Foundation Cracks: Which Are Normal and Which Are Serious?

Updated November 2026 · 7 min read

Most homes in Shreveport, LA have a crack somewhere. Plenty are harmless. A few point to a foundation that is moving. This guide walks through the common crack types in slab and pier-and-beam homes, what each one often means, and how to tell whether yours is changing.

Shreveport Foundation Services is a free quote service, not a foundation company. Independent local companies, which may pay to receive requests, reply to homeowners with quotes, and the company you choose does the work. A crack guide is not a diagnosis. Only someone who looks at the house can tell you what is going on.

Are foundation cracks normal?

Many are. Concrete shrinks as it cures, and thin cracks in a slab are common in houses that are otherwise fine. Mortar and drywall crack with small, early movement and then stay put. What matters is less the crack itself than four things around it:

• Offset: one side of the crack sits higher or farther out than the other.
• Shape: the crack is wider at one end than the other.
• Change: it grows, or it reopens after it was patched.
• Company: it shows up with sticking doors, windows that will not latch, sloping floors or gaps at trim.

One thin crack with none of those is usually something to watch. Several of them together usually earn an inspection.

Common crack types at a glance

A rough guide, not a diagnosis. The same crack can mean different things in different houses.

Slab cracks

Most newer homes around Shreveport and Bossier City, LA are slab-on-grade. You often find slab cracks when the carpet comes up or a tile line cracks. A flat hairline crack with no height difference is common. A crack where you can feel a lip with your finger, where tile has popped along a line, or where the floor slopes toward the crack is different, because it suggests part of the slab moved. On clay soils the slab edge can lift or settle with the seasons. See slab foundation repair for what companies check, including floor elevations and, sometimes, a plumbing test under the slab.

Brick veneer cracks

Brick on many homes is a veneer, a skin over the frame. Because mortar is weaker than brick, movement tends to show as a stair-step crack along the mortar joints, often starting at the corner of a window or door, where the wall has an opening. A crack that runs straight through the bricks themselves, or brick that has pushed out of line, usually means more force. Repointing closes the crack, but if the foundation under it is still moving, the crack can come back.

Cracks in pier-and-beam homes

Many older Shreveport homes, especially in districts like Highland, Fairfield and South Highlands, sit on piers over a crawl space. In these houses the clues are often inside: cracked plaster or drywall, doors that drift out of square, and floors that dip or feel soft. Under the house, look for cracked, leaning or crumbling brick piers, gaps between a pier and the beam, and damp or soft wood. The fix is often at a pier or in the framing, not at the crack. See pier and beam repair and crawl space repair.

Why cracks open and close here

Much of Caddo and Bossier parishes is mapped in clay soils with high to very high shrink-swell potential (USDA NRCS soil data): roughly 43% of Caddo and 55% of Bossier by area, including Red River clays like Moreland and Buxin and upland soils like Eastwood and Keithville. Check your own lot on Web Soil Survey. Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks as it dries, which can contribute to cracking. Shreveport's weather drives the cycle: April is the wettest month, at about 5.2 inches of rain, and August the driest and hottest, at about 2.9 inches with average highs near 94.9 °F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). That is why a crack can look worse in September than in May. Read more in how Red River clay can move Shreveport foundations.

How to track a crack

1. Mark the ends

   Draw a short pencil line across each end of the crack and write the date.

2. Photograph it

   Take a photo with a ruler or tape in the frame, from the same spot each time.

3. Check the doors

   Note which doors and windows stick or will not latch, and when.

4. Recheck by season

   Look again after the late-summer dry spell and after spring rains.

A few months of notes tell a company or engineer far more than a single photo. They also help a future buyer's inspector.

What crack repair typically involves

For a crack that is only cosmetic, a company may seal concrete cracks with epoxy or polyurethane injection and repoint cracked mortar. For a crack that is a symptom, the work goes to the cause: drainage and grading, piers under a slab, or shimming and added piers under a pier-and-beam house. Sealing a crack does not stop the soil from moving, so sealing alone on a house that is still moving may need redoing.

No crack-only figure is included in the cost guides used here, so compare written quotes. When the crack is a sign of movement, the price follows the fix. National guides put most foundation repairs at $2,200–$8,200 (Fixr, January 2026) and per-pier underpinning at $1,000–$3,000 per pier (Fixr, This Old House). The Shreveport foundation repair cost guide has the full table, and foundation crack repair covers what to ask.

Before you hire anyone

Ask each company whether the crack is cosmetic or structural and what it measured to decide, and whether the scope deals with the cause or only seals the crack. Ask what the warranty covers, whether it transfers to a buyer, and get it in writing. Louisiana's contractor board (LSLBC) changed its thresholds on August 1, 2024. Home improvement registration now covers most projects of $7,500 to under $50,000, but structural work such as foundations, footings and floor slabs is excluded from 'home improvement', so foundation repair over $7,500 generally calls for an LSLBC-licensed contractor. Look the company up at lslbc.louisiana.gov and ask for the license number, proof of liability insurance and the permit. When you are ready, request free quotes.

Frequently asked questions