Foundation Repair Engineer Near Me in San Dimas

Updated: February 2026

# Foundation Repair Engineer Near Me in San Dimas

AAA Engineering provides licensed foundation repair engineering in San Dimas, CA — diagnosing settlement, cracking, and structural failure in residential and commercial foundations, then designing repair solutions with stamped plans for permit submittal. Most foundation repair engineering packages are completed in 5–10 business days. Call **(949) 981-4448** for a same-day consultation.

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San Dimas occupies the western edge of the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County, where the foothills rise sharply from the valley floor. With a median home value near $850,000 and a significant share of housing stock dating from the 1950s through 1980s, San Dimas presents conditions where foundation problems surface with regularity.

When cracks appear in walls, doors stop latching, floors develop noticeable slope, or exterior concrete shows displacement, the immediate question is whether the problem represents cosmetic settling or a structural emergency. Property owners searching for a **foundation repair engineer near me** in San Dimas need someone who can answer that question accurately — and then produce the engineering documentation needed to fix the problem permanently.

AAA Engineering provides exactly that service. Our licensed engineers evaluate foundation conditions, identify root causes, design repair solutions, and produce stamped engineering drawings that satisfy the City of San Dimas Building and Safety requirements for permit-based foundation repair.

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The San Gabriel Valley contains significant deposits of expansive clay soils — soils that swell when wet and shrink when dry. This seasonal volume change exerts enormous forces on foundation systems. Homes built on expansive soils in San Dimas experience foundation movement that correlates with precipitation patterns: more movement in wet years, less in drought years.

The California Building Code has required expansive soil-specific foundation design since the 1970s, but many San Dimas homes built before that era have foundations that predate these requirements. Post-and-pier foundations, shallow continuous footings, and slab-on-grade without subgrade treatment all perform poorly in expansive soil environments over decades of use.

The northern portions of San Dimas border the San Gabriel Mountains foothills, with significant hillside development on cut-and-fill pads. Homes built on these pads — where the uphill portion sits on cut native soil and the downhill portion sits on compacted fill — experience differential settlement when the fill material consolidates over time.

This differential settlement is one of the most damaging foundation conditions in hillside San Dimas neighborhoods. The house effectively tilts slowly as the fill side settles more than the cut side, creating shear cracking at the transition zone, racking of door frames, and in advanced cases, separation of foundation components.

Many San Dimas homes built before the 1960s use post-and-pier foundation systems — wood posts sitting on concrete piers in a crawl space, supporting a wood floor frame. These systems age in ways that masonry or concrete slab foundations do not:

Post-and-pier foundation problems in San Dimas frequently go undetected for years because the damage occurs in an inaccessible crawl space. By the time visible symptoms appear above the floor level, the underlying damage is often severe.

The greater San Gabriel Valley has experienced significant seismic events over the past 50 years — the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, and the 1994 Northridge earthquake all affected San Dimas homes. Foundation damage from these events ranges from cosmetic cracking that was patched without structural repair to active ongoing deterioration from cracked foundation elements that were never evaluated by an engineer.

Many San Dimas homeowners purchase properties with existing foundation damage that previous owners addressed cosmetically — patching cracks with hydraulic cement or painting over damage — without addressing the structural cause. AAA Engineering's foundation assessments expose these conditions.

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AAA Engineering's foundation repair service begins with diagnosis and ends with stamped repair plans. The service includes:

**Foundation assessment and root cause analysis**: A licensed engineer evaluates the foundation system — crawl space, perimeter foundation, slab, or post-and-pier — and identifies the mechanism driving the observed distress. Root causes vary: differential settlement, expansive soil movement, drainage problems, seismic damage, deterioration, or construction defects. Designing repairs without correctly identifying the cause produces repairs that fail.

**Repair solution design**: AAA Engineering designs repair solutions matched to the specific root cause and foundation type. Common repair approaches for San Dimas foundations include:

**Stamped engineering drawings**: Permit-ready drawings showing existing foundation conditions, repair scope, connection details, and material specifications. San Dimas Building and Safety requires stamped structural drawings for foundation repair permits.

**Permit submittal support**: AAA Engineering prepares permit submittal packages and responds to plan check corrections, coordinating with San Dimas Building and Safety through the permit process.

Before designing repairs, AAA Engineering performs thorough foundation inspections. For San Dimas properties, inspections include:

**Elevation survey**: Floor elevation measurements across the structure quantify differential settlement and establish a baseline for monitoring or repair.

**Crack mapping**: Documenting crack locations, widths, orientations, and activity (active vs. dormant) throughout the structure. Crack patterns tell an experienced engineer the story of how foundation movement has progressed.

**Crawl space investigation**: For post-and-pier and raised foundation systems, crawl space inspection examines post conditions, pier conditions, framing member integrity, and drainage or moisture conditions.

**Foundation exposure**: When necessary, AAA Engineering specifies test excavations adjacent to the foundation to examine footing depth, width, reinforcement, and concrete condition below grade.

**Geotechnical coordination**: When soil conditions drive foundation distress, AAA Engineering coordinates with geotechnical engineers for laboratory testing and site-specific recommendations.

**Written engineering report**: A stamped engineering report documenting findings, root cause analysis, repair recommendations, and any monitoring or follow-up requirements. This report satisfies lender, insurance, and escrow requirements for San Dimas property transactions.

For San Dimas properties where foundation conditions are beyond repair and full replacement or major reconstruction is required, AAA Engineering provides complete foundation engineering:

**Foundation replacement design**: Engineering for full or partial foundation replacement, including demolition specifications, temporary shoring design for the structure during replacement, and new foundation design.

**New foundation design**: When additions or accessory structures require new foundations adjacent to or connected to existing foundations, AAA Engineering designs the new foundation to address site-specific soil conditions in San Dimas.

**Retaining wall engineering**: Hillside San Dimas properties with retaining walls that show signs of movement or failure — tilting, cracking, drainage problems — require engineering evaluation and often replacement. AAA Engineering designs replacement retaining walls.

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Many San Dimas homeowners delay calling an engineer because they are uncertain whether the signs they observe represent serious structural problems or minor cosmetic issues. AAA Engineering's position: any of the following warrant a professional evaluation:

Most foundation problems in San Dimas homes are progressive rather than acute — they worsen over months and years rather than hours. However, certain conditions require immediate engineering attention:

AAA Engineering provides expedited evaluation scheduling for San Dimas clients with conditions indicating active progression.

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Call (949) 981-4448 to describe what you are observing — crack locations, floor slope, operational problems with doors or windows. AAA Engineering identifies whether a site visit is needed immediately or whether additional information should be gathered first.

An AAA Engineering licensed engineer visits the San Dimas property. The investigation includes visual inspection, crack documentation, elevation assessment, crawl space or basement examination, and an interview with the property owner to understand the history of the observed conditions.

AAA Engineering produces a written engineering report documenting findings, root cause analysis, and repair recommendations. The report includes photographs, drawings showing crack locations and settlement patterns, and specific repair recommendations with enough detail to support contractor bidding.

Once the repair approach is confirmed, AAA Engineering produces stamped structural drawings for permit submittal to San Dimas Building and Safety. The drawings include foundation plan showing repair locations, connection details, material specifications, and special inspection requirements.

AAA Engineering coordinates permit submittal, tracks plan check status, and responds to corrections. San Dimas residential foundation repair plan check typically runs 3–5 weeks.

During repair construction, AAA Engineering provides observation visits at critical stages — pier installation, concrete placement, connection installation — and issues a letter of compliance upon satisfactory completion. This letter is required by San Dimas Building and Safety for permit final inspection.

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Cosmetic cracks — narrow surface cracks in plaster or stucco without corresponding structural movement — do not require engineering. Structural foundation problems are characterized by progressive cracking, floor slope, displacement of structural elements, or conditions in the foundation itself (not just finishes). When in doubt, an engineering evaluation is the correct response. AAA Engineering's initial consultations identify whether a site visit is warranted.

Yes. Foundation repair that involves structural work — helical piers, underpinning, cripple wall bracing, anchor bolts — requires a building permit from San Dimas Building and Safety. Permits require stamped structural drawings from a licensed engineer. AAA Engineering provides complete permit-ready packages.

Engineering fees depend on the scope of the assessment and repair design. A foundation inspection and report for a single-family home runs significantly less than a complete repair design package with permit drawings for a complex hillside property. AAA Engineering provides fixed-fee proposals. Call (949) 981-4448 for a scope discussion.

AAA Engineering delivers foundation inspection reports within 3–5 business days of site visit. Repair drawings are completed within 5–10 business days of scope confirmation. Permit approval adds approximately 3–6 weeks. Contractor construction duration depends on repair scope — helical pier installation for a typical San Dimas home runs 2–5 days of construction time.

Yes, always. San Dimas's mix of older housing stock, hillside terrain, and expansive soils makes pre-purchase foundation evaluation a worthwhile investment for any significant purchase. AAA Engineering provides pre-purchase foundation assessments that give buyers accurate information about foundation condition before close of escrow.

A general home inspection by a certified home inspector addresses foundation conditions visually and at a general level. An engineering foundation inspection by AAA Engineering goes deeper: identifying root causes of distress, quantifying settlement, assessing structural implications, and providing professional engineering opinion on repair requirements. When lenders, insurers, or escrow officers require a structural engineering report specifically, a home inspection does not satisfy that requirement.

Surface crack patching is appropriate for dormant cosmetic cracks in non-structural elements. Patching structural foundation cracks without addressing the root cause — soil movement, drainage, settlement — results in re-cracking. AAA Engineering designs repairs that address causes rather than symptoms.

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AAA Engineering serves foundation repair clients throughout the San Gabriel Valley and greater Los Angeles County. Cities near San Dimas where we work:

**San Gabriel Valley**: La Verne, Glendora, Covina, Pomona, West Covina, Baldwin Park, Azusa, Claremont, Upland, Walnut

**Foothill Communities**: San Dimas, Bonita, Duarte, Monrovia, Arcadia

**Greater LA County**: Pasadena, El Monte, Industry, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights

**San Bernardino County adjacent**: Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Ontario

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Foundation problems do not resolve on their own. Every month of delay allows settlement to progress, crack damage to worsen, and repair costs to increase. AAA Engineering provides the diagnostic expertise and repair engineering that San Dimas property owners need to address foundation problems correctly and permanently.

**Call (949) 981-4448** for a same-day consultation. AAA Engineering responds to all foundation inquiries within one business day.

AAA Engineering — Foundation Repair Engineering for San Dimas and the San Gabriel Valley.