Foundation Inspection in Arlington, TX

Arlington by the Numbers

Method: Census counts are estimates with published margins of error; weather is the 1991 to 2020 normal at Arlington Municipal Airport.

Why Does a 1985 Median Matter Among 150,519 Arlington Homes?

Arlington had 394,769 residents in the 2019 to 2023 American Community Survey and 150,519 housing units, the second largest count of the eleven cities on this site. The median home was built in 1985. That puts the typical Arlington house in the era of slab-on-grade building across Tarrant County, and the survey leaves the foundation type itself unrecorded, so the figure says when a house was framed and nothing about what sits under it.

Where the age matters is the tail. 53,592 Arlington homes, 36% of the total, date from before 1980, and 12,132 of those predate 1960. A house in that second group has had sixty years or more of wet and dry cycles under it, and any repair work on it has often been done more than once. An inspection of one of these homes starts with the question of what was done before, and the report records what the engineer can see of it.

Arlington is also where 2,148 manufactured homes sit, 1.4% of all housing units. Those are certified under a different procedure, covered on the HUD certification service page, and the firm treats them as a separate job from a site-built house.

What Do October and August Do to the Ground in Arlington?

The nearest NOAA 1991 to 2020 station with published normals is Arlington Municipal Airport. It records 36.2 inches of rain in a normal year. October is the wettest month at 4.72 inches and August the driest at 1.68, a ratio of 2.8 to 1. Soil under a house takes up and gives back water on that rhythm, and the engineer reads the drainage around a foundation against it.

What Does Tarrant County's 54.2 Percent Shrink-Swell Rating Mean for Arlington?

The USDA soil survey rates 54.2 percent of the rated acres in Tarrant County as high or very high in shrink-swell, the classes where clay swells and shrinks most with its water content. The biggest single high-rated soil is Sanger, at 54,050 acres. A county rating cannot place a particular Arlington lot on that map, which is why the engineer reads the lot and the drainage around the house.

The Drought Monitor supplies the dry half. Tarrant County had some land in severe drought or worse in 74 of the 262 weeks since October 12, 2021, and 43 of those weeks fell in 2022. The map dated October 13, 2026 shows 8.26 percent of the county in severe drought or worse.

County detail, with the named soils and the weekly drought record: Tarrant County soil and drought data.

How Does the Firm Know Arlington?

Before he held a PE license, Heath Salmon worked on highway and bridge design for TxDOT and NTTA, then on city intersections and utilities for municipalities including Arlington. That is first-hand time on the streets and lots the inspection reports now describe. He also came up through ten years in his family's foundation repair business, which is why he explains a finding in the terms a repair crew would use and then tells the owner whether any repair is warranted.

The Arlington address on the contact page, 6031 West Interstate 20, Suite 229, is the firm's business address. Site visits are by appointment and the office takes no walk-ins, and the firm takes requests by email only.

Arlington's 63,467 renter households, 45% of the occupied total, mean many foundation questions come from people who do not own the house. For an owner the report is a record to put in front of a seller or a builder. For a landlord it shows that a repair was or was not needed. The firm writes the same plain report for both readers and puts nothing in it that depends on who ordered it.

“Heath explained to us what he was doing and how it works. He thoroughly explained his findings. We were relieved to know our foundation is in good shape. He was friendly and respectful, and he knows his business. We will refer our friends and family to HGS Engineering.”

Bob Layne, Google review. Reviewer location not stated.

What Will an Arlington Homeowner Hold at the End of the Visit?

The report is a record of what the engineer saw, kept apart from any sales pitch because the firm does not do the repair. Details are on the foundation inspection page, and an Arlington request goes through the request form.

More From HGS Engineering

• Foundation Inspection: Foundation repair inspections by a licensed engineer.
• Structural Design: Single-family, multi-family and commercial: foundations, framing, retaining walls and plot plans.
• Retaining Walls: Retaining wall design and evaluation.
• Also in Tarrant County: Fort Worth, TX
• Also in Tarrant County: Mansfield, TX
• Also in Tarrant County: Grapevine, TX
• Best foundation engineers in Arlington, TX