How long does an evaluation take?

Typically an hour to an hour and a half on a standard residential property, and longer on a larger footprint or where crawlspace access is involved. Most of that time is taking elevation readings room by room and walking the exterior; the conversation about findings happens at the end. If someone is in and out in fifteen minutes with a number, they have not surveyed anything.

What actually gets measured?

Relative floor elevations at points throughout the house, which produce the shape of the floor plane. Alongside that, crack locations, directions, and dimensions are recorded rather than just noted, along with door and window operation, trim separations, exterior masonry condition, grade, downspout discharge, irrigation, and tree proximity. On a pier-and-beam home, the crawlspace is inspected as well.

Will it tell me exactly what is wrong?

It documents what is measurable and observable, and states an interpretation of what those findings indicate. Some questions genuinely need further work to answer: a suspected under-slab plumbing leak needs a hydrostatic test by a licensed plumber, and an independent structural opinion needs a licensed Professional Engineer. A good report says which questions it has answered and which it has flagged for someone else.

Do I need to be there?

It helps considerably. You know when things changed, what has been done to the house before, which door started sticking first, and whether that crack has always been there. That context genuinely changes how findings are read, and it is much harder to gather afterwards by phone.

What if the evaluation finds nothing significant?

Then that is the finding, and it goes in the report along with the elevation data. That gives you a dated baseline — so if something changes in two years, there is something to compare against. A recommendation to monitor with a repeat survey at a suggested interval is a legitimate and common outcome, not a wasted visit.

What Happens During a Foundation Evaluation?

A step-by-step account of a foundation evaluation, so you know what you are booking before you book it.

What the visit is for

An evaluation exists to answer one question with evidence: what is this specific house doing?

Not what the neighbourhood is like, not what houses of this age typically do, not what a crack usually means. What the measurements and observations, taken together, indicate about this structure.

Here is what that involves, step by step.

Before the visit

We ask what you have noticed, when you first noticed it, whether it has changed, and whether any previous work, reports, or records exist. That shapes what to look for and what to bring.

If you have dated photographs of a crack, bring them out. If a previous owner left paperwork about foundation work, that changes how current evidence should be read. If a tree came out of the yard two years ago, mention it.

Inside: the elevation survey

The core of the evaluation. Relative elevation readings are taken at points across the floor throughout the house and referenced to each other, producing a picture of the floor plane.

The readings themselves are not individually meaningful — the pattern is what matters. Where is the high area, where is the low area, how large is the differential, and what shape does it take? A steady fall toward one exterior corner reads differently from a dip along a single interior line, and both differ from a high point in the middle.

That shape narrows the possible mechanisms considerably before anyone has looked at a single crack.

Inside: observations

Alongside the survey, the evaluator records what the house shows.

Cracks: location, direction, pattern, and dimension — recorded with context, not just width
Door and window operation: which bind, on which edge, how the gaps read
Separations at trim, baseboards, and ceiling junctions
Floor condition, including cracked tile and its pattern
Evidence of previous patching that has reopened

Crack gauge fixed across an interior wall crack with a ruler beside it

Outside: the site

The exterior walk covers the things that influence soil moisture, because those are usually the mechanism.

Brick and mortar condition, particularly around openings and at corners. Separation between the main structure and porches, steps, or additions. The grade — does it fall away from the house or toward it? Where every downspout discharges. Irrigation coverage. Tree locations and size. Flatwork that has settled toward the building.

Evaluator walking the exterior of a brick home examining grade and downspout discharge

Underneath, on a crawlspace home

If the house is pier-and-beam, the crawlspace is inspected: pier and footing condition, girder and joist condition, sill plates, clearance, moisture, standing water, and any evidence of previous work.

An evaluation of a crawlspace home that skipped the crawlspace has not evaluated the foundation. If clearance genuinely prevents full access, that limitation should be stated in the report rather than papered over.

What the report contains

Three sections, kept deliberately separate:

Section	Content	Status
Findings	Elevation readings, documented observations, site conditions	Fact
Interpretation	What we believe those findings indicate, with reasoning	Opinion
Recommendation	Proposed scope, or a recommendation to monitor	Proposal

You can accept the findings and disagree with the interpretation. That separation is the point: it makes the document useful to another contractor or an engineer, and it makes our reasoning checkable rather than assertion.

What an evaluation cannot conclude

Whether there is an under-slab plumbing leak. That needs a hydrostatic test by a licensed plumber. An evaluation can flag that the pattern suggests one.

An independent structural opinion. We are a contractor. Our evaluation proposes repair scope, and that is a commercial position however honestly held. Where independence matters — transactions, disputes, insurance — a licensed Professional Engineer’s assessment is the right document. See contractor evaluation versus engineer assessment.

Subsurface conditions at depth. Only geotechnical borings establish that. Installation records from pier work provide it after the fact.

Whether movement is ongoing. A single survey is a snapshot. Establishing a trend needs a second survey at a later date, which is why monitoring recommendations come with an interval.

After the visit

You receive the report. If the evidence supports work, an itemized scope comes with it — and the assessment documents guide explains what each document in that set is for.

If it does not support work, the report says so and you keep it anyway. A dated baseline is worth having regardless of the outcome.

For the service itself, see foundation evaluation.