Expansive soil is a big concern for many Texas homeowners but in particular Frisco and other DFW cities. Expansive soil can wreak havoc on your foundation. Look at this map (click on the details of expansive soil map.) Now you see the issues in this area that can cause problems with your foundation. I know of this first hand as I just had installed 17 piers to assure I have no more movement. This is even following foundation precautions.
Foundation Problems
How do you know when you have a foundation problem? When you start to see cracks in the wall or corners 
inside your home, when doors all of a sudden have problems closing, when you see cracks in the mortar and in your tile, when you are outside and see a crack running down the brick mortar (if you have brick.) These are all classic signs of foundation issues typically caused by soil expansion. Having foundation problems has more cons that pros but there are pros.
Costly Fix
When you suspect you have foundation problems, you should immediately address them as letting them go only causes additional problems. You have two choices on how you start: you can call an independent structural engineer(SE) or you can find a foundation repair company who supplies there own version of an SE at no cost to you. They will map out your home looking for the different elevations in order to determine where the primary point of failure is concerned. They will then map out how they will repair the foundation and bring it up so that everything is sitting level. You are going to spend anywhere from $450 to over $600 per pier to level your home.
In addition to these costs realize that if they have to put a pier in the interior of your home or if they have to go through a patio or front walkway the costs do not include the cosmetic repairs that the foundation movement and repairs caused. Now you have additional thousands of dollars to make those repairs. This is not for the faint of heart. When you buy a home in the DFW area you are very much aware of this possibility and most new homes come with a 10 year foundation warrant protecting your home. Some new builders do a very good job of protecting you by putting in piers ahead of time.
Benefit
While maybe not a silver lining their is a touch of grey in this one. When you do the repair correctly by using a licensed contractor who pulls the permits and has the inspections performed you now have a home that will most likely never move again. This is a positive when selling your home. Some people say they do not ever want to deal with a home that has foundation problems. From my perspective this is not the case. I would welcome the chance to buy a home in Frisco or Dallas or anywhere in the DFW that had the foundation repairs done properly. This tells me a lot about the homeowner and how they take care of their home. It also shows that I most likely will not have to deal with this issue in the future. You can see that this repair is an expensive one I would want to avoid.
Avoidance
There are many ways to help protect your foundation. Many people ask about what can be done to help protect their foundation you can find a FAQ about this here. These are suggestions that may help you avoid foundation issues. However, there are certainly no guarantees when it comes to stopping foundation issues when you own a home in the DFW area.
The next time you are contemplating buying a home in Frisco or any other city in the DFW area, please give me a call and let me help create a good real estate foundation for you so you can make a good informed decision. You can learn like many of my clients did. They learned when you are a client of mine—Your Success is My Focus
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