Pier and Beam Foundation Repair
Reshimming, rotted sill and beam replacement, new piers and crawl space moisture control for pre-1960 homes.
South & Southwest San Antonio · 78223
Foundation Repair
Highland Hills
Slab and pier and beam foundation repair for Highland Hills homes and businesses: inspections, piers, leveling, under-slab leak repair, crack repair and drainage correction, with the plan and the price in writing before work starts.
- Typical travel around 30 minutes
- Slab and pier and beam, every era
- Written proposal after the evaluation
Evaluation in Highland Hills
Tell us what the house is doing. You get an honest read on urgency and a written proposal after the evaluation.
~30 min
Typical travel to Highland Hills
78223
Highland Hills ZIP code
~55 yrs
Typical home age
8–12
Piers most homes need
Foundations in Highland Hills
What moves in Highland Hills, and why
Highland Hills is the southeast side along Southeast Military Drive near Brooks, the former Air Force base turned mixed-use district: 1950s to 1970s slabs on Blackland clay, Salado Creek flooding, mature trees and a wave of newer construction around Brooks.
Working the area
Regular work around Brooks, Southeast Military Drive, Salado Creek and Highland Hills Park, and the streets between.
- Typical home age
- ~55 yrs
- Residents
- ~40,000
Notes from the Highland Hills crew
Highland Hills is mid-century slabs on Blackland clay, with Brooks changing the neighborhood around them. The subdivisions along Southeast Military Drive were built from the 1950s through the 1970s for families at Brooks Air Force Base, on deep clay, with thin conventional slabs, cast iron drains underneath and trees planted the same year as the house. Sixty years later the drains have corroded through, the trees are full size, and the classic call is a heaved kitchen floor over a leaking drain with a dropped front corner under the tree, the slab high in the middle and low at the edges. Salado Creek floods, and many lots were graded toward the house, so one side of the clay stays wet through the year while the other side dries hard in August.
Brooks, the former base, has been redeveloped into a mixed-use district with new apartments, offices and homes on post-tension slabs that tilt with the seasons on the same clay, so the evaluation calls range from a 1958 ranch to a 2020 townhome a mile apart. Enclosed carports and additions on their own footings pull away from the original slabs. Pressed concrete pilings reach refusal at useful depths here, and the typical job is a plumbing repair under the heaved area, interior piers, perimeter pilings on the dropped side, gutters and a root barrier, all under a City of San Antonio permit.
What we see most
Common foundation problems in Highland Hills
Not generic pain points. These are the patterns behind most Highland Hills evaluations, roughly in the order they land on the schedule.
1950s to 1970s conventional slabs on Blackland clay dropping at corners and heaving over leaking cast iron drains
Salado Creek flooding and lots that drain toward the house keeping clay wet on one side
Mature trees planted with the subdivisions along Southeast Military Drive drying the clay unevenly
Newer homes and apartments near Brooks on post-tension slabs tilting with the seasons
Additions and enclosed carports on separate footings pulling away from the original slab
Something else in Highland Hills?
Sloping floors, a heaving slab, a crawl space that smells damp, a patio that dropped: if it is the foundation, we can evaluate it. Tell us what the house is doing and when it started.
Request an evaluation
Services in Highland Hills
Every service, same written proposal
Slab Foundation Repair
Pressed concrete pilings, steel piers or drilled piers under a settled slab, with a hydrostatic test before and after the lift.
Foundation Inspection
Elevation survey, crack mapping and an honest read on whether the house needs piers, drainage or just watching.
Foundation Leveling
Lifting a settled house back toward level in stages, doors closing again, and a written elevation record.
Foundation Crack Repair
Which cracks are cosmetic, which are structural, and epoxy or polyurethane injection once the cause is fixed.
Foundation Leak Repair
Hydrostatic testing, tunneling under the slab and drain repair when wet clay is heaving one side of the house.
Before we arrive
Four things that make a Highland Hills evaluation better
Foundation movement on clay is a story told over seasons. The more of it you can show us, the more honest the answer.
Photograph and date
Every crack inside and out with a coin for scale, plus the month. Seasonal movement on clay shows up as cracks that open in August and close in November.
Check the water
Where do the downspouts dump, where does water pool after a storm, which side has the big live oak, and is there a wet spot that never dries.
Find the paperwork
Previous repair warranties, engineer's letters, the seller's disclosure and any plumbing test. They change the plan and sometimes cover the work.
Send the form
Neighborhood, foundation type if you know it, what the house is doing and your timing. You get an evaluation window and what to watch for meanwhile.
Nearby neighborhoods
Also covering the rest of South & Southwest San Antonio
Mid-century slabs on clay, older pier and beam, and the Medina River towns. Same crew, same evaluation and the same written proposal across every South & Southwest San Antonio ZIP code.
All service areasInsurance, permits and paperwork
What the adjuster, the city and the next buyer will ask for after a Highland Hills job.
Texas decides foundation claims on cause, and Texas real estate runs on disclosure. We photograph, measure and write the report from the first visit.
- Soil movement or a leak? Texas policies generally exclude damage from soil movement. Damage from a plumbing leak under the slab may be covered, in part, depending on the policy and endorsement.
- Permits in Highland Hills Structural foundation repair needs a residential repair permit from the City or the suburb's own permit office. The contractor pulls it; a handyman cannot.
- Engineer's letter Photos, elevations before and after, and a Texas licensed engineer's letter are what the adjuster, the lender and the next buyer ask for first.
Highland Hills questions
What Highland Hills owners ask first
Straight answers on scheduling, local failure patterns, cost per pier and insurance.
All questionsHow quickly can you evaluate a house in Highland Hills?
Evaluations in Highland Hills are usually scheduled within a few days, and typical travel is around 30 minutes from wherever the crew is working. Active movement after a plumbing leak or a sudden drop goes to the front of the queue. You get a real window on the phone rather than a promise. While you wait, photograph the cracks with a coin for scale and note where water pools around the slab after rain.
What foundation problems are most common in Highland Hills?
The pattern we see most in Highland Hills is 1950s to 1970s conventional slabs on Blackland clay dropping at corners and heaving over leaking cast iron drains, followed by Salado Creek flooding and lots that drain toward the house keeping clay wet on one side. Highland Hills is the southeast side along Southeast Military Drive near Brooks, the former Air Force base turned mixed-use district: 1950s to 1970s slabs on Blackland clay, Salado Creek flooding, mature trees and a wave of newer construction around Brooks. Drought summers and wet springs move the soil everywhere in the metro, so seasonal cracks and sticking doors show up in every neighborhood.
What does foundation repair cost in Highland Hills?
Typical San Antonio ranges apply in Highland Hills: pressed concrete pilings run $350 to $600 per pier, steel piers $1,000 to $1,800, and most homes need 8 to 12 piers, so a typical slab repair lands between $4,500 and $14,000. Pier and beam leveling runs $1,500 to $5,000 before any rotted wood is replaced. Drainage correction often costs less than piers and is sometimes the whole fix. Every number is in a written proposal after the evaluation.
Will insurance cover foundation repair in Highland Hills?
Usually not for soil movement. Texas homeowners policies generally exclude damage from settling, shrinking and expansion of the soil. If a plumbing leak under the slab caused the movement, part of the repair may be covered depending on the policy and any foundation or seepage endorsement, often with a cap. A hydrostatic plumbing test, dated photos and an engineer's report are what the adjuster asks for.
Foundation repair in Highland Hills
Tell us what the house is doing. We will tell you if it needs piers.
Evaluation window for Highland Hills, an honest read on urgency, and a written proposal only if the house needs work.