DOUGLAS FOUNDATION REPAIR
About us
Douglas Foundation Repair specializes in concrete slab foundation repair and maintenance. DFR provides concrete raising and other foundation maintenance services. We install 3 types of piers based on many factors--SmartPiers(R), Steel Piers, and Helical Piers.
Business highlights
Services we offer
ENTRY WAYS AND PATIOS. WE PROVIDE PROPERTY DRAINAGE SOLUTIONS INCLUDING FRENCH DRAINS, FOUNDATION REPAIR & MUDJACKING, MUDJACKING SERVICE INCLUDES RAISING/LEVELING DRIVEWAYS, POOL DECKS, SERVICE SLAB-ON-GRADE FOUNDATIONS, SIDEWALKS, SPECIALIZING IN CONCRETE RESTORATION AND FOUNDATION REPAIR, SURFACE DRAINS AND RE-GRADING SERVICE. WE INSTALL ROOT BARRIERS TO PROTECT FOUNDATIONS FROM ROOT DAMAGE.
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 89% | ||
| 5% | ||
| 3% | ||
| 2% | ||
| 2% |
Very knowledgeable and honest. I trust them and installed the gutter as he recommended. Will definitely give them a call if there is any foundation issue.
- 1) After site evaluation the service providor, I was told that no additional piering was needed and leveling could be done with existing piering. This turned out not to be the case and leveling crew only brought materials for 1 pier pair ... more were obviously needed. If this material was needed for the job, why wasn't it brought with the crew and why wasn't I told up front it would be needed.
- 2) Paid for whole house area to leveled but lifting work was only done on problem areas and even this was cut short because lift supervisor and measuring equiptment was needed at another job.
- 3) I waited a month for a schedule date that I could be off work and present for the work (this was requested by the company) and crew was available. Bad weather earlier in the week forced my date onto a Saturday that was obviously overbooked... and I paid for it with lack of attention to my job.
- 4) Got caught in a round of finger pointing. Lift supervisor implied the evaluator did not properly evaluate what was needed to be successful. Overall supervisor (whom I talked to on phone on day of job) did a great job explaining why they could not be successful leveling my house and how the lift supervisor had to leave for another job. With enough separation between the evaluator, the overall supervisor, the lift supevisor and the crew lead (who spoke no english), there was plenty of plausible deniability and rationale why the job was completed but my house is not leveled.
- The Bottom Line is I am out about $3K to an outfit that took on a job without identifying to me or themselves what it would take to have a successful outcome. It was not a professional transaction.
- Do hire an engineer. Don't depend on this service provider to evaluate and design a plan to successfully level your house by themselves.
"Really? An "F"???? You are exaggerating your project on all levels. (no pun intended) Per contract, we installed cribbing and jacks throughout the foundation to lift as possible, concentrating on the center of the home. We replaced all of the poor existing shims on the existing piers. We got the center of you home up 1" without damage to the tile floors. That is exactly what you paid for. So giving us an F is absurd. We spent two hours of actual lifting and dropping your home to try to make you happy. We know what we are doing and your house would not cooperate without breaking. At one point, you took over the job because you wanted different results than we could provide. You actually commanded yourself to foundation contractor foreman and thought you could do better. You had my crew lift and lower the home over and over, failing to make the changes you wanted yourself. Your home is what dictated the results, not my crew or the effort. Finally, after you had us try everything possible several times over, we said "enough, the home is done". Yes, i understand you are just dissatisfied with the results. Do not be dissatisfied with the effort. We, for free, added 4 piers and 16' of beams trying to make you happy. Yes the evaluator said it should be able to come up fine on the existing beams and piers, but once we actually started jacking on the house, your beams were weak and needed additional support. No way that is typical but it is possible. We performed 100% of the contract terms, always with your goals in mind. Your home just needs more beams and piers, plus you have to be ready to remodel the home if you try to "level" it better. Finally, Alfred was on the job the whole time, he only speaks English and our foreman is bilingual. Lunch time is siesta time. My crew deserves the break in the middle of the day. I provide water and ice for them to drink too."
Basically they dug about 2'X2' holes down to the bottom of the perimeter beam. This was done at roughly an 8' space around the outside of the house. After the holes were dug, steel pipes were pushed in using a hydraulic jack between the bottom edge of the perimeter beam, and the top of the pipe. The pipes were in one-foot lengths that would stack on top of each other to the required depth. Some went as deep as 31', the shallowest was ~ 25'. All of this was followed by a small amount of lifting on the lowest edge of the house, and then some cleanup work.
I was really impressed with the work crews. They conducted themselves very well, and were all very courteous.
The amount of residual mess was surprisingly very small, considering the huge volume of dirt that was dug up for each hole. When the holes are re-filled, the dirt does not pack completely back into place, so there will be about 1 wheelbarrow-full for each hole dug that is left over. You can choose to keep this dirt, or they will haul it away. I chose to keep mine, and they put the dirt where I directed out in the yard.
We did lose a couple of shrubs that were in the way and had to be temporarily re-located during the digging process. We also had to call them back out after it had rained, as the dirt in a few of the holes had settled. They came out in a week or so and topped-off all the low spots.
Thus far the house is holding up well. There was no added interior damage caused by the foundation repair. The door still works well, and everything appears to be in a "steady state". Hopefully the same will be true after the upcoming summer.
"thanks [remove member name] Really appreciate you taking the time to give your review. Amazing how invasive the project is during the job, and then when we are all done, not so bad. In fact we hear all the time that we leave the job better than we found it. Pretty cool. Thanks again. D"
"Hi [member name] Foundation assurance. That is what we do. thanks for the review. Douglas"
"Hi [member name removed]. Pier and beam homes are tough jobs. thanks for the review."
"Hi. Thank you for your input and review. Not often we have a review of less than an A, so if I may, I would like to say a few things about "leveling" a pier and beam home. The first comment is the word "easy" that Thomas my evaluator supposedly used. "Easy" is about as misleading as it can be, and perhaps if that is how your understood him I apologize. I am sure he meant that working on your home is a trade we are super familiar with and something we do everyday. That said, please understand "leveling" a Pier & Beam home is an art, and not a science. Results from the work can be interpreted differently by different clients and always is. Your home was not raised to "level", and in fact we could not raise your home at all because you had a new remodeled kitchen, that was installed with the foundation 2.5" sunk in that kitchen area. Who ever installed your kitchen without having us "level" the house first, did not do you any favor. Any lifting at that point caused a reaction to a finished/remodeled room and you made it clear that any damage to that room was unacceptable. It was even written on the proposal to be very careful not to damage the kitchen. We agreed to do what we could but any lifting caused problems and we were not able to actually lift/level. So to your request, we did no damage and no lifting either. Your comments are sincere and i am not dismissing your feelings, but when the crew left, you gave Carlos, my foreman a hug. Then 3 days later you called and for two minutes yelled at Rick, my operations manager because you were unhappy. You handed the phone to your husband who then said we did a good job but could we add some more piers and a new beam to help get the house more level? So, that was a strange conversation to have two completely different opinions on the same phone call. Rick explained that no amount of piers or beams could facilitate lifting/leveling a newly remodeled house, without causing damage to the finishes which was his wife's top priority. To get this review shows that you are about what was not done, instead of what was actually done and tried, so we could never make a client like you content. Understand, we are committed to doing excellent work, and consider ourselves the best foundation repair firm in Austin. But the best group cannot fix a newly remodeled room that was installed in an out of level home without possibly causing some damage. So yes, I am sorry your home is not "level", but i am sure I would have not gotten an "A" rating if I did level your home and busted up your, stucco, cabinets, flooring and counters as that would of been the last thing anyone wanted. I am sure most other firms would of just "leveled" the house and left, disregarding anything else and would have never installed 9 extra piers, $50 worth of lag bolts cause your beams were separating and come back extra times trying to make you happy. All this extra time and energy because in your mind felt that we were unresponsive and not providing a benefit, when in reality we went the extra mile for you folks and always do, because we seriously care about our clients and their homes."
Douglas's crew arrived one work day after our original date due to a winter storm delay at the job before ours. One man immediately measured where each hole around the house perimeter would be dug while the crew unloaded a large number of foot-long cement cylinders and their tools.
About six laborers started digging 4X4x4 square holes at each marked location. The digging was all done by hand, and a tarp or sheet of plywood was placed next to each hole for the dirt removed. I was amazed at the speed and efficiency of the men digging the holes. Almost all of the19 holes dug through dirt were completed on Day 1.
On the first day they also started driving the concrete cylinders into the bottom of the holes. This was the scary part, as they used a hydraulic press to drive the cylinders down, and the press was braced against the bottom lip of the foundation. When the last concrete cylinder required 10,000 psi to go deeper, they stopped. However, in some places, the cylinders stalled with as little as 6,000 psi of pressure. When that happened, and it did probably a dozen times, the foundation would "shiver" or "burp" as the cylinder refused to go down further. We could feel each of those from inside the house.
On Day 2 the crew began jack-hammering out the concrete in our driveway, back patio and front porch for four more holes, and taking boards off the back deck for one more hole. By the end of Day 2 all the holes were dug and all the 46 concrete piers were in place going down 7 to 12 feet under the foundation.
On Day 3 a different man came whose job was to use the computerized level and direct the actual foundation leveling process. Working in four to six holes simultaneously, the crew would crank small hydraulic jacks in unison under the direction of the man in the house who watched and listened to the walls, rafters, doors, countertops, and seams in that part of the house. My wife called him the "house whisperer" after he asked her to take the telephone elsewhere to answer a call so he could hear any popping or cracking. We were very impressed with this gentleman's slow methodical process. He took new readings on his level repeatedly as he and the outside crew worked together in their coordinated effort to slowly raise the different sections of the foundation, without bringing on undue stress that would crack walls, plumbing, or the granite countertops that line one exterior wall in the kitchen. This gentlemen encouraged us to be present in the room with him and kept us in the conversation to decide when the foundation had been raised as far as it was safe to go in each area.
The upshot of the leveling process is that our foundation still has a slight downward slope from the center of the house in a couple of areas, but those slopes are well within the acceptable range, and not now noticeable. The sheetrock cracking was not worsened, and we are waiting another few weeks to have a painter repair and repaint the cracks. One inside and all three exterior doors are noticeably more level.
The last part of the work was for a plumber, who Douglas selected, come out and test for new plumbing leaks. He did that by plugging our sewer line, taking a commode off, and filling all the pipes under the foundation with water from the faucets. He then simply watched the water level in the commode pipe to see if it dropped over a thirty minute time of observation. We were nervous about this part, and greatly relieved that the water level remained constant - no leaks under the slab!
The plumber also had to add an extension to the steel gas line pipe at the meter as we raised the level of the house at the spot where the meter sits outside the house. The work on the gas line was $170 at our expense, not part of the contract with Douglas.
On Day 3 the crew refilled the holes in the dirt, but had to return on Day 4 to repair the concrete holes in the driveway, front porch, and patio, and replace the wooden deck board
All work went well. Our only minor issue was that my wife was not overly pleased with how the digging crews handled the shrubs and rose bushes they had to remove and replace. Otherwise, the crews were very diligent and helpful.
As a point of interest, each day all but one of the crew spoke only Spanish, and one day the only English speaker on the crew was a digger and not the foreman. So on that day, when I had questions regarding the varying psi points at which they stopped driving each concrete stack of cylinders, I had to speak through an interpreter to the foreman. But that was not a problem.
I was surprised at the number of different employees of Douglas who worked in different capacities on our job. Each specialized task was done by a different man who was here just for that part of the job. To me that reflected a professional firm that knows the value of experience at the key points of the job, especially the man who was the "house whisperer" and led the actual raising and leveling segment of the work.
You don't really know a foundation company, however, until you have your entire foundation replaced. We had 35 cedar tree trunks from 1929 replaced with cement piers, while leveling the house, last fall. Douglas Foundation was awesome. Our job was fairly complex since it involved several revisions to the engineered plans and heftier piers than normal. Not to mention working around our free range chickens and an array of delicate landscaping.
The crew, led by Carlos, was extremely efficient, knowledgeable, and professional. They even worked through multiple weekends to keep us on schedule after several days of heavy rain. Amazingly, they managed to keep almost all of the stucco skirt of the house intact and all our exterior doors functioning beautifully through the repair, saving us a ton of money.
Communication with the office and managers -- Steve, Lisa, Rick -- was always prompt and helpful.
"Thank you so much for taking the time to place this awesome review Amenity!! Sooo wonderful. Pier and Beam projects are tough, and many times more complicated than a slab foundation repair. At DFR, we work very hard, and smart on our clients homes. Starting with how we communicate with our clients at the beginning and throughout the project. Great trained workers and solid office communication, along with a deep personal integrity to do the right thing makes it happen. Great customers like you go along way too! Thank you once again Douglas :-)"
As they were the first company to come out, I didn't have all my questions ready. As other companies came out to do their evaluations and offer up their bids I had more questions.When I called to ask my additional questions everyone I spoke to from the person who answered the phone to the gentleman who came to do the inspection were helpful and seemed to really listen then give complete answers.
Douglas was not the least expensive company (they were only more expensive by about $500) but they were the company I felt had the highest integrity just from my experience with the various evaluations, getting bids, calling companies back with questions - Douglas seemed the most open and willing to listen.
My husband and I had the evaluation done in August. We decided 100% we'd go with Douglas but wanted to save up to pay for the services without a loan. So we saved and saved. By the time we were ready to do it, there was a promotion for a free iPad. Great timing for us! We got our foundation fixed AND a nice little gift.
The foundation repair started on Jan 16th. It took one day longer than expected (only because we have incredibly hard ground when it comes to digging). They finished up on Jan 20th. They were professional, they leveled our foundation, and they left our property in good condition.
I would confidently recommend Douglas Foundation Repair to friends and family (and you, too)!
"Thank you so much for taking the time to make a review or our firm. You guys did exactly the right thing by getting all the input you could. Using different companies to come out and make evaluations is a good place to start your repair planning. Of course, super pleased you chose my firm as your contractor of choice and happy that we met or exceeded all your needs. With foundation repair, your lowest bid is not always your best choice, and all of us here at DFR appreciate that there are folks like y'all that want to do the right thing when it comes to choosing a repair firm. Thank you for your compliments, and my compliments to you as well. Be well, and thank you once again. Douglas :-)"
"Hi [Member Name Removed], thank you so much for the wonderful review. We have a great team of technicians and our office staff is the best, so it is great to hear that you really appreciate the whole package we offer at Douglas Foundation Repair. I love the point that we left the project better than we found it. Wow, what a compliment! I will let everyone know that you took the time to let us know how we did and that you appreciated their services. Once again, thank you. Douglas Plauche, Owner. :-)"
he also suggested a couple of ways to provide another company with info that could help it diagnose our problem. finally, he suggested that i consider "maintenance" rather than "repair." basements in central texas are so uncommon that it may be best to make provision for removal of the water after the fact (with a sump pump) since it's almost impossible - given the variety of solutions we've tried, to no effect - to prevent water leaking permanently.
so, in short, douglas gave me some useful suggestions about what to do next. had he suggested work he himself could do, i would've hired him in a minute.
"Hi [removed member name], thanks for you nice comment. I know your on the right track now. Glad I could be a little light in your basement problem. :-) Douglas"
"Greetings [Member Name Removed], It was a pleasure meeting you and thank you for allowing us to evaluate your home. Austin had a crazy amount of rain in just a few hours and Douglas Foundation Repair went to about 5 homes that last week who had water intrude the living space. As with many homes we evaluate, drainage is a big problem. Yes gutters with downspouts diverting water away from the foundation is very important and should be done as soon as possible, but also taking the time when it is actually raining to go out and review how your property actually drains is the first step every homeowner needs to do. It is surprising how many lots have never been graded properly and good positive drainage away from the foundation is perhaps the biggest single thing home owners can do to maintain their foundations. Always check to see if the neighbors lots drain on to your lot because that is very common. All lots should drain properly towards the street or towards a spill-way done by the developer and should never drain into a neighbors property. As a home owner, each of us should make sure we comply with this guideline. At DFR, we typically recommend a passive drainage system that allows water to naturally flow away from the home. This can include swales or ditches, berms, surface drains and even French drains. Mechanically performing drains include things like sump pumps and should only be used if there is no way to naturally flow water away from the home. Let us know if we can help you install drains to keep your foundation safe from these really big rain storms. Thank you. Douglas"
"[member name removed]-thank you very much for the assessment. It was a pleasure working with you. Sure, we would love to discount our prices even further; however, reducing the price any further may have compromised quality by cutting corners. At Douglas Foundation Repair, our goal is honesty integrity, and value and we both know the quality delivered far exceeds the price paid You're right--you get what you pay for!"
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