Should I get a structural engineer before a foundation repair company?

In most cases yes. An independent engineer diagnoses cause and produces a scope, which is what makes competing quotes comparable and stops the design being cut to win a bid. A free inspection from a repair company is a sales visit by a firm whose revenue depends on installing a product.

Are free foundation inspections really free?

They are free of charge, and they are also a sales visit rather than an independent engineering opinion. Use them if you want, but treat the resulting proposal as a bid, not a diagnosis, and do not sign at the table. Where the sale is made at your home, the FTC Cooling-Off Rule generally gives three business days to cancel on sales of $25 or more.

How do I check a structural engineer is licensed in Missouri?

Missouri licenses professional engineers through its Division of Professional Registration, and licenses can be searched on the state's licensing portal. Ask also whether the engineer has any referral relationship with repair contractors, because independence is the reason you are hiring them.

Guide

Why the engineer should come before the repair contractor

Updated 2026-08-14

This is the whole argument of this site in one page, and it is the advice that saves people the most money in this category.

A free inspection is a sales call

That is not an accusation of dishonesty. It is a description of the arrangement. The inspector works for a company whose revenue comes from installing a product, they attend at no charge, and they leave a proposal. Even a scrupulous inspector in that position sees the problem through the lens of what the company installs. Ask yourself a simple question: in what circumstance does that visit end with "you do not need us, fix your gutters"? It happens, but the incentive does not point that way.

What an independent engineer gives you instead

A diagnosis of cause, not just a description of symptoms, from someone with no product to sell.
A judgment on whether movement is active, which decides whether you spend now, monitor, or do nothing.
A scope of work, which is the document that makes three quotes comparable. Without it, each contractor bids a different job.
A stated design basis, such as pier locations and depths, so a contractor cannot quietly halve the design to win the bid.
Something to give a buyer. At resale, an engineer's report plus completed work to that report is a far stronger document than a contractor's invoice.
A second opinion on the contractor's proposal, if you already have one. This is often the cheapest hour you will ever buy.

How to find and instruct one

Look for a licensed professional engineer practicing in structural or geotechnical work. Missouri licenses professional engineers through its Division of Professional Registration, and you can check a license on the state's licensing portal (mopro.mo.gov).
Ask directly whether they have any relationship with repair contractors, including referral arrangements. Independence is the whole point, so the question is fair and a good engineer will not mind it.
Agree the deliverable up front: a written report with cause, whether movement is active, recommended scope and a drawing if piers are proposed.
Send them your monitoring record and photographs before the visit, so their time is spent on judgment rather than on catching up.
Ask what happens next if the report recommends monitoring rather than repair, and whether they will review contractor proposals against their scope.

But the report costs money and the inspection is free

Yes. It is also the smallest number in the entire process, and it is the number that controls all the others. An engineer's fee is a fraction of the difference between a drainage correction and a full underpinning scheme, and it is the only spend in this project that is not made by someone who benefits from the answer being expensive. If your budget is genuinely tight, spend it here first and delay everything else.

If you have already signed

Where the sale was made at your home, the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule generally gives you until midnight of the third business day after the sale to cancel for a full refund, on sales of $25 or more made at your home, workplace or dormitory, or at a seller's temporary location (Federal Trade Commission). The rule has exclusions, so read it, but if you signed under pressure at the kitchen table yesterday, check it today rather than next week.

Once you have the report, use the form to put the same scope in front of several contractors. That is the moment their prices start to mean something.