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Foundation repair in Revere, MA
Revere runs from glacial hills down to a long beach and a salt marsh. A house near the water faces questions that a house on the hill does not.
Ground
Hills, beach and marsh
Beachmont and Fennos Hill both appear on the U.S. Geological Survey's list of the area's drumlins. They are made of till, a dense mix of clay and stones dropped by the ice, and houses on them have firm ground beneath.
Between and below the hills the land is sand, marsh and fill. It drains differently, sits closer to the water table and can be reached by storm tides. Shallow footings under porches, steps and additions are the first to show it.
Near the water
Two checks to make first
Look up your flood zone
The city's floodplain information page points to its online map, which has a FEMA flood zone layer you can search by address. Tell the company the result, because it affects what can be built below ground.
Ask about the Conservation Commission
The same page refers owners to the Conservation Commission's filing instructions. If your lot is near the marsh or the beach, ask the city whether digging for a repair needs the Commission's sign-off as well as a building permit.
Paperwork
How Revere issues permits
Revere's Building Division is in the basement of the American Legion Building at 249R Broadway (781-286-8196). It accepts applications only through the city's e-permitting portal, and it answers by email.
The division states that a contractor must upload a valid license or a completed workers' compensation affidavit, and that no permit is issued without them. Building permits go to state-licensed construction supervisors. An owner may take one out only for a one- or two-family home they live in, and the division itself encourages using a licensed contractor.
When you phone, give your ZIP code, 02151, so the call goes to a company that covers Revere.
Questions from Revere
My house is a few streets back from the beach and the front steps have sunk. Is that the foundation?
Steps usually rest on a small base of their own, so they can sink while the house stays put. Check for other signs: cracks in the foundation wall behind the steps, or a door above them that has started to bind. The page on porches and steps has more.
Does being in a flood zone stop me from repairing a foundation?
No, but it can add conditions. Ask the Building Division what applies to your address before a contract is signed, so the company prices the job with those conditions in it.
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.