Foundation repair in Tallahassee FL - steady floors and doors that close again
Sticking doors and fresh cracks usually mean part of the house has settled. We find out if it's still moving, then fix what needs fixing.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
Why are my doors sticking and my brick cracking?
Foundation repair in Tallahassee, FL fixes a house where one part has sunk lower than the rest, which is what usually makes doors and windows stick and opens cracks in brick and drywall. It starts with finding out whether that sinking has stopped.
At Bedrock Tallahassee Masonry and Concrete, we're based in Tallahassee and work across the cities around it, and a foundation call usually starts with a door that used to close and now drags. Uneven settling is more than a nuisance, because over time it can weaken the house against wind and everyday use. What moves the price is whether the house needs piers at all or only crack and mortar repair, how many piers the sinking part needs, how easily we can reach the footing and what has to come up and go back, like a walk or a flower bed. The schedule turns mostly on whether a permit applies and how wet the ground is, and the written estimate gives you your own figure once I've seen the house.
How we handle foundation repair
The first thing I want to know is whether the house is still moving, so we look at the cracks and the doors that stick before anyone talks about piers. If the cracks are old and the house has settled where it's going to settle, the right repair may be in the brick and mortar rather than under the house. If it is still moving, I explain what pier work involves, where the piers would go and what it means for your lawn and walks, because piers usually go in beside the footing and that ground has to be opened and put back. The small crew I trained does the work alongside me, and I'd rather take the time to get it right than hurry it, because a mason's mistakes sit in plain view for years.
Settling usually shows in the mortar first, as stair-step cracks running through the joints of a brick wall. I learned under an old school mason who made me tear out and relay any joint that wasn't right, so once the house has stopped moving, we close those cracks with tuckpointing, using mortar that suits the old brick instead of fighting it. A chimney that has cracked or leaned with the house gets the same care through chimney repair, done after the ground work so the new mortar isn't asked to hold against movement.
Crack and mortar repair after settling stops
This suits a house that settled years ago and has stayed put, where the cracks are old and not growing. We clean out and refill the damaged joints so the wall keeps water out again, and nothing has to go under the house.
Pier work under a section that's still sinking
This suits a house where cracks keep widening or doors that worked last season now stick. Piers carry the sinking part down to firmer ground, and I'll show you where they'd go and which part of the yard gets opened before we start.
If a crack is getting wider or a door that worked last month won't close, call (850) 391-6065 rather than wait, so I can see it before the damage spreads.
What happens when you call us about your foundation?
I handle the first visit myself, and nothing gets written down until we've looked at the house together. Here's how a foundation job runs with us, from the first call to the final walk.
Call and I come look
Call or send the form, note which doors or windows won't open and where you see cracks, and we'll set a time for me to come out. I look the house over with you and explain what I see before I write anything down.
You get a written estimate
It lays out in plain words what the work involves, what it costs and what it means for your lawn and walks, so you can weigh it without guessing. If you go ahead, we set a start that suits you and take care of the permit side where one applies.
We work, clean, then walk it
Our crew works alongside me, and we clean up as we go rather than leaving a torn-up yard for the end. When it's finished, we walk the work with you before we call the job done.
Get your foundation looked at and priced in person
We'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free, done on site and written in plain words, with no obligation to go ahead.
(850) 391-6065What changes foundation repair in Tallahassee
In Tallahassee, the city's Building Inspection Division issues the permits needed to build, renovate or expand a structure, and its permit list names retaining walls but not foundation repair, so that list alone doesn't tell us whether your job needs one. The division takes questions about specific permit types at 850-891-7001, option 2, then option 1, and we help you find out which office handles your property and take care of the paperwork for our part of the work. Florida law also says anyone in the business of contracting must be certified or registered, and unless the law says otherwise it puts changes to a structural part of a house on a general, building or residential contractor, so it's fair to ask anyone you're weighing to show you their license. We're licensed and fully insured, and I'm glad to answer that question at the first visit.
Across Florida, sinkholes form when surface soil drops into gaps that groundwater has dissolved in rock such as limestone. That's how it works statewide, and on its own it says nothing about your lot, so when the ground dips near a house here or on jobs in Bradfordville and Crawfordville, we don't name the cause from the yard and look first at the ordinary things that make soil settle.
Foundation repair questions from Tallahassee homeowners
How much does foundation pier installation cost in Tallahassee?
Foundation pier installation in Tallahassee usually costs about $3,600 to $10,500 for a job of 4 piers. That's the going rate in the area for that size of job, not our price, and your house may need more or fewer piers than that. Your own figure comes in the written estimate after I've seen the house.
Does every crack in my foundation mean it needs repair?
No, some cracks in an older house can be acceptable if the settling behind them has stopped. That's general guidance rather than a local rule, and it's why whether the house is still moving matters more than how a crack looks.
Is the sinking near my house in Tallahassee a sinkhole?
Not necessarily, because clay layers squeezing down as water leaves them, rotting stumps, broken sewer or drain pipes, broken septic tanks, poorly packed fill and buried trash can all make ground sink in a way that looks like a sinkhole. Across the state, many reported dips are never checked by a licensed professional geologist, so their cause stays unknown, and that's a good reason not to assume the worst.
Can we stay in our home while foundation piers go in?
Yes, by one pier maker's account, which says its portable equipment can put in helical piles, screw-shaped steel piers, even in tight indoor spaces with no vibration, so the household can keep using the home with little inconvenience. The same maker says there's no need to worry about heavy equipment near the existing foundation, and I'll explain at the estimate what your own job would involve.
How do I find out how much of my yard gets dug up for piers?
Ask whether your job needs a trench along the whole wall or a separate hole at each pier, because one maker's install guide describes both, and the answer decides how much of the yard gets opened. Either way the digging goes down outside to the footing, and I'll show you where it would go before you decide.
How do I keep the soil around my foundation steady in a dry spell?
Water evenly around the whole foundation during long dry spells, so the soil around the house stays at a fairly steady moisture. That advice comes from general extension guidance written for another part of the country, so treat it as a simple upkeep habit for dry weather.
Brick and chimney work that often follows settling
A chimney sits on its own footing and can crack or pull away from the house when the ground moves, letting water and drafts into the gaps.
Once the house stops moving, cracked and loose mortar joints can still let rain into the wall, and fresh joints close them without harming the old brick.
Have your settling looked at in person
Call (850) 391-6065 or send the form, and if you can, jot down when you first noticed each crack, since that helps tell old settling from new.