Pro tip: don't pay a "foundation guy" $450 to look at a crack before you check your gutters
We noticed a crack in our basement wall in Grant Park back in March and panicked, so I called one of those foundation companies that advertises on the radio. Guy walked around for 15 minutes, said we needed piers, quoted us $14k, and charged $450 for the "inspection." My wife's uncle came over a week later, looked up at the gutters, and pointed out they were dumping water right at that corner of the house. Spent $80 on extensions and downspout parts at the hardware store and the crack has not moved since, we marked it with a pencil line to track it. So yeah, check the cheap stuff first, has anybody else gotten one of these scare quotes and what did you actually end up doing?
That $450 inspection fee is the part that gets me, since they already know they're gonna quote you a huge number whether you buy it or not. Did the guy even go outside to look at the grade or the gutters, or did he just stare at the wall and start adding up piers? Curious if anyone has ever gotten one of these companies to admit the water was the real problem.