Before the Visit
The sequence starts before anyone arrives. When you request a quote, we ask what you are noticing, roughly when it started, whether it has changed, and whether any foundation work has been done before.
That conversation sometimes ends with a recommendation not to book a visit yet. If what you describe is isolated, static, and consistent with seasonal behaviour, documenting it through a wet and a dry season is more useful than a survey taken today with nothing to compare it against.
Where an evaluation is warranted, we book a time. Someone should be present, because interior access to every room is needed and because what you have observed matters. Our foundation evaluation page covers the service in full.
Arrival and the Exterior Walk
We start outside, because the site usually explains more than the cracks do.
Walking the full perimeter, we look at:
- Grade direction on every elevation, and whether the ground falls away from the foundation.
- Downspout discharge points and their distance from the slab or skirt.
- Standing water, erosion, and evidence of where water concentrates after rain.
- Irrigation placement relative to the foundation edge.
- Brick and mortar cracking, photographed with a scale and recorded by location.
- Separation at window and door frames and at any addition junction.
- Visible slab edge or crawlspace skirt condition.
- Tree proximity, size, and root direction.
You are welcome to walk it with us, and most people do. It is easier to explain what a downspout is doing while standing next to it.
The Interior Survey
Inside, two things happen: observation and measurement.
Observation covers door and window operation checked room by room rather than sampled, interior cracking at openings and at wall-to-ceiling junctions, separation at trim and baseboards, and any visible floor covering distress.
Measurement is the elevation survey. A digital manometer establishes relative floor height between points across the entire plan, taken at consistent spacing, room by room. This is why access to every room matters: a partial survey produces a partial profile, and the profile is the point.
The readings are then plotted so the floor appears as a contour rather than a list of numbers.
The Crawlspace, Where Applicable
On raised homes, the inspection continues underneath. Pier condition and settlement, girder bearing points, subfloor joist condition, sill plate condition, standing water or damp soil, vapor barrier presence, evidence of termite activity, and clearance for any future work.
Findings are recorded by location so the eventual scope can point to specific members.
The Conversation
Throughout, we ask about history, because the profile is much easier to interpret with context.
- What you first noticed, and when.
- Whether it has changed, and in what direction.
- Any previous foundation work, and whether you still have the paperwork.
- Any plumbing issues, past or present.
- Drainage or landscaping changes.
- Trees removed or planted.
- Renovations, additions, or re-pours.
Previous foundation repair records matter particularly. Existing piers mean part of the structure is supported differently, and reading a profile without knowing that produces the wrong conclusion.
What we will not do during the visit
Present a figure before the readings are plotted and understood. Use alarming language about what might happen. Offer a discount for signing today. If any of those happen on a foundation visit, from us or anyone else, it is worth pausing.
What Happens at the End of the Visit
We talk through what was observed and measured while still on site, in plain terms. If the profile clearly shows significant differential, we say so. If it does not, we say that too.
The documented findings follow afterwards, because plotting the survey and preparing a scope takes longer than the visit itself. Our guide on what you receive after an evaluation sets out exactly what arrives.
The Three Possible Outcomes
Repair recommended. The profile shows meaningful differential settlement, observations are progressing, or a structural condition warrants intervention. A proposed scope follows.
Monitoring recommended. Measured deflection sits within a reasonable range, observations are stable, or the cause is uncertain and a season of data would resolve it. You receive the baseline and guidance on what to document.
Referral to an engineer. Where a consequential structural conclusion is needed, or where a permit requires a sealed design, a Texas licensed professional engineer is the right next step. We say so rather than stretching a contractor evaluation to cover it.
All three are real outcomes and all three happen regularly.