Slab Foundation Repair in Irving, TX

How Slab Movement Shows Up in an Irving House

Slab trouble rarely announces itself with one big crack. It usually shows up as a pattern:

• Doors that stick, swing open on their own or will not latch
• Diagonal cracks running from the corners of doors and windows
• Stair-step cracks in brick veneer, or brick pulling away from window frames
• Cracked floor tile, or floors that feel sloped when you walk across a room
• Gaps opening between walls and the ceiling or baseboards

One of these on its own can be normal settling. Several together, especially on the same side of the house, are a good reason to have the slab measured.

Why North Texas Clay Moves Slabs

Irving sits in the Blackland Prairie, the band of dark clay soil that runs about 300 miles from the Red River to San Antonio. That clay swells when it gets wet and shrinks as it dries, and a slab resting on it moves with it. Long dry summers pull moisture from under the edges of a house, while a leaking pipe, a low spot that holds water or a large tree can make one area much wetter or drier than the rest. Uneven movement is what cracks walls and floors.

How Slab Repair Is Usually Done

Most slab repairs in North Texas use piers: supports pushed or drilled down beneath the house to firmer soil, then used to lift and hold the slab. The common types are pressed concrete piers, steel piers and drilled bell-bottom piers. A typical job goes like this:

1. Elevation survey: the crew measures high and low points across the slab to map how it has moved.
2. Repair plan: the contractor, sometimes with an engineer, decides where piers go and how many.
3. Excavation: holes are dug beside the perimeter beam, or a tunnel is dug under the slab for interior piers.
4. Piers and lift: piers go in, the slab is raised as far as is safe, and the gap is shimmed.
5. Backfill and readings: soil goes back, and a final set of elevation readings is taken.

Plumbing Checks Before and After the Lift

Water leaking from a broken drain line under the slab can cause the movement in the first place, and lifting a slab can stress pipes that were already weak. Many contractors recommend a plumbing leak test before the repair and again afterward. Ask whether the company handles this or expects you to hire a plumber.

What to Ask Before You Sign

• How many piers, what type, and where will they go?
• Will an engineer review the plan, and will I get the elevation readings in writing?
• What does the warranty cover, can it transfer to a future buyer, and what voids it?
• Does the City of Irving require a permit for this work, and who pulls it?
• Is a plumbing test included, and who pays if a pipe breaks during the lift?