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Residential Foundations Guidelines

The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers is pleased to provide the following documents:

On January 8, 2005, the Executive Committee voted to provide these Texas Residential Foundations Guidelines at no cost. The guidelines can be downloaded using the links above.

After a valuable panel discussion held at CECON 2025, the Steering Council of the Residential Foundations Committee hereby announces that the period to submit proposed changes to the publications: “Recommended Practice for the Design of Residential Foundations” and “Guidelines for the Evaluation and Repair of Residential Foundations” will be extended to March 31, 2026.

Those interested in submitting changes for consideration should submit them to ASCE Texas Section using the online form. Changes may also be submitted by email or mail, but must provide the information shown on the online form, which includes contact information, reason for change, applicable calculations, and alternative language, referencing the original document name and section number. Anonymous changes will not be considered. The Residential Foundations Committee and its subcommittees periodically consider proposed changes; if the Texas Section adopts the change(s), a revised document will be issued. Contact the Texas Section office if you have any questions.

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These documents grew from the response of many members to the residential foundation Policy Advisory issued by TBPE in 1998. Many ASCE practitioners expressed the opinion that technical guidelines, such as the Policy Advisory, should be created by a technical society such as ASCE rather than by the TBPE. The guidelines are meant to provide TBPE with guidance in their evaluation of complaints against engineers practicing residential foundation engineering. Two Texas Section committees composed entirely of Professional Engineers began work on these guidelines in 1999. The Guidelines were originally adopted in October 2002 with a January 1, 2003, effective date. The most recent guidelines (Version 3) have been adopted with an effective date of April 1, 2022.

These guidelines are not intended to be Standards but are guidelines only. They reflect the engineering opinions and practices of the committee members. They in no way replace the basic need for good engineering judgment based on appropriate education, experience, wisdom, and ethics in any particular engineering application. Thus, they are primarily suited as an aid for engineers.

Past Versions of Guidelines:

Guidelines for the Evaluation and Repair of Residential Foundations V1 (2002)

Guidelines for the Evaluation and Repair of Residential Foundations V2 (2008)

Past Versions of Recommended Practice:

Recommended Practice for the Design of Residential Foundations V1 (2002)