Foundation Underpinning.
Underpinning is the structural term for deepening a foundation’s support. GroundLock underpins Central Texas slabs with steel piers driven to load-bearing strata.
Underpinning is the structural term for deepening a foundation’s support. GroundLock underpins Central Texas slabs with steel piers driven to load-bearing strata.
What underpinning does
When the soil at foundation depth can no longer carry the load, underpinning extends support downward to soil that can. It’s the permanent answer to settlement caused by weak or seasonally active ground.
Steel piers as underpinning
Steel piers are a modern, verifiable underpinning method: drive force is logged at every pier and the lift is re-surveyed, so the support is measured rather than assumed.
Signs you may need foundation underpinning
- Doors and windows that stick, drag, or won’t latch
- Stair-step cracks in exterior brick or block
- Sloping, bouncy, or visibly uneven floors
- Drywall cracks fanning from door and window corners
- Gaps opening between walls, trim, and the ceiling
- Cracks in the slab or at the garage floor
The GroundLock process
Free elevation survey
Map the slab to ±⅛ in and locate every drop.
Drive steel piers
Galvanized piers driven through the clay to load-bearing strata, to refusal.
Lift & lock
Raise toward level; transfer the load onto the piers.
Verify & warranty
Re-survey, document the lift, and warranty it for life.
Protecting the repair
Because water and soil movement cause most foundation failures, lasting results often pair the structural fix with drainage correction, erosion control, or regrading — recommended only where it protects your foundation.
FAQs
Is underpinning the same as piering?
Does underpinning require an engineer?
Book your free
foundation inspection.
Tell us where you are and what you’re seeing. A GroundLock structural advisor confirms within one business hour.
Get your free foundation inspection.
A licensed inspector measures your slab elevation to ±⅛ in and gives you a written, engineer-backed plan — with zero pressure.