Slab foundation repair
Elevation mapping, engineered underpinning and controlled lift on post-tension and conventionally reinforced slabs.
Foundation repair contractor serving San Antonio, TX
Your slab is moving because the clay under it is moving.
San Antonio sits on some of the most expansive soil in Texas. When that clay swells in the rain and shrinks in a drought, your foundation rides it up and down until something cracks. We stop the movement with engineered piers set to load-bearing strata, then fix the drainage that caused it.
Free on-site evaluation and written scope. No-cost second opinions on other contractors' bids.
- FreeOn-site inspection and written estimate
- LifetimeTransferable warranty on installed piers
- PermittedCity of San Antonio permits pulled on underpinning
- 0%Financing options available on approved credit
Signs your San Antonio home has foundation movement
Most homeowners call us after the cosmetic damage shows up, which is usually a year or two after the movement started. If you see two or more of these together, the structure is telling you something and an inspection is worth the hour it takes.
Stair-step cracks in brick
Diagonal separation through mortar joints, usually widest at the top, above windows and near corners.
Doors and windows sticking
Interior doors that latch in winter and drag in summer are following seasonal soil movement.
Sheetrock cracks at corners
Cracks running diagonally from door and window corners toward the ceiling line.
Sloping or bouncy floors
A ball rolls across the room on its own, or floors flex over pier and beam crawl spaces.
Gaps at trim and countertops
Baseboards pulling off the wall, crown molding separating, backsplash gaps opening up.
Separation at the slab edge
Visible soil pulling away from the beam, exposed slab edge, or cracked exterior grout lines.
Foundation repair services in San Antonio
We handle slab-on-grade and pier and beam structures, residential and light commercial, across Bexar County and the surrounding Hill Country. Every scope is written after the elevation survey, not before.
Pier and beam repair
Shimming, new interior pads, sistered joists, rotted beam replacement and full re-leveling for older homes near downtown.
Steel push pier installation
Hydraulically driven steel piers taken to refusal on load-bearing strata, using the weight of the structure to verify capacity.
Concrete pressed pilings
Cost-effective pressed cylinder pilings for shallow-strata lots where depth requirements are modest.
Helical pier installation
Torque-verified helical piers for porches, additions, garages and lighter structures with little dead load.
House leveling
Full structural leveling with continuous elevation monitoring so the lift happens in measured increments, not all at once.
Concrete leveling and lifting
Polyurethane foam injection to raise sunken driveways, walkways, patios and pool decks without tear-out.
Drainage and root barriers
French drains, surface drains, regrading, gutter extensions and root barriers that address the moisture cycle causing the movement.
Crawl space repair
Vapor barriers, encapsulation, support post replacement and moisture control under pier and beam homes.
Commercial foundation repair
Retail, office, warehouse and multifamily underpinning scheduled around your operating hours.
Why foundations fail here and not in Dallas or Denver
San Antonio straddles the Balcones Escarpment, and the ground changes character as you cross it. North of Loop 1604, in Stone Oak, Timberwood Park and Shavano Park, homes sit over Edwards limestone with thin, rocky overburden. South and east, through the Southside, Converse and Kirby, the Blackland Prairie soils take over: deep Houston Black and Branyon clays with plasticity indices commonly in the 35 to 55 range.
High-plasticity clay can change volume by a substantial margin between saturated and desiccated states. During the 2011 and the 2022 to 2023 droughts, the active zone in parts of Bexar County dried several feet down, pulling support away from slab perimeters. Then a single heavy rain event refills that zone and heaves the edge back up. A slab that cycles like this eventually cracks, and the damage accumulates every season it is ignored.
Three other local factors make it worse: mature live oaks and hackberries drawing moisture out of the perimeter soil, plumbing leaks under slabs in homes built before the 1990s, and the standard flatwork grading on subdivisions built in the 1970s and 1980s, which sheds water toward the house instead of away from it. That is why our scopes almost always pair structural work with drainage correction. Piers alone treat the symptom.
Underpinning in the City of San Antonio is permitted work. We pull the permit under the Development Services Department, and when a project calls for it we work from a structural engineer's report prepared under the Texas Board of Professional Engineers guidelines for evaluating residential foundations, so the repair plan and the closing paperwork both hold up.
How the repair actually goes
No sales pressure and no scare tactics. Some homes we inspect do not need piers at all, and we will tell you that.
Free inspection
We take elevation readings room by room, check the perimeter grade, look for plumbing indicators and map the movement.
Written scope and price
You get pier locations, depths, method, lift expectations and a fixed price in writing. Financing options if you want them.
Permitted installation
Crews tunnel or excavate, drive piers to refusal, then lift in monitored increments. Most homes are two to four days.
Cleanup and warranty
Landscaping and flatwork restored, final elevations documented, lifetime transferable warranty issued on the installed piers.
Areas we serve
Based on Eckhert Road near Braun Station, we cover all of San Antonio and most of Bexar County, plus Comal and Guadalupe counties. Same-day inspections are usually available inside Loop 1604.
- Alamo Heights
- Alamo Ranch
- Balcones Heights
- Boerne
- Braun Station
- Bulverde
- Castle Hills
- Cibolo
- Converse
- Fair Oaks Ranch
- Helotes
- Hollywood Park
- Kirby
- Leon Valley
- Live Oak
- Monte Vista
- New Braunfels
- Olmos Park
- Schertz
- Selma
- Shavano Park
- Southtown
- Stone Oak
- Terrell Hills
- Timberwood Park
- Universal City
- Windcrest
- Von Ormy
ZIP codes served include 78201, 78209, 78213, 78216, 78227, 78228, 78229, 78230, 78231, 78238, 78240, 78248, 78249, 78250, 78251, 78253, 78254, 78255, 78256, 78257, 78258 and 78260.
About San Antonio Cornerstone Foundation Repair
We are a foundation repair contractor based on Eckhert Road near Braun Station, working almost entirely inside Bexar County. That matters more in this trade than it sounds. A crew that spends every week on Blackland clay and Edwards limestone knows what a five-foot pier depth on the north side means versus a twenty-foot depth off Southcross, and prices the job accordingly instead of padding it.
Our work is limited to what actually holds a structure: elevation surveys, engineered underpinning, pier and beam leveling, concrete lifting and the drainage that keeps the soil moisture stable afterward. We do not upsell remodeling, we do not sell you a full perimeter when four piers on one corner will do, and we put pier count, depth and price in writing before anyone touches the yard.
Every underpinning job is permitted through the City of San Antonio Development Services Department. When a lender, buyer, insurer or attorney needs a stamped report, we coordinate with a licensed Texas structural engineer so the paperwork matches the work. Installed piers carry a lifetime warranty that transfers to the next owner of the home.
If you are two weeks from listing, mid-transaction, or just watched a crack open up after the first real rain in months, call. Inspections are free and we will tell you honestly if the answer is to monitor it for another season.
Questions homeowners ask us first
How much does foundation repair cost in San Antonio?
Price is driven by pier count, pier type and access. Individual piers commonly run in the several-hundred-dollar range each, so a handful of perimeter piers on one corner is a very different project from a full perimeter lift on a large home. Tunneling under a slab, interior piers and post-tension cable work add cost. You get a fixed written number after the inspection, not a range over the phone.
Is the free inspection really free?
Yes. We do the elevation survey, walk the exterior grade and give you a written scope at no charge, including when the answer is that you do not need repairs yet. A stamped engineer's report is separate and is ordered through a licensed structural engineer when a lender, buyer or insurer requires one.
Steel piers or concrete pressed pilings?
Steel piers are driven to refusal against load-bearing strata and can be verified against the structure's own weight, which makes them the better choice on deep clay profiles and heavier structures. Concrete pressed pilings cost less and perform well where competent strata is shallow. We recommend based on the soil profile at your address, not on what we would rather install.
Will the cracks close up after the lift?
Usually most of the way, but foundation repair is a structural fix, not a cosmetic one. Expect to touch up sheetrock, caulk and mortar afterward. Any contractor promising every crack will disappear is overselling.
Do you need a permit for foundation repair in San Antonio?
Underpinning requires a permit through the City of San Antonio Development Services Department. We pull it. Unpermitted foundation work is one of the most common problems we find during real estate transactions, and it is expensive to unwind at closing.
Is the warranty transferable if I sell the house?
Yes. The lifetime warranty on installed piers transfers to the next owner, which matters when a buyer's inspector flags prior foundation work. We provide the documentation package for your file.
How long does the work take?
Most residential projects run two to four working days. Larger homes, interior piers or tunneling can extend that. You can typically stay in the home the entire time.
Should I water my foundation?
Consistent perimeter moisture is the single cheapest thing you can do in a San Antonio summer. Even watering with a soaker hose set back from the slab beats heavy soaking after weeks of drought, which causes fast heave. We will show you the right placement during the inspection.
Book a free foundation inspection
Call and talk to someone local who can usually tell from your description whether this is urgent or something to monitor. If you would rather be looked at this week, we will get you on the schedule.
San Antonio Cornerstone Foundation Repair
7511 Eckhert Rd, San Antonio, TX 78240
(210) 405-7935
| Monday to Friday | 7:00am – 7:00pm |
|---|---|
| Saturday | 8:00am – 4:00pm |
| Sunday | Closed |