Crawl space encapsulation
Standing water, a musty smell, floors that never feel warm. Usually a sealed vapor barrier, drainage, and humidity control.
$5,000 – $14,000
typical range, not a quote
Registration checked with the state
Insurance certificate on file
Local crews only
No cost to homeowners
Most common
What people call us about
Every house down here sits on sand, near water, or both.
Crawl space structural repair
Soft or bouncy floors, sagging in the middle of a room. Joists, beams, girders, and posts that need sistering or replacing.
$3,000 – $15,000
typical range, not a quote
Underpinning with helical and push piers
Piers driven to stable soil to stop settlement and, where possible, lift the structure back. Helical is usually preferred in sandy coastal soil.
$10,000 – $50,000
typical range, not a quote
Piling inspection, repair and replacement
Rot, cracking, or exposed rebar under an elevated home. Sistering, wrapping, jacketing, or full replacement.
$1,000 – $3,000
per piling, typical range, not a quote
What this work usually costs around here
Ranges for Southern Ocean County, NJ, not quotes. What your home needs can only be settled by a registered contractor who comes out and looks at it.
$1k$10k$40k$90k$150k
Coverage
Where we cover
The ground is different in each of these, so the work is too.
Inland mainland
Flat sandy tracts with a high water table. Crawl spaces and slab are the common foundation types here.
Bayfront and lagoon
Dredge-and-fill lagoon communities at low elevation with tidal influence on groundwater.
Long Beach Island
Salt air, timber and concrete pilings, and housing stock split sharply between pre- and post-Sandy.
We're not a contractor. We're the step before you find one.
1
Tell us what you're seeing
Photos help, but they aren't required. Takes about two minutes.
2
We match it to the right crews
Only contractors who do that work, in your town, whose registration we've checked.
3
They reach out directly
You decide who to talk to, and whether to hire anyone at all.
Agents and home inspectors
If a foundation issue turned up in an inspection and the deal is on a clock, send it over. We'll get it in front of contractors who can look at it quickly, and we'll tell you honestly if nobody can make the timeline.
Questions
Common questions
The things homeowners ask us before they fill anything in.
What does this cost me?
Nothing. We are paid by the contractors who take the job leads, never by homeowners. There is no fee, no membership, and no obligation to hire anyone we introduce you to.
Are you the ones doing the work?
No. We are a referral service. We collect what you are seeing, pass it to contractors who work your town, and step out of the way. Any agreement you reach is between you and that contractor.
How do you check the contractors?
Before a contractor receives anything from us, we confirm their registration is active with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, and we collect a current certificate of insurance. We record the date we checked. We do not inspect work or guarantee outcomes.
Why do so many homes here have crawl space problems?
Much of the mainland sits on flat sandy ground with a high water table, and the bayfront and island communities sit lower still. Sand drains quickly but does not stop groundwater from rising into the space under a floor after heavy rain or a high tide.
How many contractors will contact me?
Up to three, depending on who works your town and who does that particular type of work. If you would rather hear from only one, say so on the form and we will send it to a single contractor.
My house is a rental or a second home and I am not local. Can you still help?
Yes. A lot of the island and lagoon properties are second homes. The form has a place to tell us you are not at the property and to give us a property manager or a neighbor to coordinate with.
I need to elevate my house. Is that different?
Yes, and it matters. Home elevation requires a separate state registration from ordinary home improvement work, with a higher insurance minimum. We only send elevation jobs to contractors who hold that specific registration.
Southern Ocean Foundations and Waterproofing is a referral service, not a contractor. We do not perform work, supervise work, or hold any part of the money.
Any price shown on this site is a typical range for this area. It is not a quote, and it is not a judgment about your home.