Foundation repair in Lebanon, TN
Lebanon is in Wilson County, north of Murfreesboro, in the same limestone basin. Two things set it apart for someone with a foundation problem: how much of the surrounding land is cedar glade, and a state licence rule that stops at the county line.
The ground
Glade country means rock near the surface
Cedars of Lebanon State Park, south of the city, protects what the state calls a globally rare cedar glade ecosystem. A glade is what grows where limestone has almost no soil over it: red cedar, thin grass and bare rock. Federal soil descriptions for glade land give a depth to bedrock of three to twelve inches.
A house lot is not a glade. Foundation design depends on the actual ground and the building, including changes in rock depth and any fill that was brought in to level the site. Tell a foundation company if rock shows in your yard or your neighbours'.
Licensing
The Home Improvement licence does not reach Wilson County
In Rutherford County a contractor doing smaller repair jobs on houses needs the state's Home Improvement licence. That law applies only in the counties that adopted it, and Wilson County is not on the state's list.
Larger jobs still require a Tennessee contractor's licence wherever they are, and you can check one in the state licence search. For a job below that level in Lebanon, ask the city's Building Inspection office what it requires of the contractor, and ask the company for proof of insurance all the same.
City offices
Permits, drainage and sinkholes in Lebanon
Permits and inspections inside the city are handled by Building Inspection and Permitting, reached on 615-444-3647 or at buildinginspection@lebanontn.org. Inspections are requested by email. The department notes that electrical inspections are done by state inspectors and not by the city.
Lebanon's municipal code has a chapter of its own titled Sinkhole Protection and Drainage Management, listed on the city's stormwater page. If there is a sinkhole on or beside your lot, speak to the Stormwater Coordinator on 615-443-2839 before anything is filled, piped or regraded.
For water that stands or runs where it should not, the city takes reports through an online drainage concern form. Its Engineering Department has also published drainage studies for several neighbourhoods, which may explain the water around a particular house.
Questions
Lebanon homeowners ask
My house is outside the Lebanon city limits. Who issues the permit?
Not the city. Ask Wilson County's building office, and confirm with the foundation company that it has checked which office covers your address.
The house is old and sits on stacked stone piers. Can those be repaired?
Older pier foundations are commonly rebuilt or supplemented with new piers and pads, and a company that works in crawl spaces will be used to them. What is sound and what needs replacing is for the inspection to say.
One phone call
Speak with a foundation repair company near Murfreesboro
Mention the crack, the dip or the lean, name the room, and give the month you first spotted it. Whoever picks up belongs to a Middle Tennessee foundation outfit whose only tie to this website is the referral. They can pencil in an inspection and follow it with a written price.
A house that is cracking as you listen, a wall on the point of failing, gas in the air: everybody outside first, then 911 and the gas company.
Expect the call to be recorded. Two short pages cover the rest: who pays for referrals and what becomes of call details.