Service area
Foundation repair in Manor, TX
If you wanted to show someone the clay that Texas foundation engineers worry about, you would bring them to the fields around Manor.
The textbook clay is local
The federal soil survey keeps one official description of each soil, tied to a single pit. For the Houston Black series that pit is in Travis County, and the directions to it start at the junction of Farm Road 973 and U.S. 290 in Manor and head north-east into pasture.
The description is of a very deep clay through which water passes very slowly, with a high potential to shrink and swell. In most years it cracks open, half an inch to four inches wide and a foot or more deep, and the cracks stay open for something like three to five months.
What that does to a house on a slab
Summer
The clay dries from the outside in. A gap appears between soil and slab, the edges lose support, and corners dip.
The first big rain
Water runs down the open cracks and the clay swells from below, often lifting one side before the other.
Year after year
The slab is flexed a little each cycle. Brick joints, door frames and tile record it.
Practical consequences in Manor
- Even moisture matters more here than almost anywhere in the area. The upkeep guide explains careful watering.
- With clay this deep, piers have a long way to go before they are below the layer that changes with the seasons. Ask what depth the plan assumes, and what the quote says about extra footage.
- A plumbing leak under a slab swells this clay quickly. A sudden change in one room deserves a leak test before anyone talks about piers.
- If the house is still within its builder's warranty period, read that warranty and report the problem to the builder in writing before arranging repairs yourself.
Permits in Manor
Manor issues its own building permits. On May 27, 2026 the city moved applications to an online system called GovWell, and its building permits page says all new applications must go through it. Contractors register there too.
For questions about whether a particular repair needs a permit, the city gives a Permitting number, 512-272-5555 extension 4. Anyone without a computer can use a kiosk in the lobby of Public Works at 416 Gregg Street. Homes in 78653 are covered.
Manor questions
My house is only a few years old. Can the foundation have moved already?
On this clay it can. New slabs go through their first wet and dry cycles like any other. Start with the builder if a warranty still applies.
Are cracks in the yard a sign of foundation trouble?
Cracks in the ground are what this soil does every dry summer. They show the soil is shrinking. Whether the house has been affected depends on the signs in the house itself.
Want it looked at?
Phone, say where the house is and what has changed, and you will be speaking with an independent local foundation repair company. It can book a visit to measure the floors and tell you what it finds.
Calls may be recorded. Austin Foundation Repair Help refers callers and repairs nothing itself, as the referral disclosure sets out. Call details are handled under the privacy policy.