King County. Free foundation inspection.

Find out what that crack in your foundation really means.

A crack in the foundation. Cracks above a door that keep coming back after patching. One end of the house sitting lower than the rest. You can see it, but you can't tell how serious it is. PNW Foundations arranges a free inspection that measures how far your house has moved, and you get a straight answer either way.

No cost. No obligation. King County.
A Pacific Northwest family home
Free, no-obligation inspection
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King County.

The inspector measures your house

The inspector sets up instruments and measures the floors corner to corner, so what you get back is a measurement instead of an opinion.

The inspection costs nothing

There's no fee and no obligation. Having an inspection doesn't commit you to anything.

You get a straight answer

If your house doesn't need work, the inspector tells you that, and the visit ends there.

Sound familiar

What homeowners notice before they ask for an inspection

There's a crack in the foundation, and it wasn't there last year.

Cracks keep opening above a door or window after you patch them.

One end of the house sits lower than the rest.

A stair-step crack running through a concrete foundation wall, with wet soil pulling away at the base

The floor has a high spot in one room and a soft spot in another.

A door sticks, gets sanded, and sticks again a few months later.

If any of these sounds like your house, it's worth an inspection.

The ground, not the crack

Why patching the crack didn't hold

The crack is not the problem. The ground is.

A house rests on its foundation, and the foundation rests on soil. When a crack keeps opening or a door keeps sticking, the usual reason is that the soil under that part of the house shifted or washed out. That part drops, and the concrete above it cracks under the weight it carries. The crack in the drywall upstairs is the same movement showing up in a softer material.

That's why a patch opens back up, and why a door starts sticking again after it's been sanded. The crack gets filled, and the house keeps moving underneath it.

Nobody can tell how far a house has moved by looking at the crack. It has to be measured on site, and that measurement is what the inspection is for.

A drywall crack above an interior door frame, reopened through an old patch
The visit

What the inspection is

An inspector comes out and walks the whole house, inside and out. That means the foundation, the floors, the doors and windows, and the ground around the house.

Then the measuring starts. The inspector works corner to corner and records how far each part of the house has moved, along with photos of what was found.

You get the finding in plain words: which parts moved, how far, and whether anything needs doing. Sometimes nothing does, and you hear that just as plainly.

If the house does need work and you want to know what it would cost, the inspector can put together a plan with costs. That happens only if you ask for one.

An inspector in a living room reading a zip level, the yellow reel on the carpet and the tube running to the readout on the measuring pole
No cost, no obligation

Why the inspection is free, and what that doesn't mean

"Free inspection" is what every foundation company in the area says. A lot of homeowners have learned to read it as "a salesperson is coming." Fair enough.

PNW Foundations is not a contractor and does not do repair work. It arranges the inspection. If the house does turn out to need work, the inspector sits down with you and explains why it's happening, what's been tried on houses like yours over the years, and what it takes to fix the cause instead of the crack. Who may contact you, and how, is spelled out on the How this works page.

The inspection costs you nothing either way. Plenty of them end with nothing to fix, and that answer is free too.

King County PNW Foundations arranges free inspections across King County, with no obligation. Request my free inspection
What happens next

What happens after you send the form

STEP 01

You send the form

The form asks for your name, where the house is, and how to reach you. Describing what you're seeing is optional, and it helps.

STEP 02

PNW Foundations calls to set a time

Someone calls or texts the number you gave and finds a time that works for you.

STEP 03

The inspector comes out and gives you the answer

The inspector walks the whole house with instruments and a camera, then explains what it all means in plain words.

Questions

The questions people ask before they send the form

How do I know I'm not being oversold?
The inspection ends with what was measured and what it means. If the house is fine, that is what you hear. Nobody writes up a plan or a price unless you ask for one, and you are free to take the findings to anyone else for a second look.
What does it cost?
The inspection costs nothing, and having one does not obligate you to anything. If the house does need work, the price depends on the scope, and you only get a figure if you ask for one. No price is quoted before someone has seen the house. If a repair plan ends up requiring an engineer, that fee is separate and is not part of the inspection.
Who comes to the house?
An inspector arranged by PNW Foundations comes out, and the inspection is the whole visit. If the house needs work, you hear why it is happening, what has been tried before, and what fixing the cause involves. You decide what happens after that. The How this works page lists who may contact you.
We already have a bid. Should we still do this?
Yes, and keep the bid. A homeowner on Houzz posted two quotes for the same house. One company said it needed 13 supports under the foundation. The other said 37. When two answers are that far apart, the only thing that settles it is a measurement of how far the house actually moved. A second look is exactly what this inspection is for.
What if it turns out to be nothing?
Then that is what you are told, and it happens often. A crack over a part of the house that has barely moved is a different thing from a crack over a part that has dropped. The measurement is how you tell the two apart.
Request an inspection

Get a straight answer about your house.

It takes a short form, a call to set a time, and one visit.

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Four short fields, and then a call to set a time.

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PNW Foundations will call or text the number you gave to set a time.

No obligation Free foundation inspection, King County
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