Also called a Pre-Pour Inspection
This is the phase before the concrete is poured — and the only one with a hard stop. Everything else in your house can be opened back up, re-examined, corrected. The footing cannot. We check that it is built correctly and to code while it is still forms, rebar and soil.
The foundation is the single most important element of a new home, because nothing above it is independent of it. A defect here doesn't stay here — it works its way up through the structure, and it gets worse and more expensive the longer it goes unaddressed.
We check that the foundation is constructed correctly and in compliance with building codes and standards — the baseline everything above it depends on being right.
Foundation issues do not hold steady. Cracks, uneven loading and water damage compound over time, and the structure built on top of them takes progressively worse damage the longer they go unresolved.
Once it's poured, the footing is no longer accessible, inspectable or economically correctable. This is the one look anybody gets at the base of your house.
Catching structural issues at this stage is the difference between an adjustment to the forms and a repair bill measured against the whole house.
Cracks, uneven loading and water damage identified before they escalate — while correcting them is still a matter of adjusting work in progress.
Documented assurance that the base of the home is sound, which is ultimately a question about the safety of the people who will live in it.
The cheapest foundation repair is the one that never becomes necessary. This inspection is the least expensive point of intervention in the entire build.
Three passes over the same structure, then a detailed check of the elements that determine whether the footing will do its job.
Inspect the exterior of the foundation
Inspect the interior of the foundation
Assess any water damage to the foundation
A pre-pour inspection can't be scheduled blind — the footing requirements depend on what's going to be built on top of it. Have these ready:
Every other inspection in the build has a fallback. Miss the pre-drywall inspection and a later one can still assess the finished result. Miss the pre-settlement and the warranty still covers you for a year.
This phase has no fallback. The forms come out, the trucks arrive, and the base of your house becomes a solid mass that will not be opened again in your lifetime. Whatever was in there is in there.
Everything else in the build can be revisited. Concrete is the exception.
Width, depth and condition can all still be measured, and anything out of tolerance can still be corrected on site.
From this moment the footing is permanent. Nothing about it can be verified, adjusted or reached again.
Foundation and footing is the first of four. Here's where it sits — and what follows it as the house goes up.
The footing supports the foundation and the slab the entire house rests on. We check for deficiencies before the concrete is poured — the one moment these elements are still visible and still correctable.
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Framing, plumbing runs, and electrical routing are all still exposed. Once the drywall goes up, deficiencies here become expensive to find and harder to prove. This is the window to catch them.
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The home is finished and you haven't signed yet. We document defects while your builder still has every incentive to resolve them before closing — the punch list that precedes your keys.
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After a year of living in the house, new issues surface that no walk-through could have shown you. This inspection catches them while the builder's warranty still covers the repair.
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Pour dates move fast and they don't wait for an inspector. Book as soon as your builder gives you a window — and have your permit drawing ready so we can get you on the calendar.
Full scheduling online — no callback required.
