Though I’ve officially retired from daily work in foundation repair, I still put time and effort into improving the foundation repair industry. I  have continued to develop and improve the software I designed to help residential forensic foundation engineers work more efficiently. I have also been conducting tests and making improvements to my NeveRust patent, specifically the hold-down strap and the new needle pile. I’ll go into detail about these in a later blog.

I Wrote a Book About Improving the Foundation Repair Industry

The big thing that I have been working on lately is publicity for and the publishing of my book, Foundation Repair Secrets. The book covers two main points I see as critical to improving the foundation repair industry. These are:

 1. That foundation investigations should not be done by foundation repair companies (unless they have an independent engineering division). At this time, my former company AZFS no longer has an independent engineering division. This was disbanded shortly after the new purchasers took control. So unfortunately, at this time I know of no other companies doing this other than a company in California that was doing it shortly after the initial sale.

2. To show that there is no longer a valid reason for foundation repair companies to ignore heave since there is now a proven solution to address it.

I also cover the system components, the installation, and results of testing this solution. 

My Massively Transformative Purpose

Since selling my company, I have had time to reflect on what would give me the most meaning to my efforts. Rather than sit around and watch TV, I feel I would like to try and make the world a better place. I feel that it is my Massively Transformative Purpose to reduce the “Fleecing of America” by foundation repair companies, home builders, and their captive engineers.

Engineers learn early on, in their equivalent of the Hippocratic oath, that they are to protect the health and welfare of the public. I believe that this extends to more than making sure that buildings and structures don’t fall down on people. It extends to protecting them from unscientific and misleading claims.

What Will it Take to Start Improving the Foundation Repair Industry? 

How can we encourage more independent licensed engineers to provide badly needed advice and service to residential clients? We must overcome objections they have that are holding them back. 

These objections, I’ve  found, all have solutions. 

1. Perception of risk. Although there is significant risk in new construction residential customers, the truth is there is very little risk associated with single project post-construction forensic work. We all know how class action residential claims are made against everyone in a neighborhood. That factor is not present in this kind of work.

2. It’s hard to compete with Free. Most foundation repair contractors offer their unscientific, biased, and minimalist “analysis” for free or very cheap. But engineers feel if they are going to put their seal on a report and plans, then they need to visit the property in person. Thus, it is not price competitive. But we have developed a technician training program, and software, that allows the EOR to feel comfortable sealing most reports and plans without having to visit in person. This enables them to offer a much less expensive service at a significant profit.

3. It’s hard to compete with foundation repair supplier marketing. I understand all of those marketing strategies and can provide those strategies to engineers. Ultimately engineers have a more compelling argument. If this argument is communicated effectively they can win a significant portion of market share. This is just one solution for improving the foundation repair industry.

4. Perception of less profit/time. If engineers utilize technology, best practices, and sound marketing strategies, they can make a significant profit for minimal risk. Recently, we calculated that a small firm can make about $100,000 profit per technician in the field.

These perceptions need to be changed before we can start improving the foundation repair industry. 

It Can Work if We’re All On Board

I envision a community of independent foundation evaluation engineers all connected on a single open sourced platform. This would allow them to communicate with each other about best practices, get each other’s advice on perplexing projects, and to pool costs.

I would love all of your help and participation in improving the foundation repair industry in order to protect the welfare of homeowners across America. You can respond to this blog, email me or hop on to our LinkedIn discussion page, Independent Forensic Foundation Performance Engineers.