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Do I Need a Permit for Foundation Repair?

A lot of times homeowners wonder if they need a permit for foundation repair. Let’s be honest, if there is something more off-putting than your home becoming a worksite for a few days with tunnels dug all around, surrounded by mounds and mounds of dirt and equipment and materials lying around, it is the prospect of dealing with bureaucracy to get a permit.


So to answer the homeowners’ question regarding a permit, the answer is: Yes.


But do not feel dismayed; while the permit in and on itself incurs in some extra expenses it has a lot of benefits for the homeowner. Not to mention that you won’t have to move a finger in order to get this permit for your foundation repair. Why? Because it is actually the contractor’s responsibility to secure it for you.


But what does this permit entails and why is it any good for the homeowner? To answer this question the first thing that we have to understand is that a foundation repair permit goes hand in hand with an Engineer’s report. In order for the contractor to get the permit to make the repairs a structural engineer’s report to the city myst be presented at the time of application for the permit. This is something obligatory, and it must be carried out by a third party certified structural engineer, also known as PEs (Professional Engineers). This report comes at a price; a fee passed on to the homeowner and it should be included in the overall estimate that the contractor quotes the homeowner. If no mention is made of a city permit or engineer report in the quote you should really inquire as to why there is no mention of this.


The engineer report consists of two parts. Initial report and final report. The initial report comes after the engineer comes to your home and evaluates the property and its needs; basically it certifies what the house is requiring foundation repair (and/or any additional services it may need) as well as detailing what sort of repairs, amounts and types of materials he or she recommends for the property. If there is any discrepancies between what was first estimated and what the engineer recommends then we double check to see what we missed. And in all honesty we can say that this has never happened to us.


So once we provide the estimate to the homeowner and it is approved, we ask the structural engineer for the initial report. He or she goes to the home, makes his evaluation and confirms what is needed. He writes the report and we get the permit. We finish the job in its entirety and then the engineer goes back for the final evaluation, certifying that the job is done, that it has been done well and according to the specifications. Then we show the final report to the city and we close the permit.


As you can see the permit and engineer report work in favor of the homeowner. Sure, there is a fee involved but in return it protects the potential client; a third party structural engineer with unbiased opinion/evaluation will make sure that the homeowner gets exactly what they need and that the foundation repair will not pull a fast one, trying to sell something that is not needed. Or that they are not doing what is adequate for the project. This way they ensure honesty and transparency throughout the whole process. 


It is also worth mentioning that while we mentioned that the homeowner does not have to move a finger to get the permit/engineer report there are times when the homeowner decides to get their own engineer’s report directly. And with that report they ask several Foundation Repair companies to provide an estimate based on that report. This way the homeowner can compare and choose whichever option is better for them. 


This is a way of fast-tracking the project and most of all, of ensuring that what is required is exactly what has been done, which will be verified by the same engineer after the job is completed.

This generates consumer trust. As you can see the foundation repair company gets nothing out of this process, and instead the benefits it represents are solely for the homeowner.


So as a homeowner you can rest easy knowing that not only we, as a company, will do the absolute best for your home, but also that everything will be done according to the specifications of a certified structural engineer; from the very beginning to the very end.





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