Slab Foundation Repair

Pasadena-area homes sit on Houston black clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. Over years, the slab moves with the soil — cracks form, doors stick, floors slope. Slab foundation repair stabilizes the slab and brings it back toward level, then addresses the underlying cause so the problem does not come back. The most common repair method is underpinning — installing supports (piers or pilings) under the slab that reach down to bedrock or load-bearing strata, bypassing the active clay zone. The two pier types most local contractors use are push piers (hydraulically driven steel pipe sections) and helical piers (steel shafts with welded helix plates, rotated into the ground like a screw). A third option, concrete press pilings, is common in older Houston work but is generally considered less durable than steel piers and is usually reserved as a budget option. For minor issues that do not warrant underpinning — surface cracks, minor settlement caught early, drainage corrections — repairs may consist of crack injection, slab jacking (mud-jacking or poly-jacking to fill voids under the slab), or targeted soil stabilization. The right repair for your home depends on the elevation survey, the visible damage pattern, and the underlying cause. Most companies will walk the property first, take elevation readings at multiple points across the slab, and explain the options before any work starts. Most underpinning installs take 1–3 days; targeted repairs (injection, slab-jacking) take a few hours.