Residential Foundation Repair Converse, TX.
Converse sits on some of the most active prairie clay in Bexar County, where a single wet-then-dry season can lift one corner of a slab while the rest stays put. We measure that movement first, then carry the house on steel below the soil that's moving.
How a Converse repair actually unfolds
Free elevation survey to ±0.01 in.
We shoot your slab on a systematic grid and map it to 1/64 in., so the contour shows exactly which corners have lifted or dropped instead of guessing from where the cracks happen to show.
Engineer-backed pier plan
From that map we set pier locations, spacing, and target lift in writing, a structural spec tied to your specific slab, not a one-size template.
Drive galvanized steel to refusal
Each pier is driven hydraulically, section by section, until the rig reads load-bearing resistance well below the active clay zone, so no two piers are assumed to land at the same depth.
Lift, lock, and re-survey
We transfer the load onto steel, raise the slab toward the documented targets, then re-shoot the elevations and hand you the final map before we leave.
Why slabs east of town move without warning
The damage in Converse rarely creeps in slowly, it arrives in episodes. The Blackland Prairie clays threading the Cibolo Creek tributary drainages east of town are among the most volumetrically active soils in the region. When a hard storm saturates them, the ground under a slab can heave two inches or more within days, then shrink back through the dry months that follow. That heave-and-shrink swing is what splits corner bricks, jams interior doors, and fans diagonal drywall cracks off window corners.
The number behind that behavior is plasticity index, a lab measure of how much water a clay can take on before it loses shear strength. Houston Black, the dominant soil series in this part of Bexar County, commonly runs a plasticity index of 40 to 60, which is squarely high-plasticity territory. Because the clay is deeply weathered and finely structured, moisture moves through it slowly but relentlessly, so the active zone, the depth where seasonal moisture actually changes soil volume, can reach anywhere from 8 to 15 feet below grade depending on drainage, trees, and how steadily the yard has been watered over the years.
A pier that stops above that active zone doesn't fix anything; it just ties the slab to the same soil that's moving. Our galvanized piers are driven past it to load-bearing strata, dense clay hardpan, a transition layer, or in places the upper surface of the Edwards limestone that underlies this corridor at greater depth to the east. The hydraulic pressure record for each pier documents exactly where resistance was achieved on your lot.
The survey costs nothing, and it's the whole point
Before any pier goes in the ground, you get a measured elevation map of your slab accurate to ±0.01 in. (1/64 in.) and a written, engineer-backed plan. It isn't a sales call, it's a concrete picture of where your foundation stands today.
Most Converse projects land between $4,500 and $14,000 depending on pier count, access, and drainage, and the survey sets that scope before you're quoted a price. Financing is available, and the work carries a lifetime transferable warranty that conveys to the next owner.
What keeps a leveled slab from riding the seasons again
Steel handles the structure; managing water around the perimeter is what protects the sections that weren't piered. On Converse clay these moves matter most:
- Slope grade away from the house, the IRC calls for at least a 6-inch drop over the first 10 feet, and soil tilting back toward the slab after a storm pools moisture right where it does the most damage.
- Run drip irrigation 18 to 24 inches off the perimeter during dry spells; steady moisture flattens the shrink-swell swing, and abrupt drying after a wet stretch is the classic recipe for sudden corner cracks.
- Watch tree proximity, a mature live oak or pecan within 10 to 15 feet of the foundation pulls water from the active zone and creates a persistent dry pocket that settles independent of the weather.
- Tie roof runoff into drainage that carries water away from the slab rather than dumping it at the corners.
- Don't lean on cosmetic patching alone, regrouting tile or skimming drywall while the slab keeps moving just lets the racking accumulate at framing, window seals, and plumbing stub-outs.
- Keep your survey map; whether you repair now or months from now, it's the baseline that shows whether movement is progressing.
Questions Converse homeowners ask us
My cracks always show up after the wet season, is the house settling?
Why steel piers here instead of pressed-concrete ones?
How deep will the piers actually go on my lot?
There's a big live oak right next to my foundation. Is that the problem?
Will I have to move out while you work?
Does the lifetime warranty really transfer if I sell?
If you level the slab, why are you also talking about drainage?
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foundation inspection.
Tell us where you are and what you’re seeing. A GroundLock structural advisor confirms within one business hour.
All foundation services in Converse
Every GroundLock service, available throughout Converse and the surrounding area:
Get your free foundation inspection.
A licensed inspector measures your slab elevation to ±0.01 in. (1/64 in.) and gives you a written, engineer-backed plan with zero pressure.