Editorial standards

Last updated: September 16, 2026

Why this page exists

Foundation repair content is unusually easy to write badly. The reader cannot verify most claims, the subject is anxiety-inducing, and the writer is usually the person selling the repair. We publish these standards so the way we handle that is visible rather than implied.

Authorship and review

Content is written under the byline of Rhett Lawson, Foundation Repair Content Editor. Rhett Lawson is an editorial pen name used by Dallas Foundation Repair. Technical reviewers and project contributors are credited separately rather than folded into a single fictional expert.

Structural explanations with consequences for a reader's decisions are reviewed by qualified contributors before publication. Where a topic falls outside what we can review competently, we say so and point to the professional who can.

Observation, diagnosis, and what we will not do

We separate what can be observed from what can be diagnosed, and we keep that separation visible in the writing. Specifically:

• We do not diagnose a foundation from a photograph.
• We do not use a universal crack-width rule to declare a house safe or in need of repair.
• We do not treat home age, ZIP code, or a soil map as evidence about an individual property.
• We distinguish a contractor evaluation from an independent structural engineering assessment every time both are relevant.
• We do not claim that another company's proposal contains unnecessary work. A website cannot establish that.

Sources and evidence

We prefer, in this order:

• Actual project records for claims about our own experience.
• Current municipal guidance for permits and local processes.
• NRCS soil survey information for mapped soil properties.
• Appropriate geological publications for regional formations.
• Manufacturer documentation for system-specific descriptions.
• Our written company terms for warranties and service processes.

Where a source is cited, what the source reports is kept separate from our interpretation of it. Source dates and geographic scope are noted, because a soil survey published decades ago describes general series rather than current conditions on one lot.

Numbers, prices, and statistics

We publish cost factors rather than headline prices, because scope determines price and scope is property-specific. Where price information appears, it is dated and its scope is stated, and estimates are distinguished from completed invoices and from third-party ranges.

We do not publish invented search volumes, ranking guarantees, housing-age risk percentages, neighborhood rankings, or citywide averages presented as fact. We do not treat permit totals as counts of failed foundations.

Images

Illustrative imagery is used where it helps a reader understand a concept, and it is labelled where it could otherwise be mistaken for documented company work. Before-and-after galleries, staff photographs, and project evidence use authentic photography of actual work.

Corrections

If something on this site is wrong, we would rather know. Email quotes@foundationrepairdallas.net with the page and the issue. Substantive corrections are made to the page and the updated date is changed. Corrections that change the meaning of guidance are noted on the page rather than quietly edited.

Updates

Guides are reviewed periodically for accuracy against current municipal requirements, product documentation, and our own project experience. The updated date on a page reflects the last substantive review, not a cosmetic edit.