A warranty is only useful for comparison if you can read it the same way across every proposal. Before you compare prices, transcribe from each document: what is covered, what is excluded, how long the term runs, whether it transfers to a future owner, what the contractor must be told and when, and who decides whether a problem is covered. Record the exclusions in the contractor's own words rather than paraphrasing them into something that sounds better or worse. If a proposal does not address a term, mark it as missing information — that is a documented gap, not a judgment about the company. Groundwork San Antonio does not provide engineering or contracting services, does not diagnose structural movement, and does not recommend repairs or quote prices; this page is about recording what a document says.

Start with what is actually in writing

Many homeowners compare the headline number first and read the warranty clause later, often after signing. The purpose of recording warranty terms early is to make the comparison legible while you still have all the documents side by side. For each proposal, capture the following in a consistent place:

  • The warranty document's title, date and version, if one is given.
  • The stated term, and whether it runs from the date of the contract, the date work begins, or the date of final inspection.
  • What the warranty covers, in the document's own words.
  • What it explicitly excludes.
  • Any conditions the homeowner must meet — notice periods, required maintenance, prohibitions on other work near the area.
  • Whether the warranty is transferable, and what a transfer requires.
  • Who performs the work if a claim is accepted, and who determines whether the claim is accepted.

The same discipline applies to the scope sections. Our guide on comparing scope rather than headline price covers how to record the method and exclusions stated for the work itself, and the page on what to gather before a proposal covers the documents and questions to bring to the first conversation.

Exclusions are the part to read twice

An exclusion list tells you where the contractor's responsibility is stated to end. Typical categories you may see in a private foundation proposal include drainage and grading changes, plumbing leaks, tree roots, work by other trades, cosmetic finishes, and changes after the work is completed. Whether a particular exclusion is reasonable depends on facts this publication cannot assess; what you can do is record it exactly and compare whether two proposals exclude the same things.

Hypothetical example: one proposal states that the warranty does not cover movement caused by water from a leaking supply line, and a second says nothing about plumbing. The second is not necessarily better for you — it is simply silent, which means the answer is unknown until you ask. Record the first as a stated exclusion and the second as an unanswered question. The matrix shows missing information; it does not score the documents.

Watch for exclusions that are described only in general terms. A phrase such as "damage from site conditions" tells you very little until someone defines what site conditions means for this property. Write down the phrase and add your question next to it.

Separate the warranty from the inspection record

Foundation work in San Antonio sits alongside a public permitting system, and the warranty is not the same thing as an inspection. Under the City of San Antonio's contractor registration guidance, foundation repairs fall in the Residential Building Contractor category, which requires an FBI national background check, government-issued photo identification, a $170 fee for two years, and liability insurance naming the City as certificate holder at minimum limits of $500,000 per occurrence, $1,000,000 total, and $500,000 for products and completed operations (City of San Antonio, Building & Home Improvement). That registration holder or one affiliated agent must also obtain a Residential ICC Certification or another certification approved by the Building Official. These are the City's stated requirements and may change; verify current terms with the City.

The City's inspections page describes building inspections covering foundations, framing, electrical, mechanical and plumbing, and notes that the City accepts a confirmation letter from an engineer or industry expert for specialized work performed (City of San Antonio, Inspections; the supplied text is a German translation, so wording is paraphrased here). A passing inspection is evidence that a stage of work was reviewed against permit requirements. It is not a statement about whether your warranty will respond to a future claim, and a warranty clause does not substitute for an inspection.

Questions to put beside each warranty term

For each term you record, attach the question you would need answered to make it meaningful. Examples of the shape these questions take, written as hypotheticals rather than recommendations:

  • If the term is five years, is that measured from the contract date or from completion, and where is that stated?
  • If a claim is made in year four, who inspects, and are there fees for that inspection?
  • If the warranty excludes "structural movement," how does the document describe that, and does it explain how the distinction is drawn?
  • If a transfer to a buyer is allowed, what fee or notice does the document require?
  • If the contractor holds a City registration, is the warranty held by that firm or another entity named in the document?

Where an engineering question is involved — for instance whether a proposed method or a reported observation requires a licensed professional's involvement — the answer belongs with a licensed engineer, not with a comparison tool. Texas licenses professional engineers through the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, whose stated mission is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of Texas through licensure and registration, compliance with laws and rules, and education (TBPELS webinar material). Texas does not license engineers by discipline, but professional engineers must not practice outside their competence under Board Rules §137.59(a), and a licensee may sign and seal only work they personally performed or that was performed under their direct supervision. Our page of questions for a licensed engineer sets out how to frame those questions.

Know what a licensing board can and cannot do

If a document's terms or a contractor's conduct concern you, it helps to know which body handles what. TBPELS lists among its enforcement limitations that the Legislature has not given the Board authority to assess monetary damages, settle disputed boundaries, force a licensee to remedy a problem, or investigate a registered firm's business practices such as billing and project timing (TBPELS webinar material). The City of San Antonio accepts reports of unlicensed contractor work, work without a permit, and missing certificates of occupancy, and states that calls can be confidential and anonymous (City of San Antonio, Inspections). Neither channel is a warranty enforcement process, and neither will decide a contract dispute for you; where a contract term is disputed, that is a legal question outside this publication's scope.

Use the matrix to keep the record straight

The private comparison matrix in our tool at /compare-scopes/ has a field for warranty terms and a field for exclusions, alongside observations documented, investigation specified, scope and method, permits, and unanswered questions. Entries are editable, you can export your notes as local Markdown, and you can reset the matrix. Nothing you type is stored, sent or used to score a proposal: the point is to leave a clear record of what each document states and what is still missing when you ask your next question. Nothing on this site is engineering advice, and the explanatory drawing is a schematic, not an assessment of any property.