Foundation work in Ann Arbor
Washtenaw County is one of the nine Michigan counties in EPA's highest radon zone, Zone 1, where the predicted average indoor level is above 4 pCi/L. EGLE says the residential code requires radon-resistant construction in new homes there, but that rule does not reach an existing house, so testing is still on you. Ann Arbor's fee schedule, revised July 15, 2025, treats basement waterproofing as a building permit that also requires grading plan review and a grading permit, with a $15 base application fee and a permit fee of $100 plus $10 per $1,000 of project cost.
Applications go through STREAM; the office is at 301 E. Huron St., 734-794-6263. The city's flooding page says basement water can come from storms, spring snowmelt or groundwater building up, and advises a backup for the sump pump. Of 53,715 housing units, 64.3 percent predate 1980, 30.5 percent predate 1960 and 15.2 percent predate 1940, and the median value is $435,100, high enough that an engineer's report is small next to the bill. Ypsilanti is 6.0 miles away.
What foundation work costs near Ann Arbor
We have collected no quotes for Ann Arbor, so there is no price for the city itself. The statewide estimates are on each service page, and the Michigan page lists them with the wages the trades are paid, which are pay and not price, and the permit fees we could read. How we estimate costs. Ask every company for an itemized written price.
Permits for foundation repair work in Ann Arbor
Many cities run their own building department, so start by asking the City of Ann Arbor building department who issues foundation repair permits.
The base code requires a permit to repair or alter a building, and the city's building official decides whether a given foundation, waterproofing or sump job counts. Read the permit guide
Foundation jobs in Ann Arbor
The short answer to each job, as it applies across Michigan. Each links to the full page with the cost evidence, permit rules and what to try first.
- Foundation repair in Ann ArborFoundation repair in Michigan starts with finding out what is moving and why, and the person who tells you should have nothing to sell. Michigan has no foundation repair license, but a contractor charging $600 or more needs a state builder or maintenance and alteration license, and your city building office decides whether a permit applies.
- Foundation cracksFoundation crack repair in Michigan should start with reading the crack: its direction, any sign that it is still moving, and any water or bowing wall that comes with it. We found no source we trust that sets a width at which a crack becomes serious, so a dated pencil-mark log tells you more than a ruler once.
- Basement waterproofing in Ann ArborBasement waterproofing in Michigan works best in order: control interior moisture, fix grading and gutters, and only then add drainage inside or outside. Waterproofing a basement is a named craft on Michigan's maintenance and alteration license, and Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Livonia, Sterling Heights and Warren print it as a permit item.
- Crawl space encapsulation in Ann ArborCrawl space encapsulation is optional in Michigan: the 2015 residential code still allows a vented crawl space, and it allows an unvented one if the ground is covered with a sealed Class I vapor retarder and the space is exhausted or conditioned at 1 cfm per 50 square feet. The code names no dehumidifier and no liner thickness, so be wary of a quote that says it does.
- Piering and underpinningUnderpinning means giving a house a new or deeper footing, and piers are one way to carry the load down to firmer ground. Michigan sets footings at 42 inches below actual grade, state law requires no engineer for a one or two family home design up to 3,500 square feet, and a city may still ask for one.
- Slab levelingSlab leveling lifts a sunken concrete slab back toward level, and a sunken slab usually has a reason that will keep sinking it if nobody finds it. Michigan has no slab-leveling license; a contractor taking $600 or more needs a LARA license, and sidewalk and driveway flatwork has a building permit exemption with limits.
- Sump pumpA sump pump installation in Michigan is plumbing work, so it carries plumbing license and permit rules, and where the water goes is set by city ordinance and EGLE guidance, not one state rule. The State Police say basement flooding comes more often from pumps failing in power outages than from sewer backups.
- Radon mitigationTest for radon first, and if the result is 4 pCi/L or higher, EPA and EGLE recommend a mitigation system. Michigan does not license or regulate radon testers or mitigators, and EGLE has no authority over them, so hiring care falls to you.
- Foundation inspectionA foundation inspection is worth most when the person writing the report has nothing to sell you afterward. In Michigan that person is a licensed professional engineer, and only a licensed engineer may practice engineering or use the title on a structural report.
- Bowing wallsA basement wall that bows inward is carrying more load than it was built for, and that is the case where an engineer's written read should come before any bracing quote. The base residential code requires engineered design for walls under groundwater pressure or holding back more than 48 inches of unbalanced backfill.
- DrainageA French drain or drain tile collects water at the foundation and carries it somewhere else, and in Michigan the second half is the part with rules. EGLE prefers discharge to the ground where it can soak in, and a connection to a storm sewer needs permission from whoever runs that sewer.
More on Michigan foundation work
Licensing, permits, the frost rule and what a quote should say are covered once for the whole state on the Michigan page. To check a contractor, read how to check a Michigan builder license.