Foundation inspections and structural engineers in Tyler, TX

Industry estimates compiled from the sources named in each row, checked September 21, 2026. These are not Tyler prices. No Tyler foundation company publishes its prices, and no government or university dataset of foundation repair costs exists for Tyler or East Texas.

What does a free company inspection get you?

A visit and a bid. As the table shows, most Tyler-area companies advertise the visit as free. It is how the company works out a price for your job. It is useful, but it is a sales visit, not an independent diagnosis.

Before you rely on it, ask who decided what the house needs. Texas’s engineering board says recommending repairs for a foundation is engineering. If the person in your driveway is not a licensed engineer, ask whether one will review the plan and put their name on it.

What does a Texas home inspector have to report?

A TREC inspector must give a written opinion on how the foundation is performing. The report must name the type of foundation and list the visible signs behind the opinion. The rules also say what the inspector does not have to do, which is why a clean report is not the same as an engineer’s review.

The signs the inspector must report, when present and visible, include:

• “binding, out-of-square, non-latching doors”
• “framing or frieze board separations”
• “sloping floors”
• “window, wall, floor, or ceiling cracks or separations”
• “rotating, buckling, cracking, or deflecting masonry cladding”

The inspector must also mark some things as deficient. These include “deteriorated materials,” problems in parts such as beams, joists, piers, posts or sills, exposed or damaged reinforcement, and crawl space ventilation or drainage “that is not performing.”

Now the limits. The inspector does not have to enter a crawl space with less than 18 inches of headroom, or one whose opening is smaller than 24 by 18 inches. The inspector also does not have to list every warning sign, find “the cause or source of a condition,” or “recommend or provide engineering” services.

Texas’s engineering board agrees that a visual inspection done to TREC’s standards is not engineering. TREC has been working on changes to its standards in 2026, so the wording here is the version online on September 21, 2026. You can check an inspector’s license with TREC’s license search.

When should you pay for a structural engineer?

Pay for one when you need to know why the house moved or what repair it needs. Texas’s engineering board says that work is engineering. The ASCE Texas Section guidelines also say a Texas-licensed engineer should do the evaluation and the repair design. Expect about $300 to $800 for an evaluation.

The engineer measures floor heights all over the house. Those readings give two numbers: tilt, where the whole slab leans, and deflection, where part of it sags or bows. The Foundation Performance Association, a Houston professional group, recommends tilt of 1% or less. It recommends deflection of no more than L/360, where L is the length being measured.

The ASCE guidelines add that “A tilt greater than 1 percent is usually noticeable.” On a 40-foot house, 1% of tilt is 4.8 inches from end to end. Over a 20-foot span, L/360 is about two-thirds of an inch.

The association says its limits may not apply if the readings are not taken and worked out its way, so ask how they were taken. These are guidelines, not law. In Texas, only a person with a current license may use “P.E.” or “professional engineer” after their name, so look for it on the report.

Your own engineer, or the company’s?

Either can be licensed, but they answer to different people. Some repair estimates include an engineer’s visit as a line item. You can also hire an engineer yourself, who is paid for the opinion and not for the repair. When bids disagree, that is the opinion to get.

One West Houston homeowner had assessments from four or five repair companies that “all differ quite a bit.” So they asked around for “an unbiased structural engineer.” If you hire your own, ask for the floor readings, a written opinion on the cause, and a repair plan that any company can price.

After a repair, ask the engineer who designed it for a final letter. One source prices it at $200 to $500. Our guide on choosing an engineer or a foundation company covers what the report should contain.

Who to call first

It depends on the question you need answered. If you want a price for repair work, a company inspection is usually free. If you are buying a house, start with a home inspector. If you need the cause from someone with no stake in the repair, hire your own structural engineer.

For prices on every item above, see our cost guide. If you are buying, our guide to buying a house with foundation repair goes further.