Foundation work in Southfield
Four of every five Southfield homes, 80.1 percent, predate 1980, and the median value is $226,900 in a city of 76,025 residents. The Building Department at 26000 Evergreen Rd, 248-796-4100, handles permits and inspections online through BS&A, and plumbing needs its own permit, which is worth knowing because a sump or an interior drain is plumbing even when the contractor is a waterproofer. EPA places Oakland County, where Southfield sits, in radon Zone 2.
It says its zone map should not decide if you test, so a kit is the answer however the map reads. A contractor working on your house for $600 or more needs a state license; the contract should state that and give the number, and under Michigan's lien law a contractor with no written contract has no lien right on a residential structure. We found no Southfield page that names foundation repair as a permit item, so ask which permit applies. Beverly Hills is 3.5 miles away and Oak Park 4.0.
What foundation work costs near Southfield
We have collected no quotes for Southfield, 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 Southfield
Many cities run their own building department, so start by asking the City of Southfield 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 Southfield
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 SouthfieldFoundation 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 SouthfieldBasement 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 SouthfieldCrawl 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.