Guide
Foundation inspections
An inspection is where guessing stops. Someone measures the house, looks at the ground around it and tells you what they found. Who that someone is shapes what you get.
Who inspects foundations
| Who | What you get | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| A foundation repair company | Its findings and a priced proposal using its own repair methods | The visitor may be a salesperson or a technician. Ask who designs the repair. |
| A structural engineer | An independent written opinion on the structure, signed and sealed | You pay the fee, and the engineer sells no repair. |
| A geotechnical engineer or professional geologist | Soil testing and an opinion on what the ground is doing | The specialist for suspected sinkhole activity or deep loose soil |
| A home inspector | A general report for a sale | Flags signs without diagnosing them, then refers you on |
Engineers and geologists are licensed by the state. Look anyone up on the DBPR licence search before you hire.
What gets measured
- Floor heights, room by room, drawn on a plan of the house.
- Each crack: how wide, which direction, and whether one side stands proud of the other.
- How doors and windows open, close and latch.
- Outside: the slab edge, the stucco, the soil level, where roof water goes and where trees stand.
- Under a raised house: piers, beams, joists and moisture in the wood.
- Sometimes the plumbing, with a pressure test, and the soil, with a probe rod, a hand auger or drilled borings.
Getting ready for the visit
Clear a path along the walls that worry you, inside and out, and make the garage and any crawl space hatch reachable. Have your notes and photos ready, along with papers from earlier repairs. Show the inspector the first sign you noticed and the worst one. Stay for the visit if you can, and ask what each reading means as it is taken.
Ask for these in writing
- A plan of the house showing where every pier or injection point goes.
- The depth the price assumes, and what happens if the piers go deeper.
- The stated aim: hold the house where it is, or lift it to a given level.
- Who signs and seals the drawings and who obtains the permit.
- The warranty, word for word, including whether it transfers.
- What is not included.
When to bring in an engineer first
Hire an engineer of your own when two proposals disagree, when the house is being bought or sold, when a large lift is planned, when a lender asks for a letter, or when anything suggests the soil itself is the problem. The fee buys an opinion from someone with nothing to sell you.
Inspection questions
How do I check an engineer's licence?
Florida engineers and geologists appear on the Department of Business and Professional Regulation's licence search. Look the person up by name or licence number.
Does an inspection commit me to anything?
Having a company look at the house does not oblige you to hire it. Read anything you are asked to sign during the visit, and take the proposal away to compare.
Ready to have the house looked at?
Only someone standing at the house can tell you what is going on under it. Call, explain what you have noticed, and ask for an inspection.
Describe the problem, book an inspection
Say where the cracks or dips are and when you first saw them. The independent local foundation repair company you reach can set a time to look at the house.
Call (407) 598-8829The call may be recorded. See how referrals are paid for and what happens to your details.