Signs That Your Property’s Foundation Might Have Trouble

Here are some of the signs that your foundation might be in trouble. Typically you can see these signs in one of two places or even in both. Either inside your home or on the outside of your home.

If you see any of these trouble signs then it means you should get a qualified foundation repair specialist to come out to your home and check it out.

Many times large and expensive foundation repair jobs can be avoided by taking action quickly.  Here are the interior signs that you are having foundation issues:

  • You start to get cracks in the ceilings or in the walls
  • Doors that opened perfectly fine are starting to stick when you try to open or close them
  • The natural stone or bricks around your fireplace star showing cracks in the mortar
  • You can see a separation from your crown molding or trim
  • Wallpaper starts to get “crinkles” in it
  • Some of your windows become difficult to open/close or are stuck
  • You feel like you are walking uphill / downhill when before the area felt flat

You can also have foundation damage showing up on the exterior of your home. Here are some of the telltale exterior signs:

  • The most obvious is cracks in between the bricks (along the mortar lines)
  • Expansion joint gets wider either at the top or the bottom of the wall
  • There is a gap in between the window pane and the wall
  • Roof line looks uneven (sometimes you have to backup a distance from the house to really see this)

Here are a few of the things that can cause foundation damage, of course it is best to consult your local foundation repair specialist to make sure that you are 100% positive you know what has caused the damage so that it can be resolved:

  • Lack of proper guttering on the house
  • Contraction / expansion of clay soil (in conjunction with heat and moisture levels)
  • Not having adequate drainage around the house
  • The close proximity of certain types of trees or shrubs to the house
  • Heat and sun

 

Here are the Dallas Fort Worth cities and towns we serve:  click here

When you are ready to discuss your specific property’s foundation related issues, and to schedule a free inspection, then you are welcome to call or text us at (469) 242-6913 or use the contact form:  click here

There is no risk to an inspection.  Here is a recent review from June 2018 showing that our free inspection led to a situation where foundation repair wasn’t needed:

Ben Lord, Project Manager for GL Hunt Foundation Repair, did an outstanding job on my foundation inspection. He was thorough, knowledgeable, professional & friendly. He explained the measurements, elevation shifts & potential causes in detail. He answered my questions & walked the exterior of the house pointing out things that were normal for my area & things to keep an eye on. I appreciated his honesty in not recommending foundation work that the house didn’t need. That’s correct… He didn’t try to sell me foundation repair I didn’t need after spending 2 hrs doing an excellent job assessing the house. Thanks, Ben!

Read Melinda M.‘s review of G L Hunt on Yelp

 

Additional City-Specific Permit Information Added

We added permit-related information to each city (town) page from the following DFW communities:

 

 

Many of the resources pertain specifically to foundation permits, although some are more about residential remodeling or commercial building permit requirements.

 

Foundation Leak Detection Video Interview

In the previous post (click here) we showed you some of the company’s colleagues throughout Texas.  Here is an interview from a few years ago featuring another colleague discussing foundation repairs and foundation plumbing leak detection.  Credit goes to Fox29 Daytime at 9 (San Antonio).

 

For foundation repair or yard drainage correction (e.g. French drains) in the Dallas Fort Worth area then contact us via email (contact form here) or call/text us at (469) 242-6913

 

Included is the YouTube transcript from this radio interview. This is the unedited version from YouTube, so spelling errors are included:

00:12
you’re watching daytime at nine welcome
00:17
back everybody okay I’m talking to all
00:19
the homeowners out there if you’ve had
00:20
foundation problems recently there’s
00:22
probably some questions you didn’t ask
00:24
that could possibly make a huge
00:26
difference in your home and save you a
00:28
lot of money Jim Parker CEO of Parker
00:30
and Sons Plumbing and daniel road and
00:32
join us he’s a field technician with GL
00:34
hunt they’re here to educate our
00:35
homeowners thank you guys for being here
00:37
absolutely thank you for having us ok
00:39
around the holidays we’re busy checking
00:40
off our list doing all kinds of stuff
00:42
we’re not thinking about foundation
00:43
problems but first how do we know when
00:46
we have a problem with our foundation
00:48
well you’ll usually notice that the
00:51
signs of cracks around your windows or
00:52
doors or your doors start to stick or
00:55
having trouble opening and closing those
00:56
are the most obvious signs that
00:58
homeowners usually see when they may
00:59
have a foundation problem right when you
01:01
can’t shut the door ok now when when
01:02
people call you up you come and you
01:05
repair the problem and a lot of other
01:07
foundation companies do this as well but
01:10
once you’re done with that what else
01:12
should happen aesthetic tests should be
01:14
performed on the plumbing system the
01:16
static test test the integrity of the
01:18
drain system because what could happen
01:20
is yeah you may have your foundation
01:22
lifted and you know during that process
01:23
it could break plumbing you know you’re
01:26
lifting a very heavy object or looking a
01:27
house and all your plumbing is in case
01:29
in dirt and you know it could very well
01:32
break during that process so aesthetic
01:34
test test the integrity of the drain
01:36
system once that’s completed yeah tell
01:39
me ok I don’t mean to interrupt you but
01:41
once you’ve done the foundation work say
01:43
you don’t have the static tests done
01:45
what what could possibly happen there
01:48
well what happens is that plant so as
01:50
you’re running water it’s just going
01:52
underneath the home and so what happens
01:54
is that area starts to sink again so you
01:56
may have had the foundation work done
01:57
but if you don’t have that plumbing it’s
01:59
going to happen all over again if you
02:01
don’t have the pony ok and Daniel let’s
02:03
be honest foundation issues could be
02:05
very costly for a homeowner right
02:07
do you guys do the static test when
02:09
you’re done after we’re finished lifting
02:10
the structure we contact Parker and Sons
02:13
Plumbing they actually do it aesthetic
02:14
sets for us or for the homeowner I think
02:16
once the repairs are done tell me why
02:17
you guys decide to work together on this
02:19
what we work with with Jim because
02:22
they’re extremely reliable the you know
02:25
they show up when they’re supposed to
02:26
they get us the reports that we need on
02:28
time and and we can always rely on them
02:30
to do what they say very good and Jim
02:33
let me ask you is this mandated do
02:35
people have to do this when it was no
02:36
and that’s the reason why I asked Daniel
02:39
and geo hunt to come out because it’s
02:41
not mandated there’s a lot of foundation
02:42
companies out there that don’t do this
02:44
test and a homeowner only knows what
02:46
they know if they never heard of a
02:48
static test they’d never heard of
02:49
testing the plumbing system after
02:51
foundation works done then there’s a
02:53
good chance they’re never going to have
02:54
it done and a couple years their
02:56
foundation starts to sink again in that
02:58
same place they call that foundation
03:00
company new they’re not business anymore
03:02
you know so not everybody does it not
03:07
all foundation coming to do it and it’s
03:08
real important that we educate
03:09
homeowners that it’s very important to
03:11
have this test done and to call a
03:13
company that realizes how important it
03:16
is right and that’s reputable and that
03:17
will actually fix the problem okay now
03:19
is this the only time to have the static
03:21
test done is it after foundation issues
03:23
you know a good you know it’s really
03:25
important to do it before also because
03:28
if you do go to your insurance company
03:30
or homeowner insurance company they may
03:32
ask did you have a success done before
03:34
you did foundation work and if you say
03:36
no you have the foundation work done
03:38
they may say you know what we’re not
03:40
going to cover your plumbing issues we
03:41
don’t know when it happened or what
03:43
caused it so it’s a good idea to do it
03:45
before also so we start seeing those
03:47
cracks you can call us we can come out
03:49
to a static test we’re running a special
03:51
for you guys and we can get you Daniel
03:54
out there and help from there too very
03:56
good i love that you guys work in
03:57
conjunction with each other because a
03:59
lot of times homeowners they don’t know
04:00
where to go I mean there’s so many
04:02
different businesses out there there’s
04:04
so many people doing these services and
04:06
how you know which ones to trust mm-hmm
04:08
right no you’re absolutely right we were
04:10
talking about that earlier is just so
04:12
important that we refer each other
04:14
because we know the type of work that
04:16
we’re going to do right okay so you say
04:19
as soon
04:19
you start seeing the cracks that’s the
04:21
best time to do it right away the
04:22
quicker the better or sooner you you fix
04:24
your foundation that you can prevent
04:26
further problems from having me
04:28
foundation does it ever get better by
04:30
itself it may temporarily get better
04:32
with weather changes and things but
04:34
actually repairing your foundation
04:36
sooner before it gets worse is the best
04:38
time to do it Jim and Daniel you guys
04:40
are fantastic now you mentioned a
04:41
special offer for viewers tell me a
04:43
little bit more about that it’s a $95
04:45
static test it’s a pass or fail test
04:47
it’s going to tell you yes you have a
04:49
plumbing problem underneath your
04:50
foundation or no you don’t does it take
04:52
long no I usually 45 minutes to an hour
04:56
it shouldn’t take very long really that
04:57
quickly that’s good to know cuz you know
04:59
a lot of homeowners put it off because
05:00
they say they don’t have the time right
05:02
you could do it on a lunch break may be
05:03
right very nice okay guys $95 for this
05:06
static test parker & sons plumbing LLC
05:09
make sure and give them a call if you’re
05:11
thinking maybe you have other plumbing
05:12
issues or maybe this might be happening
05:14
to your house right now to 10 to three
05:16
six nine eight three eight again Parker
05:19
and sense plumbing LLC com and also the
05:22
foundation issues I’m sure they can
05:23
refer each other if you’re thinking
05:25
maybe you have some cracks or something
05:27
that needs to be repaired give them a
05:29
call they’ll work together make it easy
05:31
for you guys right definitely thank you
05:33
guys for being your happy holidays thank
05:34
you alright guys don’t forget 12 days

 

More About The Foundation Repair Company

GL Hunt has made several commercials and radio interviews in the Dallas Fort Worth area as well as other areas of Texas.  Here is an interview from some members of the team from the San Antonio area from the Bobby and JJ Radio YouTube channel:

For foundation repair or yard drainage correction (e.g. French drains) in the Dallas Fort Worth area then contact us via email (contact form here) or call/text us at (469) 242-6913

Included is the YouTube transcript from this radio interview.  This is the unedited version from YouTube, so spelling errors are included:

00:07
hey guys you’re back with bobby and JJ
00:10
radio if you’re just tuning in we just
00:12
finished talking to our new moving
00:13
partners two men and a truck up next
00:15
we’re introducing you to our new
00:17
foundation repair company gl hunt with
00:20
us is Dustin rude and Christy Ashley now
00:23
Austin how rude Dustin is married he has
00:26
two girls he’s not rude as far as I can
00:28
tell however we have a couple of
00:30
segments to go with him so we’ll find
00:31
out he’s been in sales for over two
00:33
years
00:34
Christy has three children she’s from
00:35
Alabama my neck of the woods she’s been
00:38
working in the foundation business for
00:40
over 16 years so guys welcome to the
00:43
show welcome being here being are
00:46
referred partners we’re happy about that
00:48
tell us about GL hunt Gio hunts been in
00:51
business since 1987 it’s a family-owned
00:53
company started by Bill Hunt and Gary
00:55
hunt
00:56
Gary hunt is still active in the company
00:58
his dad mm-hmm so we do all kinds of
01:03
foundation repair we do estimates for
01:06
commercial and residential properties we
01:09
do preventative maintenance we do
01:10
anything that has to do with maintaining
01:12
your foundation I’m is it true that you
01:14
guys did the foundation repair to the
01:16
alamo that a rumor I think I just
01:20
started was about the owners uh Gary is
01:28
semi-retired but still actively involved
01:30
in the business his dad has passed away
01:32
they can’t get out they can’t stop he’s
01:34
just addicted to foundation repair so do
01:39
you guys mostly do San Antonio do you
01:41
guys vent trucks out of sense man San
01:43
Antonio surrounding areas New Braunfels
01:46
you know I’m going out to Medina
01:48
tomorrow so that’s an hour and a half
01:52
away so you know we’ve got everything
01:54
covered pretty much around San Antonio
01:55
and surrounding areas
01:56
absolutely that’s great what this is a
01:59
question just popped in my head what
02:00
made your family decide hey you know
02:02
what let’s do let’s start a foundation
02:04
repair business like how did that come
02:06
up I do know the backstory to that Gary
02:08
was actually a contractor of a different
02:10
kind he was doing windows and doing a
02:12
lot of
02:13
like mortgage type stuff actually
02:14
helping people remodel their whole house
02:16
and get the second one and that kind of
02:18
thing and he had to find a foundation
02:20
repair contractor for something and this
02:23
was 30 years ago and he saw the
02:25
foundation guys come out do the job saw
02:28
how quickly they did it saw what they
02:30
had to do and just became very
02:31
interested in getting involved in Wow
02:34
try to walk me through the process I
02:36
come to you I need my foundation repair
02:38
can you walk me through the process
02:39
basically you’ll call us we’ll set up an
02:42
estimate deston or one of six or seven
02:45
other people will come out to see you
02:47
depending on what type of foundation you
02:49
have if it’s a concrete slab
02:51
he’ll come inside he’ll take elevation
02:53
readings with what we call a comp you
02:54
level you’re not showing up with the
02:55
marble and see if it rolls take readings
03:02
throughout the house draw the house
03:04
determine what’s actually going on with
03:06
it um walk the exterior of the property
03:08
see if you got some trees that are a
03:10
problem if you’ve got a drainage issue
03:12
that type of thing and then sit you down
03:15
and let you know what you have going on
03:16
and most most of the time what do you
03:17
see is the issue why is there a broken
03:20
foundation when it I guess when we’re
03:22
talking about concrete yeah
03:24
the soil but the number one cause of
03:27
foundation failure is gonna be trees
03:29
really and most people don’t ever know
03:32
that they take up they absorb so much
03:35
water you know so and there’s ways
03:39
around that you can put in root barrier
03:41
too you know we go about 15 feet away
03:44
from the tree got the root system if you
03:46
cut it too close to kill the tree cut
03:48
the roots you install a root barrier
03:49
when they grow back they’ll be diverted
03:51
elsewhere it’s better than tearing down
03:55
all the trees
03:58
so what would be a good question for me
04:00
to ask if I needed to get my foundation
04:02
repair what’s a good question as far as
04:05
you being a customer if you may not know
04:07
that you even have a foundation issue
04:11
you know is well there’s a standard in
04:15
the industry basically you don’t want a
04:17
one inch deviation of meaning you don’t
04:20
want to be up or down more than an inch
04:22
in a 20 foot radius so you know if if
04:25
I’m coming out to your house you know
04:27
you can start with the basics it not
04:29
inspects am i within this one inch range
04:32
and obviously customers have lots of
04:34
questions why do I have drywall
04:36
drywall cracks you know why is the slab
04:41
or the pier and beam why is it cracking
04:43
here or there you know there’s just
04:44
multiple multitude of questions so you
04:47
just said parent being so there’s
04:48
different types of foundation there’s
04:50
the old style which is post where a home
04:53
is on a on beam right port and then
04:56
there’s concrete right is there any
04:57
other type of foundation yes you can
05:00
have basically a pier and beam and a
05:02
slab
05:04
combined into one typically happens when
05:07
there’s an older right in addition okay
05:11
if you go to different areas of the city
05:13
you can see how different builders over
05:15
the years changed what they were doing
05:17
as far as Foundation’s work so if we’re
05:19
doing work maybe in the Alamo Heights
05:20
area you’re dealing with something
05:21
totally different than the northeast
05:23
side of town and what is the biggest
05:26
difference between because I I’ve been
05:27
in the houses and they feel like they’re
05:28
all unlevel and then they’ll come back
05:30
and say oh it’s just shifting and then
05:32
sometimes it feels fine and then it
05:34
turns out there’s a brook there’s a
05:35
foundation issue so what’s what’s the
05:38
difference where do you where do you or
05:39
the farmer it’s much on a slab you know
05:42
a slab is gonna move at the same time a
05:44
appearan beam house you’re gonna fill
05:46
all the irregularity in the slab those
05:49
are the houses you can crawl underneath
05:51
but what what’s the danger if you let a
05:54
foundation issue go without rectifying
05:57
it what can happen you know lose the pen
06:03
your resale value okay so it’s not
06:06
within the tolerance but no tension okay
06:08
the other thing is you can have plumbing
06:10
problems if your guys more than 2 inches
06:13
or so your PVC pipes can pull apart
06:15
underneath your slab and you have not
06:16
have sewage Oh gracious day that’s
06:19
exactly what happen – Bobby that’s so
06:21
weird how can somebody get in contact
06:22
with you for more information Kristi our
06:24
local phone numbers to one zero six four
06:27
eight one five three zero they can go to
06:29
our website which is GL Hunt s
06:32
a calm there’s a contact us form there
06:34
as well perfect
06:36
all right cool to hear from ya well
06:38
again that phone numbers two one zero
06:39
six four eight one five three zero we’ll
06:41
be back after this quick break to hear
06:44
from our show partners and this week’s
06:45
edition of ask mr. credit with Robbie
06:47
Allen don’t forget to check out our
06:49
website at Bobby and JJ radio.com
06:51
where you can be a fan of our show and
06:52
find links to all the shows we’ve
06:54
recorded through audio files or videos
06:56
we’ll be back with GL hunt after this
07:12
you

Updated Custom Map

We updated the custom Google map for each town in Dallas Fort Worth that we serve.  Most map markers (“pins”) now link directly to the specific town’s page on this website; and some also have town-specific videos included.

You are welcome to click on this map or share it if you believe that others will find it of benefit:

Foundation Problems, Testing And More

Here is a video about noticing warning signs of foundation problems, plumbing tests, how long you should go before doing repair work and much more: