Most people who notice cracks in their walls, doors and windows out of square or sloping and cracked floors often have pressing questions. Questions like: How serious are these problems? Will they get worse? What happens if I do nothing? What are the options to fix this? 

If you’re looking for real answers from a professional with no conflicts of interest, backed by E&O insurance and governmental oversight, you need to call a licensed professional engineer. 

But are all engineers qualified for this type of work?

I receive numerous emails every week from people across the country who understand the importance of having forensic engineers diagnose foundation performance and provide the necessary recommendations. They often share how challenging it has been to find someone with those specific qualifications and ask if I can offer any recommendations.

As a result, I went on a Google search for residential forensic engineers in every state in the Union. I identified a few and reviewed their websites to determine if they handled residential projects and performed forensic work. If they did, I included them in my state-by-state directory. 

Beyond that, I have not yet fully qualified these engineers beyond this initial vetting process. I’ve also asked everyone to keep me posted on their journey and to share any recommendations they come across… A few people have!

Engineering Qualifications to Look For

Most engineers work in infrastructure and commercial buildings. Things like dams, freeways, water and sewer treatment plants and delivery systems, mining, airports, and commercial properties. Very few engineers work in residential, and even fewer work in residential forensics.

Well, what is forensics? It is essentially the field of studying the performance of existing conditions. Coroners study dead bodies in the forensics lab. In lawsuits, forensic accountants dig through documents to find the smoking guns. 

It reminds me of a favorite joke. Bear with me. 

The doctor says to the accountant, the difference between your profession and mine….. is I have to bury my mistakes. You have to dig yours up! 

So then, in this context, forensic engineers study the performance of the foundation and try to understand the forces acting on it (soils mainly). 

In my opinion, it is not enough to dabble in forensics. To do it right, it must be done regularly.

When most people think of hiring an engineer, their first thought is almost always a structural engineer. After all, they’re noticing cracks in the structure! Most structural engineers stop into a home, look around, take a few pictures, make a few notes, and then go back to the office and write a short letter stating that the home is not structurally deficient. 

I once had a structural engineer try to argue that if the cracks in a home were not structural, then they must be cosmetic! I’m not sure if he was serious or was testing me. Of course, most of the damage in a home with foundation movement is functional or serviceable in nature.

Many structural engineers don’t conduct floor-level surveys. This is probably one of the most important tools in an investigation. (More on this later!) 

If you ask a structural engineer, “Will this problem continue to get worse?” Unless he has experience as a geotechnical engineer, his answer will inevitably be, “Well, you will need to consult a geotechnical engineer since this foundation is being moved by the soils.”

If you really want to know if the foundation is done moving or will continue to move, a geotechnical engineer is the better choice—preferably a forensic one. Very few foundations that I have seen are structurally deficient. Most of the stress that I have seen is serviceable in nature. What we really want to know is, are these cracks going to keep coming back if I patch them? 

A geotechnical engineer is best equipped to answer this. They know the geology of the neighborhood, how the soil was deposited, and its history. They constantly do drilling and analyze the soil layering, its contents, and proclivities.

Another critical qualification for an engineer is independence. But what does independence in this context mean?

I’ve encountered engineers who design for home builders or derive 90% of their income from them or, more accurately, their insurance companies. These engineers are often sent out to evaluate homes they designed for the builder. These are not independent engineers. They work for the builder and won’t frequently share their findings with a homeowner unless the builder gives permission. They write a short letter to the homeowner saying there are no structural deficiencies and that the movement is normal and expected. They never even address the issues of serviceability. If they ever admitted a problem, it would be a knock on their design. 

They go out for free… As if that is some sort of wonderful humanitarian gesture. In fact, they can’t charge the homeowner because their loyalties would be divided. They won’t charge the builder… because they don’t want to antagonize the guys that butter their bread… especially if there is a chance that it could be a design problem. And they will ensure that it is not characterized as a design problem. 

On the other hand, there are many engineers who get a substantial part of their income from foundation repair contractors. They will also be reluctant to hold their clients’ feet to the fire, especially if they are tied in deeply with the contractor in question.

Key Responsibilities of a Forensic Engineer

What should the homeowner expect from the forensic engineer? I am in the process of publishing an E-book detailing this. I go over it in my published book Foundation Repair Secrets. The E-book is a little more organized and compact on this issue.

At a minimum, a floor-level survey should be done. This is where an instrument called a manometer is used to record the relative elevations of the floor, typically every 5 to 8 feet on center in both directions of every room. Another step is to record the damages on the same floor plan. Cracks in walls, floors etc, pinched doors and windows, and other notable signs of distress. These should be overlaid on the elevation survey with topo lines. There are 17 things that are important to gather, but these are at least a minimum.  See my previous blog for more details on all 17 items.

Here’s an example of a floor elevation survey together with the signs of stress (in this case, red lines for wall cracks).

The forensic engineer should render an opinion on the likelihood of future movement and whether to engage in repairs. If repairs are recommended, the engineer should provide a repair plan with detailed specifications that can be bid out to several contractors. This eliminates the problem that homeowners get with three bids and three scopes of work.  See my blog here for more info.

And here’s another example of a repair plan with a specific repair location called out. This plan has options for the homeowner. A performance spec should be included to specify the capacity of the piers and smart jacks.

The same engineer who provided the design should be in charge of special inspections. Currently, contractors hire their own special inspector in most cases. This is another conflict of interest. The inspector needs to be the same engineer with the recommendations and design to ensure that it gets installed per his intent. About half of the time, foundation repair contractors come back to the homeowner after starting the job and say that additional work needs to be done. Homeowners are unequipped to handle this request and are often taken advantage of. This should be managed by the special inspector/designer of the repair plan, who is equipped to evaluate change order requests. 

To review, homeowners are being taken advantage of in several ways that engineers can help with.

1. The initial assessment. There are conflicts of interest and a lack of qualifications with current foundation repair sales personnel.
2. Drawings and specs. Widely differing work scopes that interfere with the bidding process.
3. Special inspections need to have the oversight of the designing engineer as opposed to inspectors hired by the contractor.
4. Change orders. Homeowners are not equipped to evaluate change orders. Engineers are.
5. Engineers can seal the entire project as being done to their intent. This is far superior to foundation repair contractors’ “lifetime warranty.” The sealed completion letter aids the homeowner in resale better than warranties that have back doors and “get out of jail free cards” embedded in them.

I write more on this here.

Existing Foundation Repair Engineers

I have talked with many engineers nationwide who “specialize in working with foundation repair contractors.” In most cases, these engineers only provide a spacing calc for the jurisdictional requirement for plans. 

What these engineers don’t know is that the foundation repair salesperson is telling the customer falsely that this engineer is “looking over the plans to make sure everything is good.”  These engineers have not gathered the initial data and cannot opine or make recommendations on that data. It could be that the plan has too many piers or too little… or on the wrong side of the home… or not needed at all! 

The permitting process does not correct for any of this… and the spacing calc engineers cannot “make sure everything is good” with the original repair plan.  I have found very few engineers who provide recommendations on the front end. They are badly needed!

I have made the claim of the need for engineering oversight of the foundation repair process many times…. in blogs, by video, in my book, and in person. The reaction that I get from engineers most of the time is general apathy. What happened to protecting the welfare of the public? The engineering community as a whole has done a poor job of protecting homeowners in the foundation repair process. 

This can change! There is a low-risk professional work option for engineers that is needed by a vulnerable public.  

As more engineers start to offer these services, the public can, in turn, rely on them for protection that is badly needed. In summary, foundation repair engineers need the following qualifications.

• Be independent
• A mix of structural and geotechnical experience (mostly geotechnical)
• Forensic work regularly
• Offer a report, plans and specs
• Be willing to offer special inspections
• Help with minor construction management  

Engineers who see the need will be handsomely rewarded.