Why I Stopped Selling Foundation Repair

Howdy,

I once worked for one of the largest and oldest foundation repair companies in Houston, Texas. I loved it. I loved living and breathing foundations. I learned more about soil mechanics than I ever thought possible—how our clay soils expand and contract by several inches throughout the year. Simply put, our homes are built on unstable ground.

From Foundation Repair to Foundation Reality

Back then, I inspected foundations every single day—hundreds of them. I thought I was helping homeowners, but the truth started to bother me. When you work on commission, every foundation starts to look like a “repair opportunity.” The system rewards selling, not solving.

After enough inspections, I noticed a pattern. Anytime I saw trees close to a home, I could already predict some degree of damage. The soil beneath those homes was drying unevenly because tree roots were pulling moisture from the clay. But what shocked me more was what I saw next—the homes that had already been repaired were usually the ones in the worst shape.

When Repairs Cause More Damage

Every time I inspected a home that had previous foundation repair, I could almost guarantee it would call again under “warranty.” The repaired portions were usually fine, but everything else around them had shifted. Homes with full-perimeter underpinning often developed interior settlement—something that only happens after foundation repair. The center of the house would sink because the edges were locked in place. The structure could no longer flex naturally with the soil’s movement.

It hit me one day: foundation repair was often creating new problems rather than fixing the root cause. I realized that underpinning a slab in expansive clay is a static solution to a dynamic, living soil system. We were installing a rigid frame into an environment that constantly moves. The math just didn’t add up.

A Conversation That Changed Everything

The company president once told me a story that made everything click. He said he lifted his own home—not with piers, but with water. He hydrated the soil evenly and raised his foundation naturally. That moment stayed with me. If the man who ran the company didn’t believe in his own product for his own home, what did that say about the industry?

Why I Walked Away

Once I saw the truth, I couldn’t unsee it. I could no longer convince families to spend their savings on a repair that I knew would likely cause long-term harm. Foundation repair was sold as a permanent fix for an acute problem—but in reality, it created chronic issues that never went away. I walked away from the foundation repair racket and became an advocate for homeowners instead, teaching that real foundation repair starts with the soil, not with piers.

Today: Helping Homeowners, Not Selling Them

Ironically, I still work in foundation repair—just not by selling it. Now I educate and empower homeowners with knowledge about soil behavior, foundation monitoring, and moisture management. I teach people how to prevent the problem before it starts. That’s real repair.

Working in the foundation repair industry was one of the best things that ever happened to me because it opened my eyes. It gave me a deep respect for the science of soil mechanics and the responsibility we have to tell homeowners the truth—even when it doesn’t sell.

Neil Arnold

Professional Home Inspector, TREC#23450