Foundation repair
Foundation repair in
Ventura and Los Angeles County
Houses that have settled, foundations that have cracked or moved, and the ground underneath that usually explains why.
What this covers
Repair of a foundation that has moved, settled or failed, beginning with what moved it. A foundation is repaired against the ground it sits in and the water reaching it, because the movement normally originates outside the concrete.
EMAE & Sons Inc works across Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange County. Class A General Engineering covers the excavation, the ground and the drainage that put a foundation where it is now; Class B General Building covers the structure standing on it. A foundation that has moved is both problems at once, and holding both on one license means the cause and the repair sit with one contractor rather than either side of a boundary.
- CSLB license
- #1107216 — Class A, B, C-36
- Office
- Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
- Local service area
- Thousand Oaks · Newbury Park · Westlake Village · Agoura Hills
What we take on
Underpinning and foundation piers
Carrying an existing foundation down onto ground that will hold it, where what it currently bears on will not. The structure stays in place while what supports it is replaced.
Leveling a settled house
Bringing a structure that has dropped unevenly back toward level, in a sequence set against how it moved rather than lifting everything at once.
Foundation replacement
Removing and rebuilding a foundation that has reached the end of its life or was never adequate, in sections, with the structure supported while the work runs.
Repairing cracks in a foundation
Establishing first whether a crack is structural or is the concrete having shrunk, then repairing it accordingly. The two need different work, and the assessment comes before either.
Assessment before anything is priced
Looking at the foundation, the ground around it and the water reaching it, and saying what is happening and what would have to be established before the work could be priced. Where an engineer's report is needed, we say so.
Why does a foundation move?
Almost always because of the ground or the water reaching it, rather than because of the concrete. The repair is therefore designed against the cause rather than against the crack.
Ground that moves with the season
Some soils swell when they take up water and shrink when they dry out. A foundation sitting on them is lifted and dropped through the year, and the movement shows up where the building is least able to absorb it.
Fill that is still settling
Ground placed to make a lot level goes on consolidating for years. Where part of a house sits on fill and part on undisturbed ground, the two halves settle at different rates.
Water arriving where it should not
Roof water discharging against a wall, a slope draining toward the house, or a leak below ground will soften the material a foundation bears on. It is also the cause most often left in place once the concrete has been repaired.
EMAE & Sons establishes what moved a foundation before pricing work on it, and looks at the drainage and the ground around the building rather than at the concrete alone. Where the cause sits outside the foundation, it is identified in the quote, including where doing so enlarges the scope beyond the work that was asked for.
What happens before anything is priced
A number of things have to be established before a foundation repair can be priced, and some of them take longer than a single visit.
What has actually moved
Whether the building has dropped, rotated or stayed put while the concrete cracked. Cracks inside the house, doors that no longer close and gaps opening at a corner all say something different about the direction of movement.
Whether it is still moving
A foundation that finished settling years ago and one that is moving now need different work. Establishing which sometimes means measuring and coming back rather than deciding on the first visit.
Where an engineer is required
Structural repair is built to a structural engineer's drawings, and some of it needs a soils report behind them. EMAE & Sons says where that is the case before the work is priced, and builds to the drawing rather than producing it.
Who this is for
Work we are the right contractor for
- Owners with a house that has settled, cracked or moved and no clear explanation why
- Buyers and agents who need a foundation looked at before a sale completes
- Projects where a structural engineer is engaged and the repair drawings exist
- Owners who want the cause, the drainage and the structural repair under one contract
What we do not take on
- Structural engineering design — we build to an engineer's drawings, we do not produce them
- Sealing or covering a crack without establishing what moved the foundation
- Cosmetic repair of finishes damaged by movement, separately from the movement itself
EMAE & Sons Inc works on commercial and residential property under the same license. A settled house and a commercial slab that has dropped are the same problem at different scales, and both are assessed the same way before either is priced.
Questions about foundation repair
How do I know whether a crack is structural or cosmetic?
By what the two sides of it are doing rather than by its width. EMAE & Sons Inc establishes that before quoting anything. Where both sides remain in the same plane, the concrete has usually shrunk and the foundation is intact. Where one side has moved relative to the other, stepped, tilted or opened wider at one end, something under the foundation has moved and the repair has to address that rather than the crack.
Does foundation work need a permit and an engineer?
Structural foundation work needs both. EMAE & Sons Inc works that way as a matter of course. The firm holds Class A General Engineering and Class B General Building on California license #1107216, pulls the permit as the licensed contractor, builds to the engineer's drawings, and leaves each stage open for inspection before it is covered. Where a drawing does not yet exist, the firm says so before the work can be priced rather than afterwards.
Can a house be lived in while its foundation is repaired?
In most cases it can. EMAE & Sons Inc sequences the work on that basis wherever the site allows it. Foundation work is carried out in sections so that the structure stays supported throughout, which is also what makes it compatible with the house staying occupied. Where the sequence or the access makes that unsafe, the firm says so at the quote rather than once the work has started.
What causes a foundation to move in the first place?
Water and the ground, in almost every case. EMAE & Sons Inc examines both before looking at the concrete. Ground that swells and shrinks with the seasons, fill that is still consolidating, drainage discharging against the foundation, and loads added to a building after it was designed all move a foundation that was sound when it was built. Repairing the foundation without changing what moved it produces the same movement again.
Related services
Send us photographs and what changed
Photographs of the crack or the settlement with something in frame for scale, the address, how long it has been happening and whether anything changed before it started: drainage, landscaping, a leak or building work. That is enough for EMAE & Sons to tell you what is likely happening and what has to be established before it can be priced.