Foundation repair in Cupertino CA - a house that's bolted down and braced
Not sure what's holding your house to its foundation? We anchor it and brace the short walls underneath so it's safer in an earthquake.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does foundation repair involve on a Cupertino house?
Foundation repair on most Cupertino houses we see is earthquake work. We anchor the house to its foundation and brace the cripple walls, the short walls in the crawl space under your floor, so the house is less likely to slide off its foundation or drop when those walls give way.
Usually you're here because you have a raised floor and no idea what's holding the house down, or you just bought an older place and want to know before the next quake. The price depends on how many repair points your house needs, how tall those short walls are and how easy it is to work under the floor. The schedule mostly depends on whether the city has to review plans before we start. Once I've seen the house, the written estimate lays out what we'll do and why.
Does your house need foundation repair for earthquakes?
Older raised-floor house
Homes built over a crawl space often sit on their foundation with little holding them in place.
Short walls under the floor
Those cripple walls carry the whole house, and unbraced ones can fold over when the ground shakes.
No bolts along the sill
If you look in the crawl space and find no bolts or plates, it's worth a visit.
A remodel is coming up
When floors or walls are already open, it's simpler to add anchoring and bracing at the same time.
How we handle foundation repair
I framed houses before I switched to masonry, so before we talk about fixes I look at how your house sits on its foundation and how the short walls under the floor are holding up. I check whether the wood sill is bolted down, whether those cripple walls are braced, and whether water or rot is part of the story, because bracing a soft, wet wall doesn't fix much. If your home falls outside the usual plans, we bring in an engineer early instead of guessing. Then our crew anchors the house to the foundation, braces the cripple walls and cleans up the crawl space before we leave.
The problem often doesn't stop at the foundation. A brick chimney usually sits on its own footing and moves differently from the house in a quake, so if yours has cracks or loose brick, chimney repair is worth doing while we're there. If your foundation or the masonry above it has crumbling joints, tuckpointing replaces the worn mortar so water stops working its way in. Where a section of foundation wall is too far gone to patch, we rebuild it with foundation block wall installation.
Anchoring the house to the foundation
This suits houses that sit on a low foundation with little or no wall under the floor. Bolting the sill down helps keep the house from sliding off its foundation when the ground moves.
Bracing the cripple walls
This suits raised-floor houses with short walls between the foundation and the floor. We stiffen those walls so they're less likely to fold over, and we anchor the house at the same time, because doing one without the other leaves a weak spot.
Engineered work for unusual homes
This suits hillside lots, taller walls under the floor or anything else out of the ordinary. An engineer designs the fix up front, which adds cost at the start, but the plan fits your house instead of a typical one.
What happens when you call about foundation repair in Cupertino?
Call or send the form
Call (669) 215-2127 or use the form, and I'll set up a time to come out myself. Tell me what you've noticed, like cracks, a sloping floor or a crawl space you've never looked in.
Walk the house together
I ask what you've seen, then we walk it and I get under the floor to check the sill, the bolts and the short walls. You get a written estimate that says what we'll do and why, so you know where the money goes before you decide.
Get the city's sign-off first
If the city needs to sign off, we handle that before we start and plan our start date around its review. The city reports first plan reviews averaging 20 to 30 business days and 10 to 20 business days for each review after that, so build that wait into your plans.
Do the work, then walk it
I'm on the job with our crew, and we clean up the crawl space as we go. At the end we walk it together again, so you can see what was done.
Fix the drainage with your foundation repair
If water is part of the cause, usually yes.
Bolts and bracing handle shaking. They don't stop wet ground from moving under the house, so on every visit I look at where your water goes. Downspouts emptying right at the foundation, sprinklers hitting the wall and dirt sloped toward the house are the usual causes, and they're often simple to correct.
I'd rather tell you about a downspout before we start than have you pay for foundation work that keeps fighting the same water. I'll note what I see in the written estimate, so you can decide how to handle it before we lay a single brick.
Examples of masonry work
Look through these examples of masonry and concrete work, from foundations and block walls to brick, stone and paving, to get ideas for your own project.
Get a written foundation repair estimate
Send your address, what you've noticed and any photos of the space under your floor. We reply within one business day to set up a free visit at your property, with no obligation, and I come out myself.
Why Cupertino homeowners call D&R Cupertino Concrete and Masonry for foundation repair
I come out to every job
I look at each job and write the estimate myself, and I'm on site with the crew when the work starts. You won't have to explain your house to someone new halfway through.
Fixing causes since 2013
We've been in business since 2013, and most of our calls come from people who want an old problem fixed properly, not covered up. If water or a weak wall is behind the trouble, I'll tell you before we touch anything.
Licensed and insured for this work
We're licensed and fully insured. Working under a floor is tight, slow work, and if something goes wrong down there, the contractor should carry that risk, not you.
Our own masons do the work
The work is done by me and our crew of masons, and California law lets you ask any contractor to name its subcontractors along with their license numbers. Call (669) 215-2127 to set up a visit and ask us anything you like.
Foundation repair questions we hear
How much does foundation repair cost in the San Jose area?
Foundation repair in the San Jose area usually costs about $650 to $2,500 per pier or repair point. That's the going rate across the area, not our price. Your total depends on how many points your house needs, how tall the walls under the floor are, how easy the crawl space is to work in and whether the job needs an engineer or a permit. Your written estimate gives you the figure for your house.
Will earthquake retrofitting stop all damage to my house?
No. Anchoring and bracing mainly lower the risk to the people inside and cut down the damage, but they don't prevent all of it. Think of it as a safety step, and still plan for some repairs after a big quake.
How do I know if my Cupertino house fits a standard retrofit plan?
A national standard plan set covers homes with an unoccupied space below the floor, cripple walls up to 7 feet tall and downhill slopes up to 20%. Taller walls or a steeper lot fall outside it, so ask early which plan your job will follow, because that changes the design work and the schedule. I check both on the first visit.
Can an unlicensed handyman do foundation repair in California?
Only for minor work that doesn't need a permit. California lets unlicensed people take jobs up to $1,000 only when the work needs no permit and they employ no one. Anything that needs the city's sign-off calls for a licensed contractor.
What causes the soil under a house to swell?
Mostly water. General engineering guidance says that on soils that expand when wet, rain, landscape watering and runoff that collects in one spot can make the ground swell significantly under a house. Watch where your sprinklers and downspouts send water, and keep the watering steady and the water away from the foundation.
How do I know if my house is bolted to its foundation?
Look in the crawl space where the wood sill sits on the concrete. You should see bolt heads with washers, or metal plates, tying the two together along the wall. If you can't find any, or the short walls under the floor are bare studs with nothing covering them, have someone take a look. Send a few photos with your request so I know what to look for when I come out.
Want me to look under your floor?
Ask for an estimate and I'll walk the house with you, then put what we'd do and why in writing.
Other work around your foundation
Foundation repair in Cupertino and the cities around it
Whether your foundation repair needs a permit is for the City of Cupertino to decide. The city issues permits so plans meet local, state and federal standards and the work gets inspected, and it takes applications in person or by email. When a job needs a permit, we handle the application, and if you're not sure about yours, ask and we'll check with the city.
The ground matters as much as the house. If your property sits in one of the state's Seismic Hazard Zones, weak soil or rock is likely underneath, and it can fail in an earthquake and damage the house unless the right precautions go into grading and construction. That's when I'd want an engineer looking at it early. We're based in Cupertino and do this work across the cities around it. We see the same older raised-floor houses on jobs in Sunnyvale and plenty of sloped lots in Saratoga.