# What You Receive After a Foundation Evaluation | Guide > The deliverables a homeowner receives after an evaluation: findings summary, elevation floor plan, proposed scope, exclusions, and the quote path. URL: https://sanantoniofoundationrepair.net/guide/what-you-receive-after-an-evaluation/ Last-Modified: 2026-09-16 Decision guide # What You Receive After an Evaluation The deliverables a homeowner receives after an evaluation: findings summary, elevation floor plan, proposed scope, exclusions, and the quote path. Published September 16, 2026 · 4 min read ![Homeowner reviewing an elevation floor-plan document at a table](/images/featured/homeowner-reviewing-a-printed-elevation-floor-plan.webp) ## The Principle You should end an evaluation holding something useful regardless of what you decide to do next. That is the test we apply to what we send. If the documents only have value on the assumption you hire us, they are a sales tool rather than an assessment. Our foundation evaluation [/foundation-evaluation/ →](/foundation-evaluation/) page covers what the visit itself involves. ## The Findings Summary A plain-language description of what was observed and what it indicates. It covers: - Foundation type confirmed, since assumptions about this are frequently wrong. - Exterior observations by elevation: grading, drainage, masonry cracking, separation. - Interior observations: door and window operation, cracking, trim separation, floor feel. - Crawlspace findings by location where applicable. - Site and moisture factors, including trees and irrigation. - Any plumbing indicators noted. - A statement of what the findings do and do not establish. That last item matters. Where a cause is genuinely uncertain, the summary says so rather than asserting a cause that fits the sales conversation. ## The Elevation Floor Plan ![Printed findings summary with an elevation diagram](/images/content/printed-findings-summary-page-with-an-elevation-co.webp) Where the survey warrants one, you receive the plotted profile: a plan of the floor with relative elevation readings marked, showing the contour of the floor as measured. This is the single most valuable document in the set, for two reasons. **It shows the shape.** A falling corner, a falling perimeter, a rising centre, and a lifted edge are four different situations with four different implications, and only the plotted profile distinguishes them. **It is a baseline.** A survey taken today, compared against one taken in a year or five years, answers the question homeowners actually have: is this moving? No single survey answers that. A pair of them does. Keep it somewhere you will find it again. ## The Recommendation One of three, stated plainly. **Repair.** With a proposed scope covering the repair system and reasoning, pier or component counts and locations, the depth assumption and variance handling where applicable, inclusions, exclusions, expected schedule, permit responsibility, and warranty terms. **Monitoring.** With guidance on what to document, how to document it, and when to re-check. Typically: mark and date crack ends, photograph with a scale, record door operation, and re-survey after a wet and a dry season. **Referral to an engineer.** Where a consequential structural conclusion is needed or a permit requires a sealed design. We state why rather than simply declining. ## What a Proposed Scope Should Contain If repair is recommended, the scope document should let you compare it fairly against any other proposal: | Element | Why it matters | | --- | --- | | Repair system and reasoning | Shows the recommendation came from your property | | Counts and marked locations | A number without placement is incomplete | | Depth assumption and variance clause | Refusal depth is not controllable | | Inclusions | What you are actually buying | | Exclusions | Where the change orders would otherwise come from | | Schedule | Expected duration and what varies it | | Permit responsibility | Who applies and who manages inspection | | Warranty terms | Provider, coverage, exclusions, transfer | | Payment structure | Deposit, stages, and final payment trigger | | Completion documentation | What you receive when the work is done | Our guide on comparing foundation repair quotes [/guide/compare-foundation-repair-quotes/ →](/guide/compare-foundation-repair-quotes/) turns this into a worksheet you can run across multiple proposals. > **On the value of a no-repair outcome** > > An evaluation that concludes monitoring still gives you a measured baseline, a documented set of observations, and a clear answer to a question that was bothering you. That is worth having. A service that only ever produces repair proposals is not evaluating anything. ## Keeping the Documents Store the whole set together: findings, elevation plan, scope or monitoring guidance, and later, if work proceeds, the pier log, warranty terms, permit record, and post-repair elevation documentation. The moment this matters most is at sale. A buyer asking about the foundation is far better answered by a folder than by a recollection, and a documented monitoring decision is a much stronger position than an unexamined one. Quick answers ## Questions About This Topic ### Do I get a written report? expand\_more You receive a findings summary describing what was observed and measured, and where the survey warrants one, an elevation floor plan showing the plotted profile. Where repair is recommended, a proposed scope with inclusions, exclusions, schedule, and warranty terms follows. Where it is not, you receive a monitoring recommendation instead. ### Is the evaluation the same as a quote? expand\_more No. The evaluation establishes conditions. The quote proposes work and states a price for it. The first informs the second, and they are separate documents. An evaluation that concludes monitoring is the right course produces no quote at all, which is a legitimate and reasonably common outcome. ### Can I share these documents with another contractor? expand\_more Yes. They are yours. Take them to another contractor, to an engineer, to a buyer, or to your agent. Documentation that only makes sense if you hire the company that produced it is not documentation, and we would rather you are able to compare properly. ## Related Guides ### Contractor Evaluation vs. Engineering Assessment The difference between a contractor evaluation and a licensed engineering assessment: what each provides, when a P.E. seal is needed, and how they work together. Read guide arrow\_forward [Contractor Evaluation vs. Engineering Assessment →](/guide/contractor-evaluation-vs-engineering-assessment/) ### What a Foundation Evaluation Examines What an evaluation looks at: interior and exterior observations, elevation readings, drainage and site factors, plumbing indicators, and documentation. Read guide arrow\_forward [What a Foundation Evaluation Examines →](/guide/what-a-foundation-evaluation-examines/) ### What Happens During a Foundation Evaluation A walkthrough of the actual evaluation visit: arrival, visual survey, elevation measurement, information gathered, deliverables, and next steps. Read guide arrow\_forward [What Happens During a Foundation Evaluation →](/guide/what-happens-during-a-foundation-evaluation/) ### When Should You Have Your Foundation Evaluated? Which triggers warrant a foundation evaluation, what can wait, real-estate timing, and how observation connects to evaluation. Read guide arrow\_forward [When Should You Have Your Foundation Evaluated? →](/guide/when-should-you-have-your-foundation-evaluated/) Browse all guides [/guide/ →](/guide/)