How Foundation Repair Quotes Work in Shreveport, LA
From your first request to the final inspection: what happens at each step, what to ask, and which papers to keep.
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Eight steps from first request to finished repair
Shreveport Foundation Services connects homeowners in Shreveport, Louisiana and nearby towns with independent local foundation repair and crawl space companies. Shreveport Foundation Services does not inspect or repair anything. The companies that reply do the inspection, write the proposal and do the work, and you decide whether to hire any of them.
Most jobs in the Shreveport-Bossier area follow the same path, whether the problem is a cracked slab, a settled pier, a sagging floor or a wet crawl space. Knowing the steps makes it easier to compare proposals and to spot anything missing.
Not sure what you are looking at? Start with foundation crack types, why floors sag or the FAQ.
1. Describe the problem
Use the form or call. Say whether the home is on a slab or pier and beam, what you see (brick cracks, sticking doors, sloping or soft floors, water in the crawl space), roughly how old the house is and whether there is crawl space access. Dated photos help later.
2. Local companies reply
Shreveport Foundation Services passes your request to independent foundation repair or crawl space companies that serve your area. They contact you directly to set up a visit. Companies may pay to receive requests; the service is free to you.
3. Optional: an independent structural engineer assessment
For a large pier or leveling job, conflicting quotes or a real estate deal, consider hiring an independent LAPELS-licensed professional engineer first. This Old House puts it at $300–$1,000. The engineer should be independent of the company selling the repair.
4. On-site inspections and written proposals
A company typically measures floor elevations, looks along the slab edge or under the house, checks drainage and gives a written proposal. A company inspection is part of a sales process, not an engineering opinion, so read it alongside any engineer report.
5. Compare scope, method, license, permit and warranty in writing
Line up the method, the number and location of piers, framing and moisture work, restoration, the permit, price and payment schedule. Check the LSLBC license at lslbc.louisiana.gov. Ask what the warranty covers, whether it transfers to a buyer, and get it in writing.
6. Permit pulled
Structural repairs generally need a permit from your city or parish; your contractor should pull it. Ask for the permit number before work starts.
7. The repair
The company does the work in the agreed scope. Ask who will be on site, how the yard, driveway and floors will be protected, and what happens if conditions under the house differ from the proposal.
8. Final inspection where required, then keep records
Where the permit calls for it, the work is inspected before it is closed out. Keep the contract, permit, invoices, warranty, any engineer report, elevation readings and photos together for a future sale.
What to have ready before the first visit
- Whether the home is on a slab or pier and beam, and where the crawl space access door is.
- Dated photos of each crack, with a tape measure in the frame and pencil marks at the ends.
- A short list of doors and windows that stick, and when they started.
- Where water stands after rain, where the downspouts discharge, and whether the crawl space stays wet.
- The home’s approximate age and any past repairs, permits, engineer reports or termite paperwork.
- A look at the typical ranges in the foundation repair cost guide.
Questions to ask before you sign
- LSLBC license: 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.
- Permit: who pulls it, whether the fee is in the price, and the permit number once issued.
- Insurance: a current certificate of liability insurance.
- Written scope: the method, the number and location of piers or piles, any shimming, joist, beam or sill work, moisture and drainage work, restoration and cleanup.
- Warranty: ask what the warranty covers, whether it transfers to a buyer, and get it in writing.
- Engineer independence: if a report is offered, ask who hired the engineer. An engineer you hire yourself works for you.
- Payment: the deposit, the schedule and what is due at completion. The Louisiana Attorney General advises getting several bids, avoiding large down payments and getting a written contract that shows the contractor’s license number.
Louisiana consumer rules to know
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 and get it in writing.
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. Complaints go to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section. This is general information, not legal advice.
Permits around Shreveport-Bossier
Structural repairs generally need a permit from your city or parish; your contractor should pull it. No office in the area publishes a single foundation-repair permit rule, so the company should confirm the requirement for your address.
- Shreveport and Caddo Parish (including Keithville, LA and, reportedly, Blanchard, LA; confirm with the Town of Blanchard): the City of Shreveport’s Permits & Inspections office (Metropolitan Planning Commission).
- Greenwood, LA: the town issues its own permits.
- Bossier City, LA: the city’s Permits & Inspections Division.
- Unincorporated Bossier Parish: Code Inspections Plus, the parish building official. Benton, LA reportedly uses the same office (confirm with the town).
- Haughton, LA: the town’s own office.
- Minden, LA: the City of Minden Building Official.
- Stonewall, LA: reportedly the town’s own office (confirm with Town Hall).
Termite damage found during the work is a separate job: treatment is done by a pest control operator licensed by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF). Insurance is a separate question too. Standard homeowners policies commonly exclude settling, earth movement and gradual damage, while a sudden event like a burst pipe may be treated differently. Read your policy and ask your agent. More in Louisiana foundation contractor licensing and does insurance cover foundation repair in Louisiana.
Start with step one
Describe the problem once. Independent companies serving Shreveport, Bossier City and northwest Louisiana can reply with free, no-obligation quotes.
Cracks, sticking doors or a soft floor? Get free foundation and crawl space quotes.
Describe it once and independent companies serving Shreveport, Bossier City and northwest Louisiana can reply with no-obligation quotes.