Foundation repair in Fort Lauderdale FL - level floors, with the cause found first
Cracks in the walls, doors that stick or a slab that dropped? We find the cause first, then lift the slab or set piers.
Have those cracks looked at before they grow
We're open until 9 PM every day of the week, so call (754) 228-0031 after work or send the form tonight.
How do you fix a settling foundation in Fort Lauderdale?
Foundation repair in Fort Lauderdale means one of two things. We either set steel piers that carry your house's weight down to stable ground, or we lift the slab you already have by filling the empty space under it. At J&R Fort Lauderdale Concrete & Masonry, we choose between them once we know why the slab dropped.
Most people call after they notice a crack running up the brick, a door that won't latch or a patio pulling down away from the house. The price turns on how many piers or repair points your house needs and which kind of pier the ground will take. The schedule turns on the permit review and the rainy season, because an open trench and heavy rain don't mix. We're based in Fort Lauderdale and work across the cities around it, and the estimate I write lists every step and material, so your own number is on paper before anything starts.
Why homeowners in Fort Lauderdale call J&R for foundation repair
I come out to every estimate
I look at the whole house myself, and I stay on site with our crew while the work is done. The person who found the cause is the one checking the repair.
Measured and written down since 2023
I started this business in Fort Lauderdale in 2023, and I run every job the way office work taught me, by measuring, checking and writing it down. You see the reasoning on paper, not just a total.
Licensed and fully insured
Florida licenses are either certified, which is good anywhere in the state, or registered, which is good only where the contractor holds a local certificate. Ask any contractor which kind they hold and whether it covers Fort Lauderdale.
On a foundation, the cause decides the repair, so ask for an estimate and I'll come take a look. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
How we handle foundation repair
Before I suggest lifting a slab or adding piers, I look for what made it drop, because a lift alone leaves that cause in place. I explain both options plainly and tell you why we'd choose one. If piers are the answer, buried utilities get marked first. One helical pier maker's guide tells crews to call 811, the call-before-you-dig number, so the lines are flagged or painted before anyone digs. That same guide digs either a trench along the whole wall or a square hole at each pier, down to the footing the wall sits on. From there we set the piers, bring the house's weight onto them, backfill and clean up. For a slab lift, we fill the empty space under the slab to raise it, then patch the holes we drilled.
Settling usually shows up in the masonry above the foundation too. Once the house is steady, cracked mortar can be raked out and refilled with fresh mortar, which is tuckpointing. A chimney that cracked or pulled away as the house moved is a job for our chimney repair work.
Push piers
One Florida cost guide calls push piers the standard for most Florida homes that need structural foundation work. They're steel pipes driven down until they hit resistance, so they suit ground that lets a pipe be driven.
Helical piers
These are screw-like steel shafts twisted into the ground, so they suit rocky ground where driving a pipe is hard. They cost more, which is why the ground under your house affects both the method and the price.
Slab lifting
This raises the slab you already have by filling the voids under it. It works on driveways, sidewalks, patios and garage floors as well as house slabs, and it suits a slab that has stopped moving.
How do you know your foundation needs a look?
Stair-step cracks in brick
Cracks that climb the mortar joints in a step pattern usually mean part of the wall has dropped. Left alone, they widen and let water in, and the masonry repair gets bigger.
Doors and windows that stick
A door that used to latch and now rubs, or a window that binds, often means the frame has shifted with the house. The longer it moves, the more trim and drywall cracks follow.
A floor that slopes
When a ball rolls toward one wall or floor tile cracks in a line, the slab under it has likely settled unevenly. Waiting lets the low side keep going down, and that makes the fix larger.
A slab pulling away
A gap opening between a patio, walk or garage floor and the house means the slab has dropped. Rain runs into that gap and under the slab, so the gap tends to keep growing.
What happens after you call us about foundation repair?
Call and set a visit
Call or send a request to set up a visit. I walk the whole house to find what's causing the problem, then write up an estimate that lists each step and material.
Permit first, then the work
Any permit goes in before we dig, and the city commits to finishing its first review within 30 days of the application. Then our crew sets the piers or lifts the slab.
Walk through it together
We clean up and walk through the finished work with you, checking the floors, the backfill and any patched holes. It should be level, clean and something you'd show a neighbor.
Foundation repair questions we hear
These are the questions Fort Lauderdale homeowners ask most about settling and cracks. If yours isn't here, call (754) 228-0031 and tell me what you're seeing.
How much does foundation repair cost in Fort Lauderdale?
Foundation repair in Fort Lauderdale usually costs about $500 to $1,800 per pier or repair point, so treat that as a planning figure and not a total. The number of points your house needs moves the total most. The estimate I write after looking at your house gives your own figure.
What is the best way to fix a sunken slab, lifting or piers?
Lifting is the better buy when whatever let the slab drop has stopped, and piers are the better fix when it hasn't. A lift usually costs roughly a third to half of replacing the slab. It can't fix the soil that let the slab sink, though, so that cause stays put after the lift.
When is the best time of year for foundation work in Fort Lauderdale?
One Florida cost guide calls the dry season, November to April, the best time for excavation work. The same guide notes that summer rains from June to October can flood trenches and delay a project, so booking a pier job for the drier months helps keep the dig on track.
How long does foundation repair take?
A slab lift is usually done in a day. A pier job takes longer, and how long depends on how many piers your house needs and what we find once the ground is open. Helical piers can carry the house's weight as soon as they're in.
Who issues building permits for foundation repair in Fort Lauderdale?
The city's Building Services division issues building permits in Fort Lauderdale and performs the building inspections. When your job needs a permit, we handle the application and schedule the inspections, so you aren't chasing paperwork.
Does my Fort Lauderdale house need the 25-year building safety inspection?
Not if it's a small residential building of up to four units and three stories or less, because those are left out of Broward County's building safety inspection program. Larger buildings in that program need an inspection at 25 years old and every 10 years after that.
Get a written foundation repair estimate
Send your address and a few photos of the cracks or sunken spots, and we'll reply within one business day to set up a free visit at your property. I come out myself, and there's no obligation.
Examples of foundation repair
Masonry work that often follows
Chimney repair
If your chimney has cracked, leans or leaks, the brick and mortar need their own repair, separate from anything happening at the foundation below.
Learn moreTuckpointing
Crumbling or cracked mortar joints let water into a brick wall, and replacing them with fresh mortar closes those gaps and keeps the wall tight.
Learn more