Foundation repair checklists

Before you call. Photograph every symptom with dates. Pencil-mark and date the end of each crack. Note when you first saw it and whether it changed. Check gutters, downspouts and the slope of the ground away from the house. Note any recent plumbing issues or unusually wet or dry seasons.

Every bid must contain. Number of piers or units and price per unit. The specific area of the house being treated. What excavation and site restoration is included. What is explicitly excluded — landscaping, driveways, interior drywall and tile, plumbing testing after a lift. Written warranty terms. Total price with no line items marked "as needed."

Red flags that should end the visit. A price that expires today. Refusing to leave a written bid. Refusing to give a pier count. Telling you the house is unsafe without offering to put that in writing. Discouraging you from getting an independent engineer. Demanding a large deposit before a written scope exists. Financing paperwork produced before the diagnosis is finished.

Warranty questions to ask in writing. Does it cover only the area repaired? What voids it? Does it transfer, and within what deadline and fee? Are there annual inspections or maintenance conditions? Anchor Foundation Repair's own guide to lifetime-warranty misconceptions notes that transfer requests are often required in writing within 30, 60 or 90 days, and that coverage applies only to the areas previously repaired.

How to choose

Require unit pricing on every bid

Count times price, plus itemized extras. Without it, bids are not comparable and inflated counts are invisible.

Ask for the written scope before any deposit

No signed scope, no money. This one rule prevents most disputes.

Verify licensing and insurance yourself

Look the contractor up on your state's licensing board site. Requirements vary by state, so use yours.

Read the warranty before you read the price

The warranty tells you what the company actually believes about its own work.

Keep everything

Engineer report, all bids, contract, permits, inspection sign-offs, warranty. This file is what you hand a future buyer.