The pillar guide

The Central Texas Foundation Repair Guide.

Everything we know about keeping corridor houses level, organized the way the decision actually unfolds: ground → symptoms → measurement → method → money → your city. Read in order or jump to your question.

First, the honest context

How common are foundation issues in Central Texas?

Very common — Texas leads the nation in foundation claims, and on the expansive-clay belt from San Antonio to Austin, some degree of foundation movement is closer to the rule than the exception. The reason is underfoot: highly expansive clays that swell when wet and shrink when dry, riding several inches of seasonal movement across a drought-then-rain cycle. That’s why nearly every older corridor neighborhood shows stair-step brick cracks, sticking doors, or sloping floors somewhere. But “common” doesn’t mean “emergency” — most movement is slow, and a lot of it is cosmetic. The homes that actually need repair are the ones with differential movement, which an elevation survey measures and early repair keeps cheap. So if you’ve spotted a crack, you’re not unlucky — you’re normal. See your ZIP’s foundation risk, then work through the steps below.