair:

• Kyle: the foundation company must submit an engineered design, which the city says it requires "due to the expansive soils in Kyle", and a sealed letter from the engineer approving the work at inspection.
• Schertz: an engineered plan or drawing showing where the piers go before the work, and a letter or report signed and sealed by a Texas licensed engineer after it, warranty work included.
• New Braunfels: the permit application needs a foundation plan that complies with chapter 4 of the 2021 International Residential Code. The city's checklist doesn't say who must draw it.

Other cities nearby don't publish their rules in that much detail, so ask your city before work starts. Our guide to foundation repair permits compares the rules town by town.

In cities like Kyle, the engineer's design comes in with the repair company's permit, so the engineer may be working with the company. That's normal. If you want a view from someone with no tie to the repair, hire the engineer yourself. Then ask whose client you'll be.

The state board that licenses engineers is the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Its free online roster lets you look up an engineer by name, license number or employer.

The status is what to look for. "Active" means the license is current and valid. "Inactive" means it's current but not valid for practice. "Delinquent" means the renewal is late. The roster only lists licenses that can still be renewed, so one that expired two or more years ago won't show up at all.

The Texas guide matters here too. Its publisher says the state board uses it when it looks into complaints.

Whoever you call first, these questions get you a clearer answer:

• Will you measure the floor elevations and give me a drawing of them?
• Which level of inspection is this, in the Texas engineers' terms?
• Did you check for plumbing leaks, or should that be tested?
• Which soil do you think the house sits on, clay or rock?
• If you recommend a repair, how many piers, where, and why?
• Who are you working for on this job?

A good inspector, from a company or an engineering firm, will be glad you asked.