Floors sloping or doors starting to stick? We find out why first, then our crew does the masonry work your engineer's plan calls for.
Foundation repair in El Paso fixes a foundation that has moved, the kind of tilt that leaves floors sloping enough to bother you and doors that stick, and it works best when a licensed engineer finds the cause before anyone starts digging.
Sloping floors and sticking doors can have more than one cause, so I won't guess at yours. Texas law treats engineering for repairing a house as engineering, which means the repair plan should come from an engineer licensed in the state. I'll point you to one first, and our crew does the masonry work to that plan. If the movement cracked your mortar, tuckpointing can close those joints afterward.
Your price turns mostly on what the engineer finds and how much of the house the plan touches. The schedule turns on the diagnosis, which can take longer than people expect, and on any permit review the city needs. I'll look at it with you and leave a written estimate that spells out what we'd do and what it costs.
Call (915) 265-1230 or send the form, and tell us where the floors slope or the doors stick. We'll set a time for me to come out.
I walk the house with you and point at what I see, the cracks, the gaps and the doors that drag. You get a written estimate, and if the cause isn't clear yet, I'll say so plainly and tell you an engineer's evaluation comes first, so you're not paying for repairs on a guess.
Once there's an engineer's plan and any permit the city requires, our crew does the masonry work. I check on it as it goes, so questions get answered on the spot.
When the work's finished, we walk the job with you so you can see exactly what was done. We don't call it done until you've seen it.
Most evaluations start with a floor level survey, a set of height readings across your floors that shows the foundation's shape. In houses with beams or floor framing, the fix is sometimes added supports where the spans are too long for the loads they carry, and those supports should match the original system. That's the kind of detail we take from the engineer's plan instead of improvising.
Upkeep matters once we're gone. Keeping soil moisture close to even on all sides of the house may help, and too much water can do harm. Your engineer may tell you to water one side more, less or differently for your particular house, and their advice beats any general rule.
What our foundation work can include:
Most of the time the plan calls for repairing what moved, adding support or fixing a cracked wall, not tearing out the foundation. Replacing a section makes sense when the masonry itself has failed and can't carry its load anymore. I lean toward the smallest fix that handles the cause, because a big repair aimed at the wrong problem just moves the trouble somewhere else. The engineer's findings settle which way it goes.
The diagnosis drives it most, because it decides how much work there is. After that comes how much of the house is involved, how hard the area is to reach, and whether the plan calls for added supports. Damage above the foundation adds to it too, like cracked brick walls or a chimney that needs chimney repair. The engineer's evaluation is its own cost, separate from our masonry work, so plan for both.
I want you to understand your own foundation well enough to make a good call, even if you don't hire us. So I point at the actual crack or door, tell you what I think it means, and tell you what I can't know until an engineer has looked.
I ran a landscaping business before I went into masonry full time, so I care what your yard looks like when we leave. We're licensed and fully insured, I check on the crew's work as it goes, and we walk the job with you at the end. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Have your address, the rooms where floors slope or doors stick, and any past engineer reports handy when you call.
Tell us your address and what you're noticing. We respond within 1 business day, and I'll come out to give you a free estimate at your property, with no pressure to book.
Yes, the City of El Paso requires a building permit to alter or repair a building within its limits, and permit applications go through the city's One Stop Shop. Before work starts I check which office covers your address, since that changes from one city to the next, and when a permit's needed we handle the paperwork and keep you posted on where it stands.
A Level A inspection by an engineer is a report of first impressions, not a full evaluation. Some homeowners expected more and ended up complaining to the state engineering board, so before you hire an engineer, ask which level of service their report covers.
One floor level survey only shows the foundation's shape at a single moment, and that may not be enough to say what's really going on. An evaluation may repeat the survey over months or even years, so plan for a diagnosis that takes time before any repair starts.
Pruning it now and then may be a better move than cutting it down, because removing a tree can let the soil take on moisture and push the foundation up, especially if the tree was there before the house. Trees and large shrubs close by may dry and shrink the soil, though pruning may not bring back height that's already been lost. If a tree does come out, there may be a waiting period so the soil can swell before repair work starts.
There's no honest number until the cause is known, because the engineer's plan decides how much work there is. The section on cost above covers what moves it, and I'll give you a written estimate once I've seen your house.
One dip usually won't tell you, because floors have some unevenness built in, and engineers are cautioned about judging differences over less than about 20 feet. A tilt over about 1 percent is usually noticeable, so if the slope runs across rooms and comes with sticking doors, it's worth an engineer's look.
We're based in El Paso and work on both sides of the state line, including Socorro and Sunland Park. Pick your area below, or call if yours isn't listed.
