The short answer
The more signs you see together, the likelier the foundation has moved. A homeowner guide from the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Geo-Institute says the probability rises with the number of indicators, how often they appear and where they are in the house. A single hairline crack over one door is common in any Texas house. Three doors that stopped latching on the same side, with stair-step cracks in the brick outside, is a pattern.
Signs and their lookalikes
The first column lists signs that the Texas Real Estate Commission, the Texas Section of ASCE and the ASCE Geo-Institute treat as indications of foundation movement. The last column comes from the Foundation Performance Association’s paper on distress often blamed on foundations by mistake. It was written for southeast Texas, but the lookalikes are the same here.
| What you see | Points toward the foundation when… | Can also be |
|---|---|---|
| doors that bind or don't latch | Several doors in one part of the house, with gaps at the top of the frame | Humidity swelling the door, loose hinges |
| racked door and window frames | Gaps are wedge-shaped, wider at one corner | Poor original framing, if nothing else is cracking |
| diagonal (stair-stepping) cracks in brick | Cracks widen toward a corner of the house | A sagging lintel over a wide opening such as a garage door |
| Vertical cracks in brick | The crack is wider at the top or bottom | A full-height crack of even width near the middle of a long wall: the brick expanding and shrinking with heat |
| cracking of drywall walls and ceilings | Diagonal cracks run from the corners of doors and windows | Nail pops and tape lifting as framing lumber dries in a newer house |
| walls separating from ceilings or floors | The gap is wider at one end of the wall | Roof framing pushing the tops of walls outward |
| sloping floors | The low side lines up with cracks above it | A floor that was built out of level and shows no cracks anywhere |
| Cracks in the concrete floor 1/16 inches across or wider | One edge sits higher than the other, or the crack keeps growing | Shrinkage cracks from curing, with nothing cracking above |
| frieze board separations | Trim pulls away along one side of the house | Wood trim shrinking as it dries |
That table is why a good inspection takes time. Ruling out the lookalikes is half the job.
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Inside, outside and under the house
Inside
- Walk every interior door. Note which ones rub, won’t latch, or swing open or shut on their own.
- Look above door and window corners for diagonal cracks, and along the ceiling line for gaps.
- Roll a marble or set a level on hard floors. A slope you can feel is worth noting; one you can see is worth measuring.
- Check tile floors for cracks that run across several tiles in a line.
Outside
- Walk the brick at each corner and over each opening.
- Look at where the siding or brick meets the trim under the roof.
- Check the visible edge of a slab for cracks or a gap between the brick and the concrete.
- Note where gutters drain and whether soil or beds slope toward the house.
Under the house (pier and beam)
- From the access door, look for wet soil, shims that have slipped out, piers leaning off vertical, and darkened or soft wood on beams and sills.
- Bouncy or soft spots in the floor above often line up with these.
- Don’t crawl into a space with standing water or exposed wiring; leave that to the inspector.
Why signs come and go with the seasons
Fort Worth’s clay swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and the swings are long. DFW went 67 days without measurable rain in the summer of 2026. During a stretch like that, the soil under the edges of a slab dries first, the perimeter settles, and doors start to bind. When the rain returns, the clay swells and some of those symptoms fade.
That means a crack that closes in November isn’t necessarily fixed. Compare photos taken at the same time of year, and give the most weight to what you see at the end of a dry summer.
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Track it yourself
- Mark each end of a crack with a pencil line and write the date beside it.
- Photograph it straight on with a ruler or coin in the frame.
- Repeat every month or two, and after any long dry spell or heavy rain.
- Keep a short list of doors and windows that stick, with dates.
A record like this helps any inspector. It also tells you whether you’re looking at slow, seasonal movement or something getting steadily worse.
When to call
Call to schedule an inspection when signs cluster in one area, when cracks keep growing between your dated photos, or when floors slope enough to notice. A contractor’s inspection includes elevation readings, which turn “it looks off” into numbers. If you’re buying or selling, or two contractors disagree, an independent engineer’s evaluation is the next step. For the likely repairs and their published prices, see the cost page.