Elevation readings across the house
Readings are taken room by room and plotted, so the low areas are measured rather than guessed at from the outside. That plot is what a pier plan is built on.
Slab Foundation Repair
Most houses in Round Rock sit on a concrete slab poured straight onto the clay. When that clay dries out and drops away under one side, the slab follows it and the house tells you about it upstairs. Round Rock Foundation Repairs measures how far it has gone before quoting anything.
- Upfront Quotes
- Slab & Pier and Beam
- Residential & Commercial
Signs That Need Attention
- A door that catches at the top corner on one side of the house
- Stair-step cracks through the mortar outside, often near a corner or a window
- Floors that feel like they fall away toward one room
- A gap opening between a countertop and the wall, or trim lifting off the ceiling
- Daylight or a new gap under an exterior door
Slab movement here is seasonal before it is permanent. Blackland clay swells through a wet spring and shrinks through a dry summer, so a house can rise and fall by a noticeable amount every year. Repair is about the part that stopped coming back.
What the Service Includes
Not every slab job needs every item below. Round Rock Foundation Repairs separates the repair the measurements justify from work you could reasonably defer.
A pier plan tied to the readings
Pier positions follow the low areas and the load paths, not an even spacing around the perimeter. You should be able to see why each pier is where it is.
Lifting and the finish work
The house is raised as far as it can safely come. Some cracks close, some stay. Cosmetic repairs such as drywall, paint and mortar are usually a separate trade and should be priced separately.
Your Options
If the readings show only a small, seasonal difference, the sensible first move is often drainage rather than piers. Evening out the moisture around the slab costs less and sometimes settles the problem on its own. Our drainage and root barrier page covers what that involves.
If piers are the answer, the next decision is which type. Depth to firm ground and the weight above decide it, and the trade-offs are set out in our pressed concrete versus steel pier comparison. The design itself lands on the pier plan with your quote.
Not sure whether to act yet? Start with an inspection, or read fix it now or wait. We also cover Hutto and the rest of the Williamson County 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 the house is to work around. A short run along one side of a single-story house is a very different job from a full perimeter on a two-story brick house with patios and mature landscaping in the way. Round Rock Foundation Repairs prices it after the elevation readings, not over the phone, and the quote states the pier count and the scope.
Will the cracks close up after the slab is lifted?
Some do, some narrow, and some stay exactly as they are. A house is raised as far as it can come without tearing finishes apart, which is not always all the way back to flat. Anyone promising that every crack will disappear is overselling it. Cosmetic repairs are usually handled afterwards as separate work.
Can a post-tension slab be repaired?
Yes, and plenty of the newer subdivisions around Round Rock have them. The difference is that the cables inside the slab have to be located before anyone drills or breaks concrete, so the process includes finding and marking them. Tell Round Rock Foundation Repairs roughly when the house was built, since that is the first clue.
Do we have to move out while the work is done?
Usually not. Exterior pier work happens outside, and interior work is confined to the rooms involved. Expect noise, soil stacked in the yard and restricted access along the working side. Read how the process runs for what a working day looks like.
Get your slab measured in Round Rock
Tell us what the doors and the brick are doing, and we will take the readings.