1.  Is the contractor licensed and insured?  Although most cities and states do not have a specific licensing requirement for foundation repair individually, it is necessary and proper to have a general license to do business.  To obtain such a license, most cities require up to date general liability insurance.  Having this license also provides the customer an ear to voice complaints, when the contractor becomes suddenly impossible to reach.  Insurance is crucial, as should an accident occur, you as the customer are not instantly liable.

2.  Is the contractor BBB accredited?  The BBB provides mediation services as well as holds the company accountable.  BBB accredited businesses are held to a certain standard, and that is always a positive for the consumer.

3.  Does the contractor have references?  Make sure the references are from a significant date range, and are pertaining to the service you are interested in.  Ask for contact information for the references, as there is much more you can learn from a conversation than a short letter of reference.

4.  Talk to the contractor, in depth.  Make sure your expectations are heard, and make sure to really discuss your expectations or the foundation contractor is on the same page as you.  As your foundation is probably not something you know all the ins and outs of, ask for clarification, education.  If the contractor can not, or is not willing to fully answer your questions, you must decide if this is acceptable to you.

Bottom line, trust your instinct.  While the person assessing your home may or may not be the owner of the company, they are in fact a window into the company.  A good contractor will make sure you are comfortable with the information you have just been given and will take as much time as you need to fully educate you.  If and how you repair your home is a big decision, and you should not feel rushed or pressured.  Don’t be deceived by flashy marketing materials or gimmicks.  If you have to mention an ad or coupon ‘at time of assessment’, it is probably not a true discount.

It is crucial to narrow down the cause of the problem.  Did or do you have a plumbing leak?  Do you have large trees and shrubs near the foundation?  Do you have negative drainage (draining towards the foundation)?  In many cases correcting the cause can reduce future repair costs.

There is some negative buzz in the industry about ‘partial piering’.  This means to only underpin and repair the portion of the slab foundation that is showing signs of foundation failure as opposed to underpinning the entire structure.  Obviously partial underpinning involves less piers thus less cost than underpinning the entire structure. Facts are, if your home or office has experienced settlement warranting foundation repair, partial underpinning versus underpinning the entire structure is subjective to many factors, namely the age of the structure, location of settlement, the amount of settlement and the desired outcome.  Partial failure does not equate to complete failure.  Be wise to “hand in pocket” companies who sole existence is to sell you as many piers as they can using fear.  How many times have you experienced or know someone who has taken their car to the auto-shop  to only find what was just a small problem has now, miraculously turned into an entire overhaul.  Underpinning a structure is designed to do one of two things.  Lift and stabilize or just stabilize.  If one small portion of the foundation has experienced settlement resulting in foundation repair, it does not automatically mean the entire structure has or is going to fail.  Partial underpinning a structure is a realistic approach given the situation and desired outcome.

In conclusion, the most beneficial suggestions I can make to help reduce any cost that may be incurred for foundation repair is to be proactive.  Generally speaking, those who pay attention to the interior and exterior indicators of foundation movement typically pay far less in preventive measures and/or repairs than those who don’t.  If you should have any concerns establish a consultation with a trusted foundation expert that can give you direction and any applicable cost assumptions.

The most common concrete slab foundation used in residential construction these days are what is known as “slab-on-grade” foundations.  In short, the foundation is designed to keep the cost of production down while maintaining the necessary support.  The construction of the foundation consists of three components of monolithic nature, all of which utilize shallow-subsurface and surface soils for their support.

Prior to forming the concrete slab foundation for production, the lot is graded and/or filled, then compacted to meet the requirements for a particular design and location.  For slab on grade foundations, after the lot has been configured, channels are excavated and formed for final assembly.

Take a moment and imagine a square moat with a tic-toe pattern excavated inside of the square.  The excavated intersecting lines inside of the square moat are referred as interior grade beams.  The square moat itself is referred as the exterior or perimeter grade beams.  What’s poured above the interior and exterior grade beams will be the slab.  The excavated channels coupled with the forms allow for all the three components; the interior, exterior grade beams and the slab to be of a monolithic pour.  Grade beams will vary in depth and size but, typically measure twenty to thirty-six inches in depth for a residential slab on grade foundation.

Once the grade beams are excavated and formed its time to add a moisture barrier and some strength before concrete can be poured.  The moisture barrier will be placed on top of the surface soils within the areas of the foundation to protect the home from subsurface moisture.  Concrete inherently by itself is weak; we need to add interlaced steel rebar, steel cables (post-tension), wire mesh or fiber to reinforce the concrete.  At this point if you were to look down into the unfinished foundation, you’ll find the excavated channels, the moisture barrier and the steel reinforcement ready for concrete.

The final step is pouring the concrete.  When the concrete is poured it will fill the channels of the interior and exterior grade beams then it will form the slab.  Slabs are typically poured three to four inches thick.  While pouring the concrete, the contractors typically vibrate and screed the concrete to make sure it has been tightly compacted and smoothed out.  Presto…we now have a slab on grade foundation.

In conclusion concrete slab foundations come in many shapes, sizes and functions for a given geographical zone.  We’ve just discussed the basic construction of a residential slab on grade foundation found in many central Texas communities like San Antonio.