Foundation issues: Should I hire a structural or geotechnical engineer

[James Gilson]

Good afternoon,

I am hoping to get some direction regarding foundation repairs. The foundation company says that I have differential settlement and that I need to install push piers. To me though, this seems like a reactive solution. Also, they have not explained to me what caused this issue in the first place other than saying the soil quality is probably bad.

I am wondering if anyone out there has hired a structural or geotechnical engineer for a single family home and what their experience was.

The property appears to be in an area that might have an elevated water table (not sure though), so from doing some googling, I am wondering if I need to install a sump pump and underground drainage in addition to fixing the current foundation issues. I want to hire an engineer that can look at my property, analyze the current issue, provide reasons for the issues, and suggest plans to remediate. Also hoping the engineer can see other issues that might arise so I can take care of them before. The foundation companies just give me a proposal for the work and it is really frustrating to be given a $27,000.00 proposal with little explanation.

The property is in St. Paul MN, so if anyone reading this has experience or has a company they would suggest, I would really appreciate any input.

Thank you

[Landon Vowels]

Hi James, my suggestion would be to reach out to some local structural engineering firms and ask if they can do a consultation. It will probably cost at least a few hundred dollars, but they should be able to evaluate your building and provide a suggested path forward in a report. And if you aren't able to get an engineer to come out to the site, then at least get 1 or 2 additional quotes/opinions from other foundation repair companies.

Geotechnical companies can do soil tests, but that's usually only needed for a new build or an extensive addition and will cost several thousand dollars, and would probably be overkill unless required by the city or suggested by the report.