Foundation and Crawl Space FAQ for Shreveport, LA

Thin hairline cracks in a slab or mortar are common. Cracks that keep widening, are wider at one end, have one side higher than the other, or zigzag through brick veneer with bricks out of line deserve a closer look, especially alongside sticking doors or sloping floors. Mark the ends, date them and photograph them. See foundation crack repair.

Sometimes. Humidity swells wood doors and frames, so a door that sticks only in a wet month may be just that. A door that rubs at a top corner, a latch that no longer lines up, or a gap that opens over the frame, especially with new brick or drywall cracks nearby, can follow movement below. Note which doors and when.

Sometimes. A narrow crack that stays the same width through a wet spring and a dry late summer can often be watched. Brick cracks that keep widening, floors that keep sloping more or a crawl space with standing water and soft wood are harder to leave. No published data shows how much prices rise with delay, so be wary of pressure to sign on the spot.

Look at the base of the outside walls. Foundation vents or a small access door in the brick or block skirting usually mean a crawl space under a pier-and-beam floor. A house that sits close to the ground with no vents and a concrete edge visible at grade is usually on a slab. Several steps up to the front door can point to pier and beam.

No count exists. Many older homes appear to be, but you will need to check your own house. Shreveport’s median home was built in 1973 and about 65% predate 1980 (Census ACS). Many older homes in early-20th-century districts like Highland, Fairfield and South Highlands often sit on piers over a crawl space, while most newer homes in the region are built on slabs.

Slab homes often get pressed concrete piles or steel piers under the perimeter beam, then lifting back toward level. Pier-and-beam homes often get shimming, reset or added piers, sistered joists, beam or sill replacement and leveling. See slab foundation repair and pier-and-beam repair.

Generally, yes, for larger jobs. Since August 1, 2024, home improvement registration covers most projects of $7,500 to under $50,000, but structural work such as foundations and floor slabs is excluded, so foundation repair over $7,500 generally calls for an LSLBC-licensed contractor. Confirm with the LSLBC and look the company up at lslbc.louisiana.gov.

Structural repairs generally need a permit, and your contractor should pull it. Shreveport’s Permits & Inspections office handles Shreveport and Caddo Parish except Greenwood, LA, which issues its own. Bossier City, LA has its own office, and unincorporated Bossier Parish uses Code Inspections Plus; Benton, LA reportedly uses the same office (confirm with the town). Ask for the permit number.

Possibly. Louisiana’s home solicitation laws (R.S. 9:3538 and 9:2711.1) give a 3-business-day right to cancel many in-home sales of $25 or more, but it may not apply when you contacted the company yourself or to emergency repairs already under way. Ask whether a cancel right applies to your contract and get it in writing.

Look up the license at lslbc.louisiana.gov and ask for proof of liability insurance. The Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (R.S. 51:1405) declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce unlawful, and complaints go to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section. Keep your contract, permit and payment records.

Much of Caddo and Bossier parishes is mapped in clay soils with high to very high shrink-swell potential (USDA NRCS): roughly 43% of Caddo and 55% of Bossier, including Moreland, Buxin, Eastwood and Keithville soils. Webster Parish is lower, about 31%, and De Soto about 63%. Swelling and shrinking can contribute to movement. Check your lot on Web Soil Survey.

It may have for some homes. Caddo, Bossier, Webster and De Soto parishes each reached D3 “extreme” drought in 2022–2023 (US Drought Monitor); Caddo peaked with 88.9% of the parish in D3 on September 19, 2023. Clay shrinks as it dries, so new cracks or sticking doors after a dry spell are worth documenting. See clay soil and foundations.

It can. The Red River at Shreveport crested at 37.14 feet on June 10, 2015 (NWS). In March 2016, about 18.8 inches of rain fell at Barksdale, and news reports said about 3,500 homes in north Bossier City were ordered evacuated (not flooded) as Red Chute Bayou crested at about 25.25 feet. Ask about drainage and grading, and remember flood damage needs flood insurance.