Foundation repair in Redlands CA - fixing why it moved, not just the crack
Sticking doors, new wall cracks or a floor that runs downhill usually mean the house moved. We find out why and fix the cause.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
Does my Redlands house need foundation repair?
Foundation repair in Redlands usually means one of two jobs. One is setting helical piers, supports installed after digging beside the foundation wall down to the footing, under a house that's settling. The other is bolting a raised house to its foundation and bracing its crawl space walls, which are proven ways to cut earthquake damage.
Most people call because a door started sticking, a crack showed up over a window or a floor feels like it runs downhill. The price turns on how many piers or repair points your house needs, how hard it is to dig beside the footing and whether a retrofit needs an engineer's design first. The schedule turns on that design, any permit and what we find once the soil is open. We're based in Redlands and work in the cities around it, from Yucaipa and Calimesa over to Riverside and Fontana, and the written estimate spells out what we'd do and what we'd use.
How do you know if your foundation is moving?
Doors that stick or won't latch
A door that closed fine last year now rubs at the top corner or won't catch the strike plate. That usually means the frame racked because part of the house shifted, and if you wait, the windows tend to start binding too.
New cracks over doors and windows
Diagonal cracks running off the corners of doors and windows usually mean one part of the house moved more than the rest. They tend to widen with time, and an open crack lets water into the wall.
Floors that run downhill
If a marble rolls across the room, the house has dropped on one side or the walls under the floor have given up. On a raised house that can point to weak crawl space walls, which is worth fixing before a quake tests them.
How we handle foundation repair
I start by asking what you've noticed, like a sticking door, a new crack or a floor that slopes, because that tells me where to look before anybody picks up a shovel. If the house is settling, we set helical piers under the weak spots so the house is carried by firmer ground. For a raised house, we talk through bolting and bracing, and earthquake retrofit work gets designed by an engineer or architect before we start, since the design says where every bolt and brace goes. When the work is done, we backfill, haul off the spoils and leave your yard looking like we were never there, minus the mess.
A house that moved often takes the brick with it. A cracked or leaning chimney may need chimney repair, and stair-step cracks in a brick wall usually call for tuckpointing, which is raking out the failed mortar and packing in fresh. I'd rather leave a sound old joint alone than replace it to pad a bill, so we only redo the joints that actually let go. Bad mortar isn't shy about telling you which ones those are.
Helical piers for a settling house
This suits a house that's sinking or tilting on one side, with cracks and sticking doors to show for it. It supports the house from below, where the trouble started.
Bolting and bracing for a raised house
This suits an older house that sits up on a crawl space instead of a slab. It's the work to ask about when an earthquake worries you more than settling does.
Get a written estimate for your foundation repair
Send the form with your home's age and a few photos of the cracks, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The on-site estimate is free, with no obligation.
(909) 488-7148- Based in
- Redlands, CA 92373
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens when you call us about your foundation?
Here's how a foundation job runs with us, from your first call to the walk-through at the end.
Call or send us a message
Call (909) 488-7148 or use the form, and we'll get back to you to set a time for me to come out. Tell us what you've noticed so I know what to look at first.
I look at the whole house
I check the walls, what's around them and where the water goes, because that's usually why a house moved. Then you get a written estimate that says what we'd do and what we'd use, so there's no guessing about the price.
Our crew does the work
If you go ahead, we set a start date and our crew does the work with me on site. On a pier job that means digging along the house, so we'll show you where the dirt sits until it goes back.
We walk the job together
When it's done, we walk it together so you can check the work and ask about anything you see. The dirt's back, the debris is gone and the yard looks the way we found it.
Why Redlands homeowners call Prestige Redlands Concrete and Masonry for foundation repair
I look at every job myself
I come out, walk the job and write the estimate, and I'm on site while our crew does the work. The person who told you what's wrong is the one watching it get fixed.
Licensed and insured for this work
We're licensed and insured. Foundation work means digging beside the footing of your house, and that's not a job to hand to a crew that isn't covered.
A framer's eye under your floor
I framed houses for years before I switched to masonry, and I started this business in Redlands in 2021. That helps on raised houses, because bolting and bracing is half carpentry and half foundation.
A crack is the symptom, so the job starts with finding why the house moved. Send us a message or call (909) 488-7148, and I'll come take a look.
Foundation, chimney and brick work in Redlands
Retrofit rules vary by place, and the local building code sets the specific ones for your house. If your job needs a permit, we tell you at the estimate and handle the application with the city or county office that issues it, and that office has the final word on the rules for your lot. Before a retrofit gets designed, it's worth looking up your address on the state's EQ Zapp map, which shows whether the property is in an Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone, a Seismic Hazard Zone or both, so the plan starts from the right picture.
Around here we see older raised houses on short crawl space walls a few doors down from newer slab homes, and we see the same mix on jobs in Mentone and Loma Linda. Either way, I look at where the water goes first, because the yard usually explains the crack.
Questions about foundation repair in Redlands
How do I know if my foundation is moving?
A house that tilts or settles, cracked walls, doors and windows that bind and utility lines that fail are the usual signs of soil moving under a home. Expansive soil shrinks and swells as it dries out and soaks up water through the seasons, and that can hit a house hard. When you call, tell us which of those you're seeing.
Is my raised house in Redlands at risk in an earthquake?
It can be, because a house on poorly anchored cripple walls, the short walls between the foundation and the floor, may slide off its foundation in a quake. A retrofit bolts the floor to the foundation and braces those walls, and you can ask for that work by name.
How much does foundation repair cost near Redlands?
Foundation repair in San Bernardino usually costs about $600 to $2,200 per pier or repair point, so that's the going rate for each support, not a total for your house. How many points your house needs and how hard they are to reach sets the total, and your written estimate lists what we'd do and what we'd use.
How much can a contractor ask for up front in California?
A down payment can't be more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the total contract price, whichever is less, under the Contractors State License Board rules. Every other payment has to be listed clearly in the contract, so you see each one before you sign.
What is the best way to check a helical pier plan?
Ask whether the pier layout follows an engineer's or design drawings, which is what one pier maker's installation guide advises. In that guide, each pier set on its own starts with a square hole dug beside the foundation wall down to the footing, so expect some digging along the house.
How do I get help paying for an earthquake retrofit in San Bernardino County?
Check the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program for its current terms, since it has helped pay for crawl space retrofits before. A past round offered up to $3,000 toward retrofits of wood-framed houses built before 1980 with a raised foundation. In that round, households with income at or below $89,040 a year could qualify for up to $7,000 more.
Other masonry work a moving house can need
Chimney repair
When a house shifts, a brick chimney often cracks or pulls away from the wall, and repairing it keeps loose brick and water where they belong.
Tuckpointing
Settling often leaves stair-step cracks in brick walls, and fresh mortar in those lines keeps water out of the wall so the damage stops spreading.
Service areas for foundation repair near Redlands
Prestige Redlands Concrete and Masonry is based in Redlands, CA, and these 12 cities have their own pages, including Highland and Colton. We work the cities around them too, so call if yours isn't listed.
Redlands, CA
Have us look at your foundation
The sooner I see it, the sooner you know whether you're looking at a few piers or a bigger job, so call (909) 488-7148 or use the form.