FAQ
Foundation repair questions and answers
Short answers to what Boston owners ask most. Each links to a longer page where there is one.
First steps
Deciding whether to call
How do I know whether what I am seeing is serious?
One sign alone rarely decides it. Several together do: a stair-step crack outside, a door that has begun to stick beneath it and a floor that tilts the same way. The signs pages describe each and what else can cause it.
Can foundation repair wait until spring?
Movement that has taken decades seldom needs action this week, and an inspection will tell you how quickly things are changing. What should not wait is finding out. A measured baseline now makes every later decision easier.
Is it safe to stay in the house?
Nobody can judge that from a website or a phone description. If something has moved suddenly, or a wall or chimney looks ready to fall, get out and call 911. Otherwise have the building inspected and put the question to the person who has seen it.
Do companies work on foundations in winter?
Interior work such as posts, beams and wall braces goes on year round. Digging outside is harder in frozen ground, so exterior piers are often scheduled around the cold. Ask the company what it can do in the current season.
Boston buildings
Row houses, triple-deckers and condos
My row house shares walls with the neighbors. Does that complicate a repair?
It can. Party walls carry both houses, and underpinning one side affects the other. Expect the company or its engineer to want to see the adjoining basements and to recommend that neighbors be told before work starts.
We are three owners in a triple-decker. Who arranges an inspection?
Anyone can ask for one, but the foundation is common property, so decisions and payment go through the condominium association. Boston also requires a licensed contractor for work in buildings of three or more units. See the permit guide.
I rent out a two-family house I do not live in. Can I use this number?
Yes. Landlords of houses and small residential buildings are welcome to call. Note that some state consumer protections apply only to an owner's primary residence, as the hiring guide explains.
Does a fieldstone foundation mean trouble?
No. It means maintenance. Stone walls need their mortar renewed from time to time and their drainage kept in order. Trouble shows as bulges, shifted stones or new cracks above, which are covered under foundation cracks.
The call
Using this site
Who answers when I call?
Either a foundation repair firm that covers your address, or a referral network that hands you on to one. The firm is independent of this website, which has no inspectors or repair staff.
Which places does the number serve?
Boston and its neighborhoods, plus Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop. The service area page has the full list. Homes in Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Newton and Quincy are outside it.
Do I have to hire the company I speak with?
No. Speaking with a company, and having it inspect, commits you to nothing. Get its findings in writing and compare.
Can I email instead?
The email address on the contact page is for questions about this website. It cannot arrange inspections. For that, phone.
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.