Foundation contractors

[John Hickman]

A few questions:

• How do you scope bids from different foundation contractors when they don't agree to how many piers, etc are needed?   One may say you need only a dozen piers, another recommends 24. Just the cost per pier?
• Then aside from the free advice (estimates), how do you know how many piers are really needed?  And convince the foundation contractor to warranty only what's needed.
• Any recommendations for foundation contractors in DFW?

[J Scott]

When it comes to foundation/structural issues, I prefer to start with an engineer.  Get a structural engineer to the property and have him write up a recommended solution to whatever the issue is.  Then shop THAT around to the foundation contractors.

The advantages of doing it this way:

-  The engineer will accept some liability if he screws up (not so much the contractors)

-  You'll get an apples-to-apples comparison on contractor bids

-  You won't have to worry about contractors screwing up the necessary scope of work, especially if they underestimate the work just to get you a low bid

-  You'll have documentation for your end-buyer on what the issue was, how it was fixed and that it was fixed appropriately.  This will increase resale value and reduce liability on your part.