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Here's what 2 months of estimates and work looks like for Foundation Repair & floors
Some of the more seasoned vets here know all about foundation repair, but for thought this could be helpful for anyone starting out.
60 seconds background:
Houston is essentially built up on a swamp, couple that with back 2 back brutal summers with little rain, and nearly everyone I've talked with recently has some sort of foundation issues creeping up. Our personal house had previous work done but the piers were poorly done, and we noticed dry wall cracks and tile floor "separation" about 2 years back. As with many big problems, it's easy to keep kicking the can down the road, but we needed to get this done. Here's the highlights
1. If you are certain you need foundation work, get minimum of 3-4 quotes. Try one of the big names, but HIGHLY recommend you ask everyone in the R.E. world if they have a referral, or call some of the smaller LLC companies in the area.
2. The quote we got varied WILDLY. Of the 4 quotes we got, 2 were more than $50,000 ! This was for 14 interior piers, and roughly 38 exterior piers.
3. Be sure to educate yourself on what the fine print says. Some companies give a "Full Transferable Warranty" but then hammer your with fees on labor or some other way to get more $
4. pic below is of the severe fdn. settling in the kitchen.
5. The mess is always significant. This was our personal home, doing a rehab or for a rental that's vacant would be much easier as far as moving furnitture, boxes, etc. Be sure to talk with your guys the expectations for "clean up" as ours was still caked in layers of dirt, but the guys swept up the broken floor and pieces. This was not what we expected.
6. Before the work, our house elevation was +0.5 readings the highest, - 2.5 in several other low spots. It was in rough shape.
7. 2 days of work with a crew of 12-13 guys, and the job was finished. They didn't go as deep as some other companies go ( that's what she said...), but I've been happy with the referrals and professionalism from this crew. Life time warranty. Local guy who some other investors use.
8. Nursery room post- piers being filled and after scrubbing floors, before replacing with LVP Pro tip.... do foundation BEFORE you have a 1 year old in the house.
9. Finished install of large SPC ( LVP w/ stone ) from Lions FLoors. $2.99 / sq feet. total of 1900 sq. feet in the house. Cost for the flooring job was $4,100 start to finish. We floated the most affected areas, probaly should have spent the extra $1000 to float the entire house. But we're 95% satisfied.
10. Other small items: Our drywall was already cracking in 15 + places, but we thought we could get it done a week or so after the foundation lift. NOPE, recommendation is to wait 3 - 6 months afterwards to let it completely settle. To avoid more hairline cracks.
11. Almost no body told us about Root barrier, which are simple digging about 2-3 into the ground, near your foundation to cut invasive tree roots. our 3 big oak trees slowly and surely did damage over time, so that's being done soon for about $3000.
All in.....
$13000 for Foundation repair 2 days
$600 Misc. door frame adjustments and other issues
$7800 for flooring 1,900 sq feet
$4100 for install
$1,000- 2000 for dry wall based on quotes
Total - Approx $27,000
Considering a quote from Olshan for a "full -tilt" repair was $93,000 ( LOL ), we're happy with the work done.
Hope this is helpful for newbies or anyone who lives in Texas. Water that foundation and keep those big tree roots away from your house!!!
Happy to elaborate if anyone has questions
Quote from @James De Stefano:
Some of the more seasoned vets here know all about foundation repair, but for thought this could be helpful for anyone starting out.
60 seconds background:
Houston is essentially built up on a swamp, couple that with back 2 back brutal summers with little rain, and nearly everyone I've talked with recently has some sort of foundation issues creeping up. Our personal house had previous work done but the piers were poorly done, and we noticed dry wall cracks and tile floor "separation" about 2 years back. As with many big problems, it's easy to keep kicking the can down the road, but we needed to get this done. Here's the highlights
1. If you are certain you need foundation work, get minimum of 3-4 quotes. Try one of the big names, but HIGHLY recommend you ask everyone in the R.E. world if they have a referral, or call some of the smaller LLC companies in the area.
2. The quote we got varied WILDLY. Of the 4 quotes we got, 2 were more than $50,000 ! This was for 14 interior piers, and roughly 38 exterior piers.
3. Be sure to educate yourself on what the fine print says. Some companies give a "Full Transferable Warranty" but then hammer your with fees on labor or some other way to get more $
4. pic below is of the severe fdn. settling in the kitchen.
5. The mess is always significant. This was our personal home, doing a rehab or for a rental that's vacant would be much easier as far as moving furnitture, boxes, etc. Be sure to talk with your guys the expectations for "clean up" as ours was still caked in layers of dirt, but the guys swept up the broken floor and pieces. This was not what we expected.
6. Before the work, our house elevation was +0.5 readings the highest, - 2.5 in several other low spots. It was in rough shape.
7. 2 days of work with a crew of 12-13 guys, and the job was finished. They didn't go as deep as some other companies go ( that's what she said...), but I've been happy with the referrals and professionalism from this crew. Life time warranty. Local guy who some other investors use.
8. Nursery room post- piers being filled and after scrubbing floors, before replacing with LVP Pro tip.... do foundation BEFORE you have a 1 year old in the house.
9. Finished install of large SPC ( LVP w/ stone ) from Lions FLoors. $2.99 / sq feet. total of 1900 sq. feet in the house. Cost for the flooring job was $4,100 start to finish. We floated the most affected areas, probaly should have spent the extra $1000 to float the entire house. But we're 95% satisfied.
10. Other small items: Our drywall was already cracking in 15 + places, but we thought we could get it done a week or so after the foundation lift. NOPE, recommendation is to wait 3 - 6 months afterwards to let it completely settle. To avoid more hairline cracks.
11. Almost no body told us about Root barrier, which are simple digging about 2-3 into the ground, near your foundation to cut invasive tree roots. our 3 big oak trees slowly and surely did damage over time, so that's being done soon for about $3000.
All in.....
$13000 for Foundation repair 2 days
$600 Misc. door frame adjustments and other issues
$7800 for flooring 1,900 sq feet
$4100 for install
$1,000- 2000 for dry wall based on quotes
Total - Approx $27,000
Considering a quote from Olshan for a "full -tilt" repair was $93,000 ( LOL ), we're happy with the work done.
Hope this is helpful for newbies or anyone who lives in Texas. Water that foundation and keep those big tree roots away from your house!!!
Happy to elaborate if anyone has questions
Thanks for the share!
James! Thanks for this real world explanation. We are 5 bids in and not sure we're ready to pull the trigger with anybody. The part about root barrier! Thanks, because none of the companies mentioned this at all, and we have a massive oak less than 10 feet from our high side. I'd love to get the name of the company you used and contact info. We are +3.5 up then down to -1 pool in the middle, back up to +1! We are $52k for 28/28 on piers interior/exterior down to $18k for less piers and foam in the middle to lift the pool. (Hydrostatic test needed as well)
