In my forty years in the foundation repair business I have never seen as many failed foundation repair jobs as I am seeing now. It seems that the pier companies have completely discontinued attempting to permanently  repair foundation damaged home in exchange for selling  unneeded piers.

Of course, not all companies that sell piers are just in it to make money, but it seems that with most companies using commissioned salespeople who do not have much experience in the industry, that the failures are up.

Just today I was called to a home in Frisco. Very nice young couple who had been in the house for two years. The home had been built in the late nineties  

Since construction the foundation had been repaired twice, using two different contractors. The first time was fifteen piers and the second appears to be fourteen piers.  A total of 29 piers. The previous owner had been in the house since construction but had failed to provide much information for the recent buyers.

As I examined the structure I found interior cracks in about two thirds of the home. On the exterior the piers had done a fair job of holding the house from settling. However, THE PROBLEM WAS NOT SETTLING it was UPHEAVAL. The problem was never settlement but always upheaval and the previous owner was apparently screwed out of thousands of dollars by EACH of the previous contractors and the building is still not fixed.

My conclusion was that the home was built on expansive soils, while the soil was dry and likely contracted. Then the rains came...

When the rains came, one area of the structure was lifted by expanding soils and the rest of the house was not. This caused the illusion that part of the home had settled allowing the commissioned salesperson to sell the original fifteen unneeded piers to the unknowing homeowner.

I'm sure the contractor had made the structure look good by RAISING THE PART OF THE HOUSE THAT HAD NOT MOVED...RAISING IT UP TO THE POINT THAT THE OTHER SECTION HAD HEAVED GIVING ONCE AGAIN AN ILLUSION. This time the illusion was that the home was now fixed. BUT IT WAS NOT!

As the SEASON changed, and the soil on the heaved side dried out... the heaved area of the structure returned to a lower, near "as built", position... and the piered area stayed at an unnatural, higher elevation. This in effect reversed the problem after costing the homeowner a bunch of money.

Then what happened you ask... well apparently the homeowner called a second company for help and got sold another fourteen piers to bring up the area that had been heaved originally, putting pretty much the entire perimeter on stilts. 

With all this piering you would think the foundation would be fixed.... but you would be wrong. The perimeter was up above original grade, as is the center, because the soil in the center was still swollen. Now, two years later the the perimeter is still up but the center soil has dried and the soil at the center has shrunk and the center is drooping . All of this affects the house with sheetrock and bricks cracks, doors and windows out of align, and hard floor covering and wall tiles popping.

At this point their options are call in a foundation companies and lower all 29 piers to match  the center elevation which is very expensive and very hard of the house. Or balance the level of moisture in the soil as much as possible  and allow it to dry out. As the soil moisture level balances, the structure reaches an equilibrium and the movement stops allowing cosmetic repairs can be made. 

If the true cause of the problem had been determined in the beginning the drainage could have been corrected,  piers would have been avoided and thousands of dollars saved by  the homeowner.

That's what I do. I stop the bullshit!  AND If I can't help you you don't pay me.

Cases like the above happen everyday in North Texas and other areas of expansive soils. Many "foundation damaged" homes that reside on clay soils do not have foundation issues. Many more have foundation movement that can turn to structural damage but caught early can be contained and even reversed with proper maintenance. Don't get taken advantage of! Contact me and SAVE MONEY AND PROTECT YOUR HOME. MY FEE IS FAIR AND WHEN I HELP YOU, YOU WILL BE GLAD TO PAY ME.

You Have stayed this long so please watch the short video below. It was  made by a very well respected Texas engineer who understands the problems  homeowners have in getting the true information. 

The real travesty is, many people receiving "foundation repairs" in North Texas and many other areas of the country do not have legitimate foundation damage. 

The damage is usually moisture related, either drainage or occasionally plumbing issues. These problems can usually be solved by either drainage correction or plumbing repairs, SOMETIMES IT TAKES BOTH.

Seldom are piers actually needed, and alternative repairs are usually less expensive and disruptive than piering.

The big bonus is: when these problems are not required to be treated as structural foundation damage they should not be disclosed as foundation damage.    
They may be noted as drainage or plumbing issues rather than "foundation damage" when selling.