G.L. Hunt Foundation Repair

Since I had purchased the inspection off the Big Deal, I expected that I would need to contact the company to set up an appointment; however, Sheila actually contacted me before I had a chance to make the phone call. The inspector, Daniel, was able to come ahead of schedule but called first to ensure that this was amenable to me. He provided valuable insight into my foundation's current status and preventative measures for the future. Fortunately, all of my concerns were merely cosmetic issues and required no foundation repairs. All my questions were answered and I received written information to reference in the future. I believe I was given an honest report, am very pleased with their evaluation methods, and would recommend their foundation inspection services to others.

The crew arrived by 8:00 a.m. daily and worked until 6 p.m. or late. The work was carefully and methodically completed. Upon completion of the work, my front yard and porch were immaculately clean and all debris had been removed. This company does exactly what its mission statement says in Angie’s List. The crew even caulked all of my windows and filled all cracks in mortar.

I contracted with G. L. Hunt in San Antonio for foundation leveling on my home. After they dug the holes, they told me that my house had concrete beams that were deeper than normal and that they could not lift the front of the house. I asked if they needed bigger jacks, and they said that one of their jacks had busted. By now they had displaced the compacted soil & rocks and dug below the beams making the house unstable. The foreman of the crew said that they had found homes in my neighborhood had bigger than normal beams. A neighbor recently used Olsham for foundation work and I found out that his beams are even bigger than my house's and his house was able to be lifted. I asked the foreman if I was still going to have to pay the full amount even if they did not accomplish the work and he said yes because they had tried. They took one cylinder and cut it into four pieces to insert below the beams where they had dug. In my opinion, they needed to do that because they displaced the dirt. They offered to inject soil lock into the soil, but the bottom line is that the front of the house did not get lifted. They recommended that I just re-hang and cut all of my doors and that since it had taken so many years for the house to shift, it probably would not be shifting soon. I am concerned that the work I contracted for did not get done and that now my house is more vulnerable to shifting than it ever was due to the loosening of the soil. I cannot see paying for a service that a company attempts but cannot complete for whatever reason. They repaired some loose cracks on the rock wall, but the mortar they used was a different color and will have to be re-done. I lost several plants, lots of sod since the repair took longer because the City of San Antonio stopped the project because they failed to get a permit for the work. I am very dissatisfied and would never recommend this company to anyone. I used them because they had such high rankings from this site.

My overall experience was good. All interactions with personnel was pleasant and professional. I've convinced myself that having this vertical support has got to be more beneficial than not having it. I was a little hesitant about having the Earthlok applied, but when I learned it wasn't transported as hazardous material, I felt better about its "secret ingredients." During the work-in-progress, my neighbor reported to me, "They are really doing a good job on your house." (He said this being familiar with another neighbor's experience with foundation repairs with a different contractor.) He has since decided to have G.L. Hunt begin work on his home at the end of the month. Although I have a few questions I need to call about, I definitely feel good about having had this work done. I feel G.L. Hunt delivered on everything I expected from them.

Very Professional, honest and does quality work. I will recommend GL Hunt to my children, friends and family and we are bringing them back to do the back side of the house. In March we planned to purchase a historic home and during the inspection period, Danny from GL Hunt came to give us an estimate to level the house. Actually he gave us 2 estimates, one to do the most needed repairs and a second for to replace all piers with their patented Carbon-Loc system. We closed on April 8, 2011 and Thomas and his crew began working on the 9th. The house is pier and beam, but the front of the house had a floating concrete slab under the piers that sank about 5 inches. This caused a 1.5 day job to become a 5 Long day job. They replaced 11 piers, leveled our house and stabilized our soil Despite the extra work, the price stayed about the same and they still offered us a lifetime guarantee for the work preformed. I highly recommend them

The workers were on time and worked together. They were very professional, hard working, and competent. The job and follow through was excellent. Daniel Roden was the person who gave us an estimate and followed through with the job and answered all of our questions or concerns.

These guys are great in terms professionalism. They came over to both my houses (two different dates), and evaluated our pier and beam foundation. We were told that the first house didn't need to be leveled, and that's why we called them out to our second house a year later - they were honest. Their representative/estimator was excellent. Everything was going great until he told me how they were going to set up their piers. They use a Block & Base method. That's where you stack several sized concrete blocks up to your beam, then top it off with shims. He said they don't strap it to the beam, dig them into undisturbed soil, and they also wouldn't remove the old cedar piers. He tried to give me a good argument as to why the Block & Base method was superior to traditional concrete piers. I wasn't buying it. I asked if they could at least dig the base down 2', and he said it wasn't necessary. They place it right on top of the soil. Then I got lectured on the importance of proper drainage. The whole time I'm thinking, well yeah it's even more important now that the piers would be sitting on top of the soil. Anyway, the whole Block and Base thing didn't sit well with me, so I decided not to use them. I've seen that Block and Base method used on patios and small sheds. Never have I seen it used as a permanent foundation for a house, nor can I believe it's code compliant. I suppose it is since it would have to pass inspection. Anyway, I'm trying to find a company that does it the way I feel is a more permanent way. Like digging down 2' or more, establishing a 2'x2' concrete footing base with rebar tied into the concrete pier. Top it off with FHA approved strapping to the beam. Just so you know I did try and give their method the benefit of the doubt. I would advise you to call an independent structural engineer to get his take on the subject. I'm sure they'll agree with me when I say this, " save that Block and Base method for your dog house."

We called this company because were were worried about cracks in the exterior walls of our recently-purchased home. Daniel arrived promptly with a printout of our floorplan. He used special equipment to measure the relative elevations of many areas of our home, then sat down to explain his findings. Don't ever think all foundation companies are just out to scare the bejeebers out of you and take your money. G.L. Hunt's representative calmed our fears about the cracks and assured us that there was no section of our home that was in need of reinforcement. He said he would keep our measurements on file; if we ever had further concerns, they would gladly remeasure the same areas to see if there was any change. AND THEY DIDN'T CHARGE US A PENNY! Daniel was here for almost an hour; and it MAY turn out to be an hour well-spent for them, because if we ever need any foundation repair done, we will most definitely call G.L. Hunt.

They did a great job. They went above and beyond, in fact they discovered a broken water line in my foundation that I wouldn't have discovered on my own.

Showed up on time and were very professional. They were the third company we called and they had the lowest bid. They did the work to level the foundation and when they pored the concrete inside it was as smooth as the original. We had them come back and place 3 additional piers down the middle of the house and they came on time and finished this work in one day. Very good company.

I called GL Hunt Foundation to give me an estimate on fixing some issues with an addition to our house. There appeared to be some movement and I had already had a Structural Engineer inspect the foundation. The Structural Engineer had told me there were not foundation problems with the addition, but that it was moving seperate from the original structure which is what was causing the cracks. I wanted to speak with a foundation company to see if there was anything we could do to limit this movement. When GL Hunt came to my house, they were on time, very professional, helpful and were honest. They told me there were no foundation problems and basically I needed to watch drainage around the foundation to limit the movement as much as possible. I was very impressed that they were honest in telling me I didn't need any work. These days, you never know if what you are being told is the truth or if contractors are just trying to make money off of you. I will be calling these guys in the future when we put a new addition on our home.

The field technician, Brian Dusek, arrived as scheduled & I found him to be proficient as well as knowledgeable. I was very pleasantly surprised to receive a thank you letter from him (dated the same day as his visit), as well as one from Gary Hunt, President of the company dated 4-14-10. This was a very positive experience from my initial phone conversation (Sara, very pleasant) until the day of the estimate. I will consider hiring this company in the future if the problem gets worse or if my financial position changes.

Called them on 7/8 and promptly received appointment for 7/9. Field tech called me 7/9 to see if we could change appt. to 7/12 - no problem. Brian called 7/12 at noon to say he could come by early, if OK. Came by as agreed and assessed foundation using electronic equipment and visual inspection. Said they could fix foundation without having to do interior work. This was good news as another company was going to put numerous piers inside house, causing major mess, disruption and inconvenience, plus added expense to move out. Based on various factors, I immediately agreed to accept bid. Brian said they could begin job on 7/14. The crew of 6 men plus foreman arrived that morning and immediately got to work. They took a hard-earned 1 hour lunch break daily and, without supervision, promptly resumed work after 1 hour. The whole team worked diligently from approx. 8:00 to 4:30 each day, leaving the front reasonably clear of obstacles upon leaving for the day. They dug holes around the perimeter of my house, one every 8 feet. Each hole was approx. 3'x3' and 4' deep. They then drove approx. 8-10 concrete cylinders, 12" long each, into every hole. This all took took 3 1/2 days. The fourth day they did the actual jacking and leveling. The fifth day they filled the holes, patched the concrete, caulked a few minor gaps around windows, and filled in mortar cracks in brickwork with matching mortar.

They fortified the piers under our house and did some leveling. They were great to work with. We would recommend them and have recommended them to neighbors. The foreman took the time to answer all of our questions. We are very pleased with their work. We love them.

We plan on moving in the next year and just wanted a foundation inspection. We have cracks and water settles in our backyard after rain. The field technician was on time and very courteous. First, he explained the company's history and experience. Stressed that our satisfaction with their work is very important. After the inspection was completed, we were told that the foundation was fine. Yahoo! He showed us his readings and explained them thoroughly. He suggested preventive measures for our drainage issue. We will be calling them soon to perform those.

It went very well. The estimate and preliminary material they gave us to study was thorough and helped us understand the problem and process. When the date was confirmed, they were on time, neat, worked quietly and efficiently. Finished in one day and the supervisor stopped by twice to check on progress. It was a good experience.

Excellent. The inspection was thorough. I was provided with detailed information on foundation maintenance. I was also shown a few potential problem areas that I should keep an eye on. I felt like I should have paid for the inspection - it was that good.

Once they got started, they worked steadily. They workers were very polite, efficient and did everything that they said they were going to do and did exactly the way that they said they would do. They were terrific about cleaning up after themselves when they were finished.

They came on time, and they did a good job. The guy took readings of the entire house and told us that we may not need foundation repair. I thought it was odd because they were a foundation repair company. They described that everything looked like it was in order.

The experience was wonderful. It was refreshing to work with someone who I felt was honest! Kudos to this company and Daniel!

I loved them! I can't say enough about how wonderful they were to work with. I have sent them a letter of reference and everything they were so wonderful. They guarantee that if they mess up anything around the house they will repair it or replace it. By the time they were done the only I could tell that they had been here was that the inside of the house was repaired. I got 4 estimates. The salesman, Daniel, was wonderful. He kept in contact with us and even compensated us for referrals. Across the board they are fabulous! I even got a lifetime warranty with the work.

These guys were excellent. They showed up on time every day and worked all day. They were considerate of the fact that we have dogs and always made sure that all the gates were securely closed at the end of the day. I was well informed at all times of what was occurring and where they were in the process. The job took longer than anticipated, but they let me know immediately that the job was going to take longer than originally quoted. They always left the yard clean and returned everything to its original position when the job was completed. After the job was completed, I had a minor soil problem because of rain. I called and told them what the problem was and they immediately came out and added more soil to the area to fix the problem. I had already laid new mulch in the area where the soil needed to be added and they did such a good job, that you couldn't even tell the mulch had been disturbed. I will have absolutely no hesitations if I have to call them for warranty work.

We chose GL Hunt because of the reviews that I read on Angie's List. The house had settled over the past 82 years and we needed to have the foundation repaired before we did any major remodeling. We weren't looking forward to the process at all. Daniel came out and did a very professional estimate. After he gave the price, I asked for and received an Angie's List discount. The company is very busy and we had to schedule about a month out. They called to see if I wanted to move the job up about a week, but I was out of the country and missed the call. Our job was scheduled for the 26th and 27th of Feb 2009. David and his crew showed up at 8am and IMMEDIATELY got to work. I've never seen a crew work as hard as they did. They all wore GL Hunt red T-shirts, looked very professional, and were very polite. I've added pictures so you can see how the job progressed. The crew worked hard all morning with no break until lunchtime. Lunch lasted just under an hour. They got back to work and worked until 5:45. When they left for the day they cleaned up the site and covered all of the holes. Friday morning at 10 minutes until 8 the crew arrived and immediately got back to work. At about 10:30 am they were ready to lift the house which they did. At 3 pm David (the supervisor) called me out to check on the job. To my amazement not only were they done but they were very professionally cleaning the site up. They raked, swept, and hosed the place down. I want to add that the supervisor 'David' kept me in the loop the entire time. 'Professional' isn't a good enough word to describe these people.

Due to an opening in the schedule, work started several weeks earlier than originally projected. Workmen were here on time (or early) for the two workdays and was completed more quickly than I anticipated.

The estimator was very professional and arrived on time for both appointments. The crew of about 8 men arrived on time the day of the work. They finished very quickly and cleaned up very well. As a matter of fact, this was the cleanest site I've ever experienced with workers. They were quiet and worked at all times. I was told to wait about 90 days for the ground to settle around the repair, so I'll check back in then and let you know how things are then.