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Foundation repair in East Boston
East Boston began as separate islands. Streets on the old hills and streets on the fill between them sit on very different ground.
Hill or flat
Two kinds of ground in one neighborhood
The City of Boston's climate study puts it in one line: East Boston is composed of five separate islands connected by fill. The high ground is what remains of the islands. The U.S. Geological Survey counts Camp Hill among Boston's drumlins, hills of dense glacial till. A map describes the area; an inspection must establish the conditions beneath a particular house.
The level streets around and between the hills are made land, placed over mud and marsh. Fill is looser and wetter than till, and buildings on it are the ones more likely to have settled or to have been built on piles.
So the first thing to tell a company is where on that map your house is. A triple-decker halfway up a hill and a brick row near the waterfront can show the same crack for different reasons.
Groundwater
Part of East Boston is in the overlay district
The city's Groundwater Conservation Overlay District map includes a block of East Boston alongside Back Bay and the South End. Inside that boundary the city protects the water table because older buildings may depend on wood piles.
The Boston Groundwater Trust watches observation wells here and publishes an East Boston wells map on its maps page. If your address falls inside the district, use the Trust's parcel lookup to see what is recorded about your foundation, and read the page on pile-supported row houses.
Salt water
Low streets and storm tides
The same city study identifies low points where coastal flooding can enter the neighborhood, along the East Boston Greenway and near the entrances to the Sumner and Callahan tunnels.
If water has reached your street or basement in a storm, mention it when you call. Ground that is soaked again and again carries a footing less firmly, and the company will want to know before it looks at a settled corner.
Permits
East Boston follows Boston's rules
East Boston is part of the city, so structural repair needs a long form permit from Boston Inspectional Services with plans stamped by an engineer or architect. In the overlay district, deep digging or a substantial rehabilitation adds a groundwater review. Both are explained in the permit guide.
Questions from East Boston
How can I tell whether my street is on fill?
Flat streets close to the water are the likeliest. For something firmer, the Groundwater Trust's maps page links to maps of the original shoreline, including one for East Boston, and the overlay district map shows where the city treats the land as filled.
My basement takes in water at very high tides. Who do I call?
For water alone, a drainage or basement waterproofing firm is the right trade, and the city's flood programs may be relevant. Call about the foundation if the building has also cracked or moved.
Foundation repair in Boston
Have a Boston foundation company take a look
Give the street, the kind of building and what has changed. The company settles a day to visit, and afterwards you receive its written account of the cause and what it would charge.
Ready to have it looked at?
Phone and say what you have seen. The firm on the other end is a Boston-area foundation repair company, independent of this website, and it can book a visit to your home.
Call (617) 555-0111You speak with an independent company, not with this website. See the referral disclosure.