Foundation repair · Georgetown, Texas
Foundation Repair in Georgetown, TX
Rock close to the surface, a sticky clay layer above it, and the aquifer underneath.
If you've found a crack in a Georgetown house, you might be wondering how a house so close to rock can move at all. It's a fair question. Most of Georgetown does sit on limestone, often only inches down. But the soil on top of that rock isn't always as harmless as it looks, and one of the most common soils in town shares Georgetown's name.
- Free inspection
- No obligation
- Town-by-town soil data
- Referral service, disclosed
- Call (737) 259-7007
What have you noticed?
Most of Georgetown also sits over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, which brings its own set of state rules. Below is what the public records show about Georgetown's ground, and how it bears on your house.
Georgetown's Side of I-35
Our USDA soil sample for Georgetown covers 25 points, and only 8% landed on soil with a very high shrink-swell reading, against 24% in Round Rock and 56% in Hutto. The rest tells a story of thin soil over rock:
- Eckrant, 48%. A clay full of stones, with limestone bedrock about 11 inches down. Its shrink-swell reading, called linear extensibility, is 3.7 in our Georgetown sample. That's moderate, and there's very little of it between a slab and the rock.
- Georgetown soil, 20%. It shares the city's name, and it's the one to know about. The top 7 inches or so are a stony clay loam that reads just 2.5. Below that sits a layer about 70% clay that reads 8.5, down to bedrock at about 35 inches.
- Sunev, Houston Black and Krum, 8% each. Sunev is a loam laid down by streams and reads 4.5. Krum, another stream-laid clay, reads 7.5. Houston Black, the deep black clay of the prairie, reads 12.0.
The USDA rates anything above 9 as very high and anything below 3 as low. So the Georgetown soil is a good example of why the surface can fool you. A dry, stony yard can sit on top of a sticky clay layer that swells and shrinks a lot more than the top few inches suggest.
The state geologic map backs up the soil survey. Of the same 25 points, 60% fall on the Edwards and Comanche Peak limestones and another 16% on the Georgetown Limestone. The Edwards and Comanche Peak date from the Early Cretaceous, the older limestone that a 2007 University of Texas study places on the west side of the Balcones Fault Zone as it runs through Round Rock.
What does that mean if your house is moving? On rock this close, there's less ground to swell and shrink, so it's worth checking other causes as well, such as water collecting along the slab. If your lot is on the Georgetown soil or on Houston Black, the clay itself is a likely suspect. Our Round Rock soil guide shows how to look up your own lot.
What Georgetown Homes Are Built On
Georgetown counts 34,841 homes, and its median home dates from 2007, six years newer than Round Rock's. Building has run hot for two decades: 34.3% of homes went up in the 2010s and 6.8% since 2020, for 83.3% from 1990 on. Only 2.9% predate 1960.
A build year can't tell you what's under the floor, and the Census doesn't count foundation types. If yours is a slab, it may be post-tensioned: many recent Texas slabs have steel cables tensioned inside the concrete. Whoever works on one needs to find those cables before drilling or cutting. A foundation inspection will confirm what you have.
- 2007Median year Georgetown homes were built
- 2.9%Built before 1960
- 83.3%Built in 1990 or later
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2023.
Permits and Rules in Georgetown
Georgetown has a permit type just for foundation repair, and the city spells out the steps on its own page:
- Stamped plans first. The submittal needs foundation plans stamped by an engineer, uploaded with the application on My Government Online.
- Pay after approval. The city tells you the fee once the application is approved.
- An inspection at the end. Once the repair is done, an inspection is requested through the same system. Ask before 3 p.m. and it's usually the next business day.
- The engineer's report on site. The engineer's inspection report has to be at the house when the city's inspector arrives.
The city's published fee schedule lists foundation repair at $50, plus a $10 technology fee. That's well under Round Rock's $125, though both cities ask for an engineer's stamp on the plan. For the other towns' rules, see our permits guide.
Watering Rules in Georgetown
Georgetown's water utility runs its own schedule, and it treats a hand-held hose differently from everything else. According to the utility's page:
- A hand-held hose or bucket can be used any day, at any time. That's the simplest way to keep the soil along a foundation from drying out in a restriction.
- Soaker hoses, drip lines, sprinklers and irrigation systems follow the schedule. Addresses ending in 1, 5 or 9 water Tuesday and/or Friday; 2, 4, 6 or 8 water Wednesday and/or Saturday; and 0, 3 or 7 water Thursday and/or Sunday.
- Never between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., and never on a Monday, for anything on the schedule.
That's the schedule the utility publishes for its two-day watering stage, and drought stages can change. Check the utility's current stage before you set up a soaker hose. For how much to water, see our foundation watering guide.
Georgetown and the Edwards Aquifer
Georgetown sits over the Edwards Aquifer far more than any other town we serve. On the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's map, 92% of our Georgetown sample points landed on the recharge zone, where rain can soak down through cracks in the limestone into the aquifer. The other 8% fell on the contributing zone.
The state's rules cover construction and digging on the recharge zone, and they leave out routine upkeep of an existing building that doesn't disturb more of the site. We haven't found a TCEQ answer on which side of that line repair piers fall, so it's worth asking before any digging starts. TCEQ's Austin office covers Williamson County at 512-339-2929. Our Edwards Aquifer guide explains the zones.
Foundation Repair Services in Georgetown
- Slab foundation repair for slabs on rock or on the clay layer above it
- Pier and beam repair for raised houses with a crawl space
- House leveling when floors have drifted out of level
- Foundation inspection to measure before you decide
- Foundation crack repair to sort a cosmetic crack from a structural one
Georgetown Foundation Repair Questions
My Georgetown house is on rock. Why would it move?
Rock close to the surface leaves less soil to swell and shrink, but it doesn't rule movement out. The Georgetown soil, found at 20% of our sample points, has a layer that's about 70% clay sitting on the rock. Water collecting along the slab can matter too. An inspection measures what's actually happening.
What does Georgetown charge for a foundation repair permit?
The city's published fee schedule lists $50 for foundation repair, plus a $10 technology fee. You'll also need foundation plans stamped by an engineer, and the engineer's inspection report at the house for the final inspection.
Can I water my foundation on a Monday in Georgetown?
With a hand-held hose or a bucket, yes. Georgetown allows those any day and at any time. Soaker hoses and drip lines follow the address schedule, and nothing on that schedule runs on a Monday.
Is Georgetown over the Edwards Aquifer?
Almost all of it. On TCEQ's map, 92% of our Georgetown sample points fell on the recharge zone and the rest on the contributing zone. If your house is on the recharge zone, ask about the state's rules before any digging starts.
Nearby Towns We Serve
We serve Georgetown and the towns around it, including Round Rock, Leander, Liberty Hill, Cedar Park, Brushy Creek and Hutto.
Hutto shows how fast the ground changes to the east. In our sample, 56% of Hutto's points landed on very high shrink-swell clay, and none of them fell in any Edwards Aquifer zone. See all service areas.
Get a Free Foundation Inspection in Georgetown
Tell us what's changed in your house, and we'll connect you with a foundation repair professional who works in Georgetown. They'll come out, measure and explain what they see. The visit is free, and you're not committing to anything.
What have you noticed?