Frequently Asked Questions

Because you're paying for an engineering opinion, not a sales visit. Texas doesn't license foundation repair contractors, but it does license engineers, and your sealed report carries a licensed engineer's professional accountability. The engineer spends 2 to 3 hours at your home and a similar effort at the office analyzing the data. Getting the right answer up front costs far less than the wrong repair, or a repair you never needed.

Without an engineering evaluation first, each bid answers a different question. When each contractor inspects separately, each applies its own judgment about what your home needs, with no common standard to measure against, so scopes and prices vary widely. An engineering evaluation applies a common standard: the guidelines published by the Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which weigh measured floor elevations together with the pattern of distress throughout the home. When every contractor prices the same recommended scope, the bids become comparable.

Yes. As licensed Professional Engineers, we start every project with no assumptions about what we will find on site. Underpinning is never our default. Depending on what the evaluation shows, the recommendation may be no corrective action, site improvements such as drainage and moisture management, soil treatments, or structural repair.

A Texas-licensed Professional Engineer visits your home, looks for signs of foundation movement inside and out, and measures how level your floors are at dozens of points across the first floor, marking each one on a floor plan we draw of your home. Back at the office, we load that drawing into our custom analysis software. It turns the measurements into a contour map of your floors, much like a topographic map, so we can see whether the foundation has bent or tilted, and by how much. We follow the Level B protocols in the Texas Section ASCE Guidelines for the Evaluation and Repair of Residential Foundations, which Texas engineers use to evaluate home foundations. You receive a sealed engineering report describing what we found, what it likely means, and what steps, if any, we recommend.

To see what the analysis looks like, visit Why a Licensed Engineer Matters.

A Level B evaluation is non-invasive and limited to conditions that are visible and readily accessible on the day of the visit. We don't move furniture or stored items, remove finishes, or excavate. It doesn't include plumbing leak testing, soil or material testing, attic framing, or roofing, mechanical, electrical, mold, or termite inspections. If plumbing leaks are a concern, a licensed plumber's test is the right tool. Framing can be evaluated as a separate service.

They're levels of investigation defined in the Guidelines for the Evaluation and Repair of Residential Foundations, published by the Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Level A is a visual screening for routine checks. It doesn't include elevation measurements or repair planning.

Level B adds an elevation survey to measure how much the floors slope, a floor plan, and engineering analysis. It's the right choice for buying, selling, or repair decisions. Level B is our standard evaluation and can be booked directly online.

Level C adds invasive testing for litigation, complex insurance claims, or cases with high uncertainty, and always begins with a Level B.

Most homes are a flat $795: slab foundations with less than 2,500 square feet of first-floor area in our standard service area. Homes with a larger first floor or a crawlspace, or outside that area, cost a little more, and our online scheduler shows your exact fee before you book. The fee covers the site visit, the analysis, and your sealed report, and it's the same whatever the report finds. Expedited report delivery is available as an add-on. Payment is due before the report is released.

One of our Texas-licensed Professional Engineers, personally. We don't send technicians or data collectors: the engineer who visits your home is the engineer who seals your report. Our engineers have evaluated Central Texas structures since 2015 and have completed more than 2,000 inspections. You can meet them on our About page.

Yes. Floor elevations are measured the same way. For the crawlspace, we evaluate accessible areas remotely with a custom-built crawlspace robot when practical, which shows general foundation and framing conditions. It isn't a pier-by-pier examination, and our engineers typically don't physically enter crawlspaces with less than 3 feet of clearance.

Most Level B visits take about 2 to 3 hours. Homes with a crawlspace usually take about an hour longer.

You or an authorized representative, such as your agent, should be there to let us in. We need access to every room inside the home, as well as the exterior.

Walk through your home, inside and out, and look for cracks, separations, or doors that don't open or close properly. Point them out to the engineer during the visit, and mention when you first noticed each one if you know. Please hold off on patching any cracks until after the evaluation. They help show how the foundation has moved.

Any prior engineering reports, foundation repair records, plumbing test results, or soil reports you have. They help the engineer understand the home's history. You can upload them in the online scheduler when you book, or email them to info@criterium-williams.com.

Level B reports are typically delivered within five business days after the evaluation, or two with expedited delivery. If you're buying a home and working against an option deadline, schedule as early in your option period as you can. For a Level A or Level C evaluation, we'll confirm the timeline when we agree on the scope.

You'll get a licensed Professional Engineer's opinion of how your foundation is performing and what, if anything, you should do about it. Foundation performance isn't a simple pass-or-fail call, so the report explains what was found and recommends whether repairs are warranted, monitoring or maintenance makes sense, or no action is needed.

It means that somewhere across your foundation, the floor measurements show more bending or tilting than the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Texas Section guidelines use as a benchmark. That alone doesn't mean repair is needed. The guidelines direct the engineer to weigh the measurements together with other signs of movement, such as cracks and doors that stick, rather than relying on the measurements alone. Why a Licensed Engineer Matters explains bending (deflection) and tilt in more detail.

The report identifies the recommended area of underpinning and an estimated total pile count, so every contractor you ask is pricing the same scope. It isn't a final repair design. The repair contractor and its project engineer (the engineer of record) prepare the final pile layout and any permit documents.

It can be. Underpinning commonly costs tens of thousands of dollars, and more when tunneling under the slab is required. But many homes don't need structural repair at all, and drainage and moisture improvements typically cost far less. When underpinning is needed, the cost depends mostly on the number of piles, whether interior piles are required, any plumbing repairs, and access to the work. The estimated pile count in your report gives you a common basis for comparing bids.

Share the report with the contractors you choose. Each should visit the home before bidding, price the report's recommended scope as its base bid, and list any additional recommendations separately, so the bids are comparable. The contractor you hire works with its project engineer (the engineer of record). If needed, a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) scan first locates interior grade beams. The project engineer then prepares or approves the final repair design and permit documents. Once permitted, the crew digs access pits along the foundation and reaches any interior piles through floor openings (knockouts) or tunnels. Piles are installed one at a time, with each pile's location, depth, and refusal force recorded in a pile log. The underpinned area is then lifted together toward the target elevations on top of the piles, though rarely to perfectly level. Plumbing should be tested after the lift, and a final floor elevation survey documents the result.

Anyone you choose, once the fee is paid, for lawful purposes related to the property, such as repair bids and real estate, warranty, insurance, or engineering discussions. Please share the complete report, without changes or excerpts. The report is prepared for you as our client. Sharing it doesn't give anyone else the right to rely on it; that requires our written consent.

Tell us when you schedule. We need to know whether the evaluation relates to a builder or contractor warranty claim, a home warranty or insurance claim, a dispute with another party, or a possible legal proceeding. A Level B report documents how the foundation is performing and can be shared in those discussions. Claim support, litigation support, and expert testimony are separate services under a separate agreement, and Level C investigations are available for litigation and complex claims.

Yes. Please send any records from the repair, such as the pile layout or installation log and the warranty, along with any engineering reports from before or after the repair. A Level B evaluation measures how the foundation is performing now. Because it's non-invasive, it can't verify concealed work such as pile depths. If you're considering a warranty claim against the company that performed the repair, let us know when you schedule.

No. Criterium-Williams Engineers is an engineering firm. Our lead engineers, Dustin Williams, P.E. and Jamie Robinson, P.E., also own Endura Structural, a separate residential foundation and structural repair contractor. Some homeowners want the engineers who evaluated their home to stay involved through the repair, and Endura provides this opportunity. Endura has no role in your evaluation. You can learn more about Endura at endurastructural.com.

Only if you ask for one. When you schedule, your evaluation agreement asks one optional question: would you like a proposal from Endura if the report recommends work? You'll receive one only if you check Yes, and checking No doesn't change anything about your evaluation or your report. If your evaluation relates to a warranty claim, insurance claim, or dispute, the answer is always No.

No. Endura is an option, not an obligation. Your report describes recommended work so that any qualified contractor can price it, and you can share it with any contractor you choose. Your fee is set before the evaluation and doesn't depend on what the report finds, whether you request an Endura proposal, or which contractor you hire.

We're independent of every repair contractor except one, and we're upfront about it: our lead engineers, Dustin Williams, P.E. and Jamie Robinson, P.E., also own Endura Structural. Our engineering evaluations remain objective. Every evaluation follows established engineering guidelines and is based on measured foundation elevations and observed distress. Our findings are documented in a signed and sealed engineering report that we are professionally responsible for, regardless of whether repairs are recommended. Our job is to tell you what your foundation actually needs, not to sell you repairs. If your foundation is performing satisfactorily, we'll tell you. In fact, most foundation evaluations we've performed over the past decade did not recommend structural repair. You also decide whether Endura is involved at all: your evaluation agreement asks whether you'd like an Endura proposal if the report recommends work, and if you check No, Endura won't solicit, bid, or propose any work arising from your evaluation. Either way, your report is yours to keep, and you're free to use any contractor you choose.

Yes. We evaluate sagging floors, damaged roof framing, deteriorating balconies, deflecting garage door lintels, failing masonry arches, and rotating masonry walls or columns. Contact us to scope the visit.

Yes, for builders, remodelers, and architects. We design foundations, wind bracing, and framing for custom homes and accessory structures, and structural changes for additions and remodels, including removing load-bearing walls. If you're a homeowner planning a project, we're glad to work through your builder, remodeler, or architect, so just ask them to contact us.

Yes. Our commercial practice at criterium-williams.com serves commercial property owners and community associations with reserve studies, building inspections, and building envelope services.

Homeowners across Central Texas, including San Antonio, New Braunfels, and the Austin metro area. Our office is at 325 S. Castell Ave in New Braunfels.