Foundation repair · New Braunfels, Texas
Foundation Repair in New Braunfels, TX
Clay or rock, new slab or old piers: straight answers and a free inspection.
A new crack over a doorway, or a door that sticks for the first time, can make your stomach drop. If you live in New Braunfels, you're in good company. City data reported by Community Impact shows foundation repair permits in New Braunfels rose nearly 118% from 2018 to 2022.
Tell us what you're seeing
- Free inspectionIt costs nothing
- No obligationStopping after the inspection is fine
- Town-by-town soil dataFrom the USDA soil survey
- Referral service, disclosedWe pass requests to local pros
- Call (830) 500-5898Or send the short form
Most of that comes down to the ground. New Braunfels sits right where the Blackland clay meets the rock of the Hill Country, and the two behave very differently under a house. So the first useful thing to know isn't how bad a crack looks. It's what your house is sitting on.
Your house is also likely young. The median home in New Braunfels was built in 2005, and a crack can show up long before anyone expects one. The good news: movement under a slab can be measured, and a measured problem is one you can plan for.
You can ask for a free inspection from a foundation repair professional who works in New Braunfels.
Clay or Limestone: The Ground Under New Braunfels
The state's geological survey, the Bureau of Economic Geology, places Comal Springs in Landa Park on the boundary between the Edwards Plateau and the Blackland Prairie. The springs rise along the Balcones Fault Zone, at the base of a limestone bluff, with harder rock on the western side. That boundary runs through the city, and it's why two houses a few miles apart can tell such different stories.
We sampled the USDA soil survey at 25 points across New Braunfels. Here's what turned up:
- 40% very high shrink-swell clay. Branyon covers 20% of our sample points, Houston Black 12% and Heiden 8%. These are deep clays that swell when they get wet and shrink as they dry.
- 12% high. Lewisville silty clay moves less, but it still moves.
- 20% low or moderate. Rumple and Comfort are stony soils with rock close underneath.
The USDA measures that movement with linear extensibility: the percent a soil grows or shrinks between wet and dry. A reading over 9 counts as very high, and under 3 is low. Branyon reads 13.0 at its most active. The survey shows that layer running from about a foot down to past 6 feet, with no rock in sight. A slab on Branyon rests on a thick bed of ground that changes size with the weather.
Comfort is a different world. The survey finds bedrock about 13 inches under it, and about 28 inches under Rumple, so there's far less ground to swell and shrink. If a house on rock does move, it's worth looking for another cause, such as water collecting near the foundation.
Not sure which side of the line you're on? Our guide to New Braunfels soil shows how to look up your own lot.
Our Foundation Repair Services
- Slab foundation repair for the poured and post-tension slabs under most New Braunfels homes.
- Pier and beam repair for older raised houses with a crawl space.
- House leveling when floors have gone out of level across the house.
- Foundation inspection to measure what's really happening before anyone talks about a repair.
- Foundation crack repair to tell a cosmetic crack from a structural one, and fix it the right way.
What New Braunfels Homes Are Built On
The US Census counts 41,814 homes in New Braunfels, with a median build year of 2005. That makes it a young city. About 69.3% of its homes went up in 1990 or later, including 31.7% in the 2010s and 7.3% since 2020. Only 9.0% were built before 1960.
The Census records when a home was built, not what it sits on. Still, a house this young is more likely to be on a post-tension slab, with steel cables pulled tight inside the concrete. A house built before about 1960 is more likely to be raised on piers and beams. Those are trends, not facts about your house, and an inspection will settle it.
The difference matters during a repair. Post-tension cables are under heavy load, and nobody should drill or cut into that slab without knowing where they run. Our guide to post-tension slabs covers how to tell if you have one.
- 2005Median year New Braunfels homes were built
- 9.0%Built before 1960
- 69.3%Built in 1990 or later
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2023.
Signs Your Foundation Is Moving
The first clue is usually small and easy to shrug off. Watch for these:
- A door that used to close easily now sticks or won't latch
- Cracks running up and out from the corners of doors and windows
- Stair-step cracks in brick or stone
- A gap opening between the baseboard and the floor
- Floor tiles that crack in a line, or floors that start to slope
- Windows that bind or won't lock
A single crack doesn't mean your foundation is failing. What tells you more is whether it's changing. Mark the ends of a crack with a pencil and the date, then look again in a few weeks. If it has grown, it's worth getting measured.
Timing can be a clue too. August is the hottest month in New Braunfels, with an average high of 94.6°F. Long, hot stretches dry clay out, and dry clay shrinks back from the edge of a slab. A crack that opens in late summer and narrows after fall rain is often a sign the ground is moving with the seasons.
Noticed two or more of these at once? That's a good time to have someone take a look.
Who to Call First
There are two good answers. A foundation repair company will usually inspect for free and can tell you quickly whether the house needs work. An independent structural engineer usually charges for the visit, but isn't selling the repair, which helps when you want a second view on a big quote.
We pass requests to repair professionals, so that's the path we can help with. Starting with an engineer is a sound choice too. Our guide on whether to call an engineer or a repair company first walks through when each one makes sense.
How a Referral Works
1. Tell us what you're seeing. Call (830) 500-5898 or send a request. Say what you noticed and roughly when it started, in your own words.
2. A local pro gets in touch. We pass your request to a foundation repair professional who serves your part of the area, and they arrange a free inspection at your house.
3. You decide. You get their findings, and any agreement about repair is between you and them. You're free to get other quotes, and many people do.
We're a referral service, not a repair company. The professional may pay us for passing on requests, and our referral marketing disclosure explains how.
Permits in New Braunfels
New Braunfels requires a permit any time an owner plans to repair a building or structure. Foundation is its own permit type, and the application is made online. Cosmetic work like painting or new flooring doesn't need one, but foundation repair does.
Here's what sets New Braunfels apart from some nearby cities:
- You can't pull this permit yourself. The city's building safety bulletin lists foundation repair among the jobs that need a registered contractor, even under the homeowner's exemption.
- The repair needs a foundation plan. The city's checklist asks for a plan that complies with chapter 4 of the 2021 International Residential Code whenever foundation repair is in the scope of work.
- Every contractor on the job must be registered with the City of New Braunfels.
- Homes in the floodplain also file a floodplain application form.
That extra step protects you, because the city sees the plan before the work starts. If anyone offers to skip the permit, get another quote. The rules change from one city to the next, and our guide to foundation repair permits covers each town around New Braunfels.
What Foundation Repair Costs Around New Braunfels
Most people want a ballpark before anyone visits, and that's fair. Published prices around New Braunfels run wide. One San Antonio-area company's New Braunfels page puts typical jobs at $3,000 to $14,000, depending on the foundation type. A local contractor quoted by Community Impact in 2023 gave $3,000 to $60,000.
Per pier, the spread is just as wide. One New Braunfels-area company lists $600 to $1,000 a pier installed. A national franchise's San Antonio office lists $1,500 to $3,000 for a steel pressed piling and $2,000 to $4,000 for a helical pier.
The biggest driver is how many piers your house needs, and that comes from measuring your floors. A settled corner is a very different job from a full perimeter. So the number worth trusting is the one that comes after someone has measured. More on what foundation repair costs.
Towns We Serve
We serve New Braunfels and the towns around it in Comal, Guadalupe, Hays and Bexar counties, including Seguin, San Marcos, Kyle, Canyon Lake, Garden Ridge, Schertz, Cibolo, Selma, Universal City, Live Oak and Converse.
The ground changes a lot across that area. In our USDA sample, 72% of Converse sits on very high shrink-swell clay, and none of Canyon Lake does. There, about half the sample points landed on Brackett soil, with bedrock about 14 inches down. See all service areas.
Common Questions
Is my house on clay or on rock?
It depends on where you live, sometimes down to the street. Across Comal County, the Handbook of Texas describes Blackland Prairie in the eastern quarter and higher ground to the north-west. For your own lot, the USDA's free Web Soil Survey shows the soil by address, and our soil guide explains how to read it.
Can I water my foundation during watering restrictions?
Yes. New Braunfels Utilities has been in Stage 2 since August 10, 2026, and its rules let you water a foundation up to two hours on any day, during watering times. You can use a handheld hose, or a soaker hose or drip line within 24 inches of the foundation that doesn't spray water into the air. Stages change, so check NBU's current stage first. Our foundation watering guide has the details.
Can I pull the repair permit myself?
Not in New Braunfels. The city lists foundation repair as work that needs a registered contractor, and the homeowner's exemption doesn't cover it. Some nearby cities, like Seguin, handle this differently.
My house is only a few years old. Can the foundation really be moving?
Yes. Clay doesn't care how new the slab is. A city building official told the local paper Community Impact that Central Texas saw record numbers of foundation repairs in 2022, after a drought that began in October 2021. If you bought from a builder, look through your closing papers for any warranty that covers the foundation before you arrange a repair.
Does a free inspection mean I have to hire someone?
No. The inspection is free, and you're under no obligation. If the movement turns out to be minor, you can simply keep an eye on it.
Get a Free Foundation Inspection in New Braunfels
Let us know what you've spotted, and we'll pass it to a local professional who can take a look. They'll explain what they find and walk you through your options. It costs nothing, and there's no obligation.
Tell us what you're seeing