Elevation survey first
Readings are taken across the floor before anything is proposed, and again as the work goes on, so the lift is measured rather than judged by eye.
Slab Foundation Repair
Nearly every house built in Pflugerville since the 1980s sits on a concrete slab poured on Blackland Prairie clay. When that clay dries out and shrinks under one part of the house, the slab follows it down and the walls above show it.
- Upfront Quotes
- Slab & Pier and Beam
- Residential & Commercial
Signs That Need Attention
- Doors that drag or will not latch, especially in one end of the house
- Stair-step cracks through the mortar joints in the brick
- Diagonal cracks running from the corner of a door or window frame
- Floors that feel like they fall away toward an exterior wall
- A gap opening between the slab edge and the soil after a dry spell
- Cracked grout lines or tile popping loose in a straight run
None of these on their own proves the foundation needs piers. Together, and repeating in the same part of the house each dry season, they are worth measuring. Pflugerville Foundation Repairs takes elevation readings room by room so you can see how much difference there actually is between the high point and the low point.
What Slab Repair Involves
Not every job needs every item below, and the quote should say plainly which parts apply to your house.
Piers at the points that moved
Piers go where the readings and the load path say they should, usually along an exterior beam. The plan states how many, where, and how deep they are driven.
Lift, shim and check
The slab is raised gradually with hydraulic jacks while doors, windows and existing cracks are watched. Recovery is taken as far as the structure safely allows, which is not always all the way.
Under-slab plumbing checked
A leaking line under a slab keeps the clay wet in one spot and can be the reason it moved. A pressure test before or after the lift is often money well spent.
Backfill and cleanup
Holes are backfilled and tamped, landscaping is put back as closely as it can be, and you are told what the ground will look like for the first season.
Warranty in writing
Ask what the warranty covers, how long it runs and whether it transfers to a buyer. Those terms belong on the quote, not in a conversation.
Your Repair Options
Slab work is rarely a single choice. A house with a small amount of movement and a drainage problem at one corner may do better with grading, gutter extensions and a season of monitoring than with piers. A house with an inch and a half of difference across the living area, doors out of square and a crack that has widened through two summers is a different conversation.
When piers are the answer, the type matters. Read our comparison of pressed concrete versus steel piers before you approve anything, and see how piers and underpinning are installed. If the movement came with poor drainage or a big tree close to the wall, drainage correction and root barriers may need to happen alongside the repair.
Not sure it has got that far? A foundation inspection gives you the numbers. You can also read what we cover in Hutto or check the full service area.
Slab Repair Questions
What affects the cost of slab foundation repair?
Mostly the number of piers, how deep they have to go and how hard they are to reach. Piers along an open side yard are straightforward. Piers under an interior load-bearing wall mean tunneling or breaking through the slab, which takes longer. Pflugerville Foundation Repairs quotes the pier count and locations before starting, so you are approving a defined scope rather than an hourly rate.
Will repairing the slab close the cracks in my walls?
Some close on their own as the slab comes back up, some narrow, and some stay. Cosmetic repair of drywall, tile and brick joints is usually a separate job done after the foundation has settled into its new position. Ask for that to be spelled out in the quote so there is no surprise about what is included.
Can you guarantee the house will not move again?
No, and be careful with anyone who does. The clay under Pflugerville keeps swelling and shrinking with the weather regardless of what is done to the house. Piers support the structure through that movement, and steady drainage and watering reduce how much the soil swings. Pflugerville Foundation Repairs explains what the warranty actually covers rather than promising the ground will hold still.
How long does slab repair take?
A short run of exterior piers is often a matter of days; a larger perimeter job with interior work takes longer, and rain can stop digging. Pflugerville Foundation Repairs gives you a schedule with the quote and tells you which parts of the house will be unusable while the work is going on. See how the process works.
Arrange a foundation inspection in Pflugerville
Tell us what the house is doing and we will plan the right inspection.