Comal and Guadalupe counties, Texas
Foundation Repair in New Braunfels
Mortar joints opening in a zigzag up the brick. A bedroom door you now have to shoulder shut. A floor that a dropped pencil rolls across. If your house in New Braunfels, TX has started doing this, call the number below. It reaches an independent local foundation repair company, which can inspect the house and put in writing what it measured and what a repair would involve.
Three things to have ready when you call
- What you see and which rooms or walls it is in.
- When you first noticed it, and whether it has grown or comes and goes with the weather.
- Whether the house is on a concrete slab or on piers and beams, and roughly when it was built.
The ground under New Braunfels
One town, two kinds of ground
The Balcones Escarpment crosses New Braunfels. Which side of it your house stands on changes what a foundation company expects to find, so say where you are when you call.
Below the escarpment
Prairie clay that swells and shrinks
East and south of the escarpment the land flattens into Blackland Prairie, with clay under the topsoil. Clay like this takes up water and swells, then cracks and shrinks back in a dry summer. A slab sitting on it rises and drops with the seasons, and seldom evenly.
Above the escarpment
Thin soil over limestone
West and north the ground climbs into the Hill Country, where rock is often only inches down. There is less clay to swell, but houses are built on sloping lots that were cut and filled to make a flat pad, and the filled part can settle while the part on rock stays put.
The details, with sources, are in why foundations move in New Braunfels.
Begin at the symptom
Signs worth a closer look
Every sign has a page of its own: how it shows itself, the innocent explanations, and the measurements that tell the two apart.
- Cracks in walls and brickStair-step lines in the mortar, diagonal cracks off door corners, a ceiling seam that keeps opening.What they can mean
- Doors and windows that stickA latch that misses its plate, a door that drifts open, a window that jams in one corner.Humidity or movement?
- Sloping or bouncy floorsA marble that rolls to the same wall every time, or a floor that gives underfoot.How floors are measured
- Cracked slab concreteCuring hairlines are one thing. A crack with a lip you can feel underfoot is another.Which cracks matter
- Pier and beam floorsOlder houses on posts and beams: sagging spans, loose shims, damp wood under the floor.Under the old houses
- A house settling on one sideWhen one end has dropped and the talk turns to piers, jacks and house leveling.What leveling involves
- Porch or chimney pulling awayA gap opening between the house and something built against it.Why add-ons move first
- Water pooling by the houseRain standing along the slab, downspouts discharging at the wall, beds that trap it.Drainage and the slab
What happens after you call
From phone call to written findings
You describe the problem
Which rooms, which walls, and since when. Add the kind of foundation if you know it.
A local firm picks up
The person you talk to belongs to a foundation repair business based in or near New Braunfels. It has no ownership tie to this website.
They visit and measure
The company arranges a time to inspect: floor levels, cracks, doors, drainage and, on older houses, the space under the floor.
You get findings and a price
You hear what was measured and what the firm proposes, with a figure attached. Going ahead or not is up to you.
More on who does what, and who is paid, in how this site works.
Before any work starts
Three local rules that are easy to miss
- The city wants a foundation plan
- When foundation repair is part of a permitted job, the City of New Braunfels asks for a foundation plan that meets the residential code. What the permit involves.
- The state licenses no foundation repairers
- Texas has no licence for this trade, so the checks fall to you: city registration, insurance and an engineer you can look up. How to check a company.
- Repairs go on the seller's disclosure
- The Texas disclosure notice asks sellers about foundation defects and earlier structural repairs. Keep every report and warranty paper. Buying or selling with a foundation issue.
Guides
Read up before the inspection
- Why foundations move herePrairie clay below the Balcones Escarpment, thin soil over limestone above it, river terraces in between.Read the local guide
- Repair methodsSteel and concrete piers, helical piers, slab lifting, shims and beams, in plain words.Compare the methods
- What affects the costPier count, depth, access, engineering, permits and the repairs that follow a lift.See what drives a quote
- Foundation inspectionsCompany evaluator or structural engineer, what gets measured, what to ask for on paper.Prepare for the visit
- Permits in New BraunfelsWhat the city asks for when foundation repair is in the scope of work.City requirements
- Buying or sellingHow foundations and old repairs figure on the Texas disclosure notice.Disclosure in plain words
- Choosing a companyWith no state licence to lean on, four things a homeowner can verify unaided.Checks worth making
- Looking after a foundationDrainage, gutters, trees and what the local watering rules allow in a drought.Simple upkeep
- How this site worksWho answers, who inspects, who gets paid and what you still need to check yourself.The referral, step by step
Around New Braunfels
Nearby towns
Companies reached through this number also inspect houses in several neighbouring towns. The full list is on the service area page.
- SeguinClay in one part of Guadalupe County, sandy loam in another, and a city permit the contractor files.Seguin page
- CiboloThe city may hold the as-built floor elevations of a newer house. Worth requesting before an inspection.Cibolo page
- BulverdeHill Country lots on shallow soil over rock, where drainage and cut-and-fill pads matter.Bulverde page
Quick answers
Questions people ask first
Does this website repair foundations itself?
No. This is a referral website. Whoever answers the number works for a separate, locally based repair business, and that business carries out the inspection and any work under its own name and its own contract.
What kinds of problems is the number meant for?
Foundation problems at a house: slab settlement, pier and beam floors, cracks that suggest movement, house leveling. A plumbing leak, a roof leak or a remodel is a job for a different trade, and calling here would only cost you time.
Can the cause be named on the phone?
Not reliably. Your description tells the firm where to point its instruments; the cause itself comes out of readings made on site.
Do I have to hire the company I speak with?
No. Listen to what it finds, ask for the proposal in writing and compare it with a second opinion if you want one.
When you are ready
Pages can narrow it down. A level and a floor plan settle it.
Whichever side of the escarpment your house stands on, the answer comes from numbers taken on the spot. The firm that makes the visit then sets down on paper what it measured and what a repair would run to.
Sudden shifting, the smell of gas, or a wall that seems about to come down is a different matter: clear the house first, then dial 911 or your gas provider.
Have your New Braunfels house measured
Ring the number and describe the crack, door or floor that worries you. Whoever answers works for a foundation repair firm near New Braunfels, a separate and independent business, and can book a day to inspect.
Call (830) 879-9995Your call may be recorded. The referral disclosure explains who is paid.