A heavy house still settling
Push piers are driven down using the weight of the house itself, so they suit heavy homes, like a brick two-story, where there's plenty of load to push them deep.
Foundation raising in Toledo OH - a sinking house set on piers that reach solid soil
Cracks growing, doors sticking, a corner of the house dropping? We find out if it's still moving and why, then stop it at the cause.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What foundation raising does for a settling house
Foundation raising in Toledo means setting steel piers under a settling house. Piers are long posts that reach solid, load-bearing soil deep below, so the house's weight rides on them instead of on ground that's been giving way, and that stops the foundation from moving further.
Most calls start with something you can see, like a crack in the foundation wall that keeps getting longer, a door that won't latch anymore or a floor that slopes toward one corner. The price comes down to how many piers your house needs, which kind its weight calls for and how easy the wall is to dig along, and the schedule turns on those same things plus the weather, permits and inspections. When I come out, I'll look the house over, measure it and write down what's included and what isn't, so you have your own number instead of a guess.
I write every estimate myself
I come out to every job, look the house over and write the estimate myself, so the person telling you what your foundation needs is the one on site when the work happens.
Our crew works with me there
Our crew does the digging and pier work with me on site, which matters here because a foundation repair is hard to undo once it's done wrong.
Based in Toledo, working nearby
We're based in Toledo and work across the cities around it in northwest Ohio and southern Michigan, so a call from Perrysburg, Sylvania or Temperance gets the same visit and the same answers.
How we check the house, then set piers
Before anyone talks about piers, I want to know whether your house is still moving or settled a long time ago and stopped, so I look at the cracks, the floors and the doors and ask what's changed and when. We also hunt for the water or the leak behind it, like a downspout emptying against the wall or a plumbing line that's been seeping, because lifting the house without fixing the cause just moves the problem to the parts of the foundation that don't have piers. When piers are the right call, we dig along the wall where each one goes and set push or helical piers, whichever suits the house, down to soil that can carry it. Then we move the load of the house onto them, fill the holes back in and clean up.
Sometimes a pier has to go where a walk, patio or driveway meets the house, and rather than bust that slab apart, we saw out a clean section with concrete cutting and patch it once the pier is in. If the driveway sank and broke up along with the house, it usually makes sense to wait until the foundation is sorted and then pour a new concrete driveway against it.
Which kind of pier fits your house
An addition or porch pulling away
Helical piers screw into the ground like a giant auger instead of relying on the building's weight, which makes them the better fit for lighter structures and additions that have started to drop.
A sunken slab beside the house
When the garage floor, stoop or driveway dropped along with the house, we sort out the foundation first, so the new concrete goes in against a house that's quit moving.
Before you patch the inside
Patching drywall cracks and planing doors only holds once the house stops moving, so it's worth settling the foundation question before you spend money on inside repairs that could crack again.
Tell us what you're seeing at the house
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I'll come out, look the house over and write you a free estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
Your address and the trouble spots
Give us the property address and where you see the problem, like a cracked corner, a sloping floor or a door that sticks, so I know where to start when I walk around.
A few photos of the cracks
Photos of the cracks, gaps and sloping spots help me see the pattern before I come out, and they give us something to compare against if the cracks keep changing.
When you first noticed it
Tell us roughly when the cracks or sticking doors first showed up, because that's one of the best clues to whether the house is still moving or settled years ago.
Concrete foundation and flatwork examples
Pier layouts, foundation walls, and the driveways and walks beside them, shown as examples to talk through at your estimate.
Foundation pier questions from Toledo homeowners
Straight answers on what piers cost, how long the work takes, and the permits and licenses involved in Toledo.
How much does each foundation pier cost?
Installed steel push and helical piers usually cost about $1,300 to $3,000 per pier across the US, and helical piers reach a higher top price than push piers do. Your total turns on how many piers your house needs and which kind its weight calls for, so I count them and write them down when I come out.
Does a house that settled years ago still need piers?
Usually not. When settling happened long ago and has stopped, piers add nothing, because movement that's already over needs watching rather than steel. That's why the first thing I check is whether your house is still moving, by looking at the cracks, the floors and the doors and asking when you first noticed them.
How long does foundation pier work take?
Piering and other major structural repairs can take anywhere from several days to a few weeks, depending on how easy the wall is to reach, the weather and how much work the house needs. Permits and inspections can add time too, and I'll tell you what your job looks like once I've seen it.
Does a foundation contractor need a license in Toledo?
Yes. The City of Toledo says a contractor has to be licensed with the city to legally do home repairs or remodeling there, and we're licensed and fully insured. The city doesn't require a license when owners do their own work, but digging under the footing your wall stands on can set off the very collapse the repair was meant to prevent.
Do I need a permit for foundation piers in Toledo?
Expect to need one. The city's building inspection office handles permits and lets minor repairs skip one only when they leave structural stability and safety unaffected, which pier work under a house can't really claim. We pull the permits our work needs, and a house in or touching a marked flood hazard area also needs a floodplain development permit from the city before work begins.
Will foundation piers tear up my yard and landscaping?
For a while, yes. Push piers need digging along the outside of the house, which displaces landscaping within about 3 to 4 feet of the foundation wall until the holes are filled back in. Tell us about any plantings you want to keep, and we'll talk through moving them before the crew starts.
Book a look at your settling foundation
Call (419) 392-9683 or send the form, and I'll tell you at the house what you'd rather hear now than a year from now.