Guide
Choosing a foundation repair company
The company you reach through this site is independent, and so is every other one you ask for a bid. Checking them is your job. Here is how.
Check what a credential actually covers
Texas regulates trades separately. A licence for electrical or air conditioning work does not establish qualifications for structural repairs. Check what an agency regulates using the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation website. If a company claims a licence, ask which agency issued it and what work it covers.
That puts more weight on the things you can check.
What you can verify
The engineer
If the bid mentions an engineer, ask for the name and licence number and look them up on the Texas engineers roster. The status should be Active.
The insurance
Ask for a certificate of general liability insurance sent to you by the insurance agent, not a photocopy handed over by a salesperson.
The permit record
A company that works in Sugar Land regularly will have pulled permits here. Ask for a recent permit number and a local address where it did similar work.
The plumber
Pressure tests and pipe repairs must be done by a licensed plumber. Ask who the company uses and get that licence number too.
What the contract should say
- The number, type and location of every support, on a drawing attached to the contract.
- The depth included in the price and the charge beyond it.
- Who obtains the city permit and who pays the fee.
- Whether an engineer's letter is provided before and after.
- The plumbing test: who does it, when, and who pays for repairs it reveals.
- What is done about landscaping, flatwork and interior finishes.
- A payment schedule tied to stages of the work.
- The start date and what happens if it slips.
The Texas Attorney General's home improvement guidance adds three rules: never sign a contract with blanks in it, never let anyone hurry you into signing, and keep a copy of everything you sign.
Questions about the warranty
Foundation warranties sound alike and differ a great deal in the small print. Put these to each company and compare the written answers:
- Who stands behind it: the company alone, or an outside insurer or trust? What happens if the company closes or is sold?
- Does it cover the whole house or only the area that was piered?
- Does it cover re-adjusting the piers, and is there a service charge each time?
- Is movement from plumbing leaks, drought, trees or poor drainage excluded?
- What do you have to do to keep it valid, such as watering or maintaining drainage?
- How does it pass to a buyer, and is there a fee or a deadline?
- How are disputes settled?
A long warranty from a company with no way of honouring it is worth less than a short one that is clearly backed. Read the document itself, not the brochure.
Reasons to slow down
A diagnosis without measurements
Anyone who tells you what is wrong from the driveway has not yet done the work of finding out.
Pressure to sign on the spot
A price that is only good today is a sales method. Clay moves over seasons. A week to compare bids changes nothing.
No drawing, no permit
If the plan is a number of piers and a total, with no layout and no mention of the city, ask for both before going further.
When you are ready
Describe the problem and book an inspection
One call puts you in touch with an independent foundation repair company that works in Sugar Land. Have the address, the age of the house and a short list of what has changed.
Talk to a local foundation company
Say what you are seeing and where in the house. The company you reach is independent and gives you its own findings and its own price.
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