What people actually ask about foundation repair

These are questions people type into a search box before they call anyone, answered one to a page. Each one says what the general answer is and then what it means on Kansas City ground, because the second half is the part a national article cannot tell you.

If your question is not here, the address is the fastest way to an answer. Most of what decides a foundation repair job is decided by the ground under one particular house.

How much does foundation repair cost?

The published range is wide because the thing being priced is the number of support points, not the house.

How do I know if I need foundation repair?

The useful test is not what you can see. It is whether what you can see is still changing.

Is foundation repair covered by homeowners insurance?

It turns on the cause, and the cause is what an inspection establishes.

Does foundation repair affect home value?

An unquantified problem costs more than a documented repair does.

How long does foundation repair last?

The support lasts. Whether the house stays still depends on what you did about the water.

Does foundation repair come with a warranty?

Usually, and the important question is what it actually covers.

Does foundation repair cause plumbing problems?

It can, because the pipes settled with the house and lifting moves them back.

Are foundation repair companies structural engineers?

No, and the distinction decides which document you end up with.

Does foundation repair require a permit?

Often, and it is a question with a local answer rather than a general one.

How long does a foundation inspection take?

Under two hours for most single-story houses, and longer for anything with more than one floor plane.

How much does a foundation inspection cost?

Far less than the repair, and some firms credit it against the work.

When should foundation cracks be repaired?

After the movement has stopped, and not before.

Are foundation cracks serious?

Most are not. What separates the ones that are is change, not width.

Can foundation repair be done in the rain?

Some of it, badly. Most firms will reschedule, and the reason is the soil rather than the crew.

Does foundation repair really work?

The support works. Whether the house stays still is a separate question with a separate answer.

How much does foundation repair cost per square foot?

It is the wrong unit, and pricing by it will mislead you in both directions.

Can foundation repair cause more damage?

Yes, and the two common ways are both scope decisions rather than accidents.

Is foundation repair worth it?

It depends on what you are optimizing for, and there are three different answers.

How does foundation repair work?

Reach ground that does not move, transfer the load to it, and recover what movement the house will safely give back.

Is foundation repair tax deductible?

This is a tax question, not a construction one, and the answer turns on how the property is used.

Can foundation repair be financed?

Commonly, and the terms are worth comparing as carefully as the repair scope.

Does foundation repair hurt resale?

A documented repair helps. An undocumented one, or a hidden one, does not.

The foundation repair work these questions are about

When you do not need foundation repair

Two things get mistaken for foundation failure more than anything else. The first is a hairline crack in a poured basement wall or in mortar. If it has been there for years and has not widened, it is usually a shrinkage crack from when the concrete cured, not a structural one. The second is a door that binds in one season and swings free in the next. That door is following the year. Clay soil swells when it takes on water and shrinks when it dries, and the house moves a little with it. Neither one is a reason to put piers under a house or anchors through a wall. A contractor who quotes on either without measuring first is selling you the wrong job.

Two checks worth making before anyone quotes you.

Date the crack. Mark both ends with a pencil and write the date on the wall beside it. Measure the width against something known: a dime is about a sixteenth of an inch. Look again in three months. A crack that has not moved is not an active one, and no pier will make it narrower.
Watch one door through a season change. A door that sticks for part of the year and clears again when the season turns is tracking the weather. It is not a failing foundation. A door that has bound a little harder every year for two years is the one worth an inspection. That is the pattern to describe when you call.

If both checks come back quiet, wait a season and look again before spending anything larger.

Read what a Kansas City foundation repair job costs before calling anyone, and check the Kansas City Foundation Repair Co service area to see whether your street is covered.

Back to Kansas City Foundation Repair Co.

Foundation Repair Questions — Kansas City, MO