Foundation Repair Estimate Checklist: What a Written Bid Should Include

Why the written estimate matters so much here

Texas does not license foundation repair companies. Licensing bills died in the Legislature in 2011 and 2013, so there is no state board setting minimum standards for how piers are installed or what a proposal must say. The oversight that does exist comes from city permits and the engineer who seals the design. The rest is whatever you and the company put in writing.

Texas law makes the same point. Before you sign a contract to repair your home, the company is required to give you a disclosure statement under Property Code section 53.255. Among other things, it tells you to get a written agreement that describes the work, the time to complete it, the cost and the payment method, and it warns that "an oral promise that is not included in the written agreement may not be enforceable under Texas law." If a salesperson promises something at your kitchen table, it belongs in the contract.

This checklist is general. It can't tell you what your house needs; only an engineer who has examined it can do that. What it can do is help you see whether an estimate is complete enough to compare and to hold a company to.

The checklist

1. Pier count, type and a layout drawing

The single biggest driver of price is the number of piers, so the estimate should state it as a number, not a range. It should also show where they go. The Foundation Performance Association (FPA), a Houston group of engineers and industry members, publishes an installation guideline for pressed concrete piles, FPA-SC-08-1. It says the contract "should include number of Piles, description of types of Piles such as interior and exterior, concrete breakouts, and price," and that before work starts the owner should get a pile layout drawing showing proposed locations, materials and measurements.

Look for:

• Total piers, split into exterior and interior. Interior piers usually mean breaking through the slab inside the house, or tunneling under it, which changes cost and disruption.
• Pier type for each location: pressed concrete, steel push, helical or drilled concrete. The pier types guide explains the differences.
• A drawing of the house footprint with each pier marked and numbered, so the drawing, the invoice and the final records all match.
• Concrete breakouts and how they will be patched, and who handles flooring that has to come up.

2. How deep, and what "done" means for each pier

Pier depth is where a cheap job and a sound one most often differ, and it is the easiest thing to leave vague. The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers says in its Guidelines for the Evaluation and Repair of Residential Foundations that repair plans should show the locations of underpinning elements "and their sizes, depths, material types, and minimum required material strengths if appropriate." (Version 2 is quoted here; a third version was adopted in 2022.)

Pressed piles are usually driven until they reach refusal, which the FPA guideline defines as "the point when the driving force exerted on the Piling exceeds the load to be supported." Because the house itself is the weight pushing each pile down, the guideline notes that "the final depth of each Pile will vary from Pile to Pile," and warns that a pile that can't get far enough into stable soil "may not be resistant to potential movements that occur due to swelling or shrinking of the soils in the movement active zone." It also describes engineers specifying a minimum depth, with a pile that stops short handled only with the engineer's approval.

So ask each company to state in writing:

• The stopping standard: refusal, a minimum depth, or both (for helical piers, the torque standard)
• What happens if a pier stops short of the minimum
• Whether you'll get the pier driving records. The FPA guideline says these should show the depth of each pile and, if recorded, the force used, and be forwarded to the engineer for review.

3. The engineer, the sealed plan and the final letter

In the Collin County cities checked for this guide, a Texas-licensed engineer is part of every permitted repair:

• McKinney requires an engineer's letter and drawings before the permit and closes it only after a Final Engineer's Report is uploaded (city guidelines).
• Plano requires the foundation plan, pier details and engineer's letter to be "dated, designed, sealed and signed by a State of Texas Registered Engineer" (Plano handout).
• Frisco asks for a stamped engineer letter and stamped pier drawings, plus an engineer's inspection report at completion (submittal requirements).
• Prosper requires an original engineer-sealed design and a second sealed letter at inspection (Prosper FAQ).
• Allen requires an Engineer's Final Letter of Acceptance to be uploaded to the permit (2026 residential construction packet).

The estimate should name the engineer or engineering firm, say whether that engineer works for you or was arranged by the company, and state who pays for the design and the final letter. Check the engineer's license on the TBPELS roster.

It matters who the engineer answers to. In a 2017 request to the Texas engineering board, a Dallas engineer complained that engineers "working on behalf of, or ... recommended by, the Foundation company" were sealing pier plans without proper analysis. The board declined to issue an opinion but said it will investigate substantiated complaints. The engineer report vs free inspection guide explains the options.

One line from the ASCE Texas guidelines is worth reading twice if your bid covers only part of the house: construction documents "should state that underpinning will not improve the performance of the foundation in non-underpinned areas." A partial repair is a real choice, but the estimate should be honest that it is partial.

4. The city permit

The estimate should say who applies for the permit and whether the fee is included. Normally the company doing the work pulls it. The Federal Trade Commission lists a contractor who asks you to get the required building permits among the signs of a home improvement scam. Allen's fee schedule (June 2025) sets its foundation repair permit at $75; other cities' fees vary, so ask for the amount as a line item. Your city page has the details: McKinney, Frisco, Plano, Allen and Prosper.

5. Plumbing tests before and after

Lifting a slab can stress pipes cast in or under it, and a leak under the slab can be the reason it moved. The ASCE Texas guidelines say water supply and sanitary drain lines "should be tested for leaks if jacking or lifting is included in the remedial measures," and McKinney's permit guidelines ask the engineer to note whether plumbing tests are needed. The estimate should state:

• Whether a test is included before work starts, after lifting, or both
• Who performs it (a plumber, not the foundation crew)
• Who pays to repair a leak the test finds, since that is usually outside the foundation price

See plumbing leaks and foundation movement for how the tests work.

6. Floor elevation surveys before and after

A floor elevation survey is a set of readings across the slab measured from one reference point. The FPA guideline calls for an initial survey before repair and a final survey afterward using the same reference point, and says the final survey "will establish a baseline survey that may be used for warranty purposes." The ASCE guidelines likewise say elevations should be measured after the repair and a copy given to the client.

Ask for both surveys in the estimate, and keep them. Also ask what elevation target the lift is working to. The ASCE guidelines are candid: "It is unlikely that elevation adjustments will result in a level foundation."

7. The warranty, in writing

"Lifetime transferable" can mean a lot less than it sounds. The FPA guideline says a contractor's warranty typically "does not include damages to any architectural or landscaping finishes, such as, but not limited to, drywall, brick, plants," and that upward movement (heave) "is also not typically covered unless specifically stated otherwise." Get the actual warranty document with the estimate, not a brochure, and check:

• What it covers: usually adjusting the piers installed, in the area they support
• Whether it transfers to a buyer, the deadline and the transfer fee
• Whether it requires plumbing tests or a maintenance routine to stay valid

A warranty is also only as good as the company behind it. In 2025, KRGV reported on a Harlingen family whose "lifetime warranty" was refused after the company changed owners. More in warranties and resale.

8. Cracks, doors and finishes

Lifting moves the house, so drywall and brick cracks can close, open or appear. The FPA guideline tells installers to lift in a way that limits damage and to "attempt to close any masonry and/or drywall cracks as much as possible" and test that doors and windows operate. Ask what the company will do about finishes that move, and whether patching and painting are in the price. Usually they aren't. The foundation crack repair page explains why cosmetic repairs come after stabilization.

9. Cleanup, backfill and landscaping

Exterior piers mean digging holes along the grade beam, often through flower beds. The ASCE guidelines list site restoration requirements among the things repair documents should include, and the FPA guideline describes refilling the holes with the excavated soil in compacted lifts, mounded to allow for settling. The estimate should say who moves and replants shrubs, what happens to extra soil and debris, and how sidewalks, patios or flatwork that are broken out get replaced.

10. Payment schedule and paperwork

The FTC's advice is plain: "Don't pay the full amount for the project up front," and "never make the final payment until the work is done and you're satisfied with it." A reasonable schedule ties payments to milestones such as permit issued, piers installed, and final engineer's letter and final survey delivered.

Texas law adds protections for residential repair contracts under Property Code chapter 53:

• Retainage. Section 53.101 says the owner shall reserve 10% of the contract price during the work and for 30 days after it is completed. The required disclosure statement explains why: if a supplier or subcontractor isn't paid and you didn't hold back that 10%, "you may be personally liable and your property may be subject to a lien."
• Subcontractor list. Section 53.256 requires the company to give you a list of the subcontractors and suppliers it intends to use before work starts, unless you sign a waiver.
• Bills-paid affidavit. Section 53.259 requires the company, as a condition of final payment, to give you an affidavit that it has paid everyone for labor and materials.

How these rules apply to a specific contract is a question for a Texas attorney, but a company that is comfortable with them is a good sign.

11. Changes once work starts

Ask what happens if the crew finds it needs more piers, or deeper ones, than the estimate shows. A clear estimate gives a price per additional pier of each type and says that changes need the engineer's approval and your written sign-off before they're done.

How to compare two bids

Two estimates for the same house can differ by thousands of dollars, and the cheaper one isn't always the better deal. The FTC says "don't automatically choose the lowest bidder" and suggests asking about big price differences. A fair comparison works like this:

1. Start from one design. If each company drew its own plan, you are comparing two opinions about your house, not two prices. Having an independent engineer's design priced by every bidder is the cleanest fix. See engineer evaluation.
2. Line up the pier counts and types. If one bid has noticeably fewer piers, ask each company to explain the difference, and ask the engineer.
3. Compare the stopping standard. Refusal only, or refusal plus a minimum depth? Driving records provided or not?
4. Add back what's missing. If one bid excludes the engineer, the final letter, the permit or the plumbing tests, add a realistic amount for them before comparing totals. The cost guide has sourced ranges for those extras.
5. Read both warranties side by side, including what's excluded and the transfer fee.
6. Compare the payment schedules. A bid that wants most of the money before the work is done carries more risk, whatever the price.
7. Check the companies themselves. Permits pulled in your city, insurance confirmed directly with the insurer, complaints and how they were handled. Choosing a contractor walks through it.

When you have a design to price, this guide can pass your request to an independent local foundation repair company for a written estimate. See how it works, including how referrals are paid for.