Foundation Repair Contractors: Licence, Bid, Contract

Foundation repair contractors are licensed at the state level, insured at the company level, and judged on the contract they are willing to sign. Verify all three before work starts. A contractor with a valid licence, current insurance, and a scope that names the pier count is a different counterparty from one who offers a verbal price and a handshake.

Licence Verification

Most states license foundation and structural repair work under a general contractor or specialty classification. Ask for the licence number, then look it up in the state’s online database yourself. Check that the classification covers the work, that the licence is active, and that the name on the licence matches the name on the contract.

A licence number on a business card proves nothing. A licence search showing an active status, a matching business name, and no disciplinary actions is evidence. If the contractor is an unlicensed handyman offering structural work, the price will be attractive and the recourse will be nonexistent.

Insurance You Should See

Ask to be named as certificate holder and have the certificate sent directly by the insurer. A photocopy can be altered; a direct certificate cannot. If a crew member is injured in your yard without workers compensation, the claim can follow the homeowner in some states.

The Written Scope

A usable scope names the method, the pier type, the count, the spacing, and the design depth. It states who pulls the permit, who pays for it, and what restoration is included. It lists exclusions explicitly, because the exclusions are where the surprises live.

Compare a weak scope with a strong one. “Install piers and stabilize foundation” gives you nothing. “Install eight push piers at 7-foot spacing, design depth 22 feet, engineer’s report included, permit included, interior crack repair excluded” gives you a contract you can enforce.

Payment and Change Orders

A deposit above one third on a residential job is unusual and worth questioning. So is a request for the balance before the lift is verified. Tie the final payment to the lift record and the inspection sign-off, and put that condition in the contract.

Change orders should be priced in advance. The common one is pier depth: if refusal comes deeper than design, the contractor charges per additional foot. Get that rate in writing before excavation, because once the hole is open the negotiation is one-sided.

A Costed Contract Review

A bid of $14,400 for eight push piers at $1,800 each looks straightforward:

8 × $1,800 = $14,400

Then read the exclusions. Engineering is extra at $900, the permit is extra at $350, and interior crack repair is extra at $1,200. The real number is:

$14,400 + $900 + $350 + $1,200 = $16,850

That is 17% above the headline figure and still inside the $4,000 to $15,000 repair band once you account for the restoration being optional. The point is not that the add-ons are unfair; it is that they should be visible before you sign.

Questions to Ask on the Walkthrough

1. Who wrote the scope, and may I see the engineer’s report?
2. How many piers, at what spacing, and to what design depth?
3. What is the per-foot charge if refusal comes deeper than design?
4. Who pulls the permit, and what is the inspection sequence?
5. What does the warranty cover, and what voids it?
6. What is the payment schedule, and what triggers each draw?

Red Flags in the Contract

A contract with no completion date, no pier count, and no warranty language is not a contract; it is an estimate with a signature line. A clause that requires binding arbitration and waives your right to inspect is worth a lawyer’s read. And a warranty that is “lifetime” but not transferable is worth less at resale than it sounds.

For the hiring sequence, see contractor licence check and foundation repair red flags. If the contractor is proposing a method you have not researched, underpinning cost and wall anchor cost give the unit prices to compare against.

One last document is worth requesting at final payment: a lien waiver from the contractor and from any material supplier who delivered steel or concrete to the site. A mechanic’s lien can attach to your house when a subcontractor or supplier goes unpaid, even though you paid the general contractor in full. The waiver is a one-page form, it costs nothing to ask for, and it closes the last route by which someone else’s unpaid invoice becomes your problem. Ask for it as a condition of the final draw and keep it with the contract file.