Free foundation inspection versus an independent engineer

A free foundation inspection is a visit from a business that is paid when it sells foundation repair, so the person deciding whether you need a repair is the person who would sell it to you. An independent engineer charges for the evaluation and has no repair to sell, and that difference is what a lender, a buyer and a court weigh when they read the result.

Neither fact makes the free visit dishonest or the paid one correct. They decide what each document can be used for.

The scope 254 Engineering describes for an independent foundation evaluation is on the foundation inspection page.

What the free visit is

The free visit ends in a proposal: a recommended repair, a method, a number of piers or supports, and a price. That is the product. It is the same visit a contractor makes before quoting any job, and the contractor is entitled to make it.

What it is not, unless a licensed engineer does it, is an engineering evaluation. Section 1001.003 of the Texas Occupations Code includes consultation, investigation, evaluation and analysis in the practice of engineering, section 1001.301 restricts the practice and the title engineer to license holders, and section 1001.401 requires a license holder's seal on a report issued for a Texas project. A salesperson's assessment carries none of that.

What a free inspection can tell you

It tells you what that company would do and what it would charge. Collected from two or three companies, those proposals show whether the contractors agree that repair is needed, how far apart their methods are, and how far apart their prices are. That is real information, and it costs nothing to collect.

It can also surface observations an owner missed. A good estimator who measures and photographs is recording evidence, and that record is worth keeping whatever is decided. Ask for a copy of the photographs and any readings before the estimator leaves, because they are the part of the visit an independent engineer can use later when reviewing the proposal against the measured floor.

What it cannot do

• It is not the inspection the resale contract contemplates unless the visitor is a TREC licensed inspector or otherwise permitted by law to make inspections, which is the wording of paragraph 7A of TREC form 20-18.
• It is not a sealed opinion, and it is not written to answer the question Fannie Mae's Selling Guide puts where an appraisal notes settlement: whether the condition poses any threat of structural damage to the improvements.
• It does not define the repair the way remediation documents do. Section 7.4.1 of the ASCE Texas Section guidelines lists what those documents contain, including construction details, specifications, observation requirements and a required post repair elevation survey.
• It cannot be independent of the repair, because the repair is how it is paid for.

Why having nothing to sell matters

The ASCE Texas Section guidelines put it in one sentence at section 2.2: it is essential to avoid conflicts of interest to maintain the credibility of the evaluation. Section 2.1 says the evaluation and the repair design shall be performed by a professional engineer licensed in Texas.

The board's rules handle the case where an engineer's own interests are tied to the outcome. Rule 137.57(d) says a potential conflict of interest exists when there is a reasonable probability that the engineer's own financial, business, property or personal interests could affect their judgment, and that the engineer may accept that work only if all parties are fully informed in writing and the client confirms its knowledge of the conflict in writing.

So when a repair company brings an engineer, two questions settle most of it. Who engaged and pays the engineer? And has that relationship been disclosed to you in writing, as rule 137.57 requires where a conflict is possible? An engineer engaged by the owner, with no stake in which contractor wins or how large the repair is, does not have to answer either.

Where repair is needed, independence pays off a second time. A defined scope lets several contractors price the same work, which is the purpose of a repair specification.

Using a free inspection well

• Get the proposal in writing, with the number and location of supports marked on a plan, before anyone leaves the property.
• Ask whether floor elevations were measured, and ask for the readings. A proposal that rests on measurements can be checked; one that rests on a walk through cannot.
• Ask whether a licensed engineer reviewed the proposal, who engaged that engineer, and whether you will receive anything under that engineer's seal.
• Collect more than one. Agreement between independent contractors about the need for repair is worth more than any single proposal.
• Do not sign on the day. Movement on clay soil develops over seasons, and a decision can wait a week.
• Put the proposals in front of an independent engineer before committing, which is the cheapest point at which to find out whether the repair is warranted and whether its scope fits the measured movement.

The city permit is a second check

Several Texas cities require engineering on a foundation repair permit. The City of Houston asks, for a slab on grade foundation, for plans prepared by a Texas licensed engineer showing the location, quantity and type of supports. The City of Denton asks for a repair letter and plan signed and sealed by a Texas registered engineer, and for a final engineered seal report before the building final.

Where the city requires it, the engineering happens either way. The choice an owner has is whether the engineer works for the owner or for the contractor. The stages of a repair, and which professional handles each one, are set out in foundation engineer versus repair company.

For an owner holding one or more free proposals and unsure whether any repair is warranted, an independent evaluation answers that question before money is committed. The foundation inspection page sets out what that evaluation measures, and the published price list states its fee.