Slab foundation repair, backed by a real, transferable warranty.
Modern Arkansas homes are typically built on a poured concrete slab — a system designed for stability, but vulnerable to cherty-clay shrink/swell, drought cycles, drainage failure, and slab edge settlement. AFW certifies the slab, scopes polyjacking and helical pier repair, and binds the warranty to your property.
Coverage scope
The policy covers structural settlement and deflection that exceed engineering and IRC tolerances, subject to the full terms and conditions of the issued warranty.
Exclusions and claim mechanics are set out in full on the coverage terms page, the certification sequence is on how it works, and if you are weighing this against a contractor's promise, start with warranty vs. service guarantee.
- Structural settlement beyond IRC tolerances
- Slab deflection and differential movement
- Cracked tile, masonry, and drywall caused by certified settlement events
- Re-leveling and underpinning work within policy scope
Common NWA slab-failure drivers
- Cherty-clay soil shrink/swell across NWA
- Drought-driven slab drop and edge settlement
- Drainage failures and downspout discharge near footings
- Plumbing leaks softening sub-slab soil
If any of these sound familiar, a baseline inspection makes sense — even before visible cracking shows up. Check the full list of foundation warning signs, review what repair costs in Arkansas, or read why the policy is bound to the property rather than the owner.
Slab warranty questions, answered plainly.
The things homeowners actually ask before certifying a slab-on-grade foundation.
What the slab policy actually does.
A warranty is only as good as the sentences in it, so here is the shape of this one in plain language — what falls inside the coverage scope, what does not, how a claim is decided, and what happens to it when you sell.
Inside the coverage scope
- Structural settlement of the slab beyond engineering and IRC tolerances, measured against the elevations recorded at certification.
- Differential movement and slab deflection — one section of the slab dropping relative to another, which is the failure mode cherty clay actually produces.
- Re-levelling and underpinning work required to bring the slab back within tolerance, within the scope of the issued policy.
- Cracked tile, masonry, and drywall where the damage is attributable to a covered settlement event rather than to ordinary curing or shrinkage.
Outside it
- Cosmetic cracking with no measurable movement behind it — the hairline drywall and stucco shrinkage every concrete house produces in its first years.
- Damage traced to unaddressed drainage failure or plumbing leaks where the condition was documented at certification and left uncorrected.
- Owner modifications outside engineering specification: cutting the slab, adding load, altering grade or drainage without review.
- Pre-existing conditions disclosed in the certification baseline that fall outside the coverage scope of the issued policy.
How a claim actually works
- 1
You report a change
New cracking, a door that has stopped latching, a floor that has started to fall. Photographs with dates help, but the baseline is what the claim is really measured against — you are not required to prove anything yourself.
- 2
Re-survey against the baseline
The same laser elevation survey performed at certification is repeated. Because the original readings are on file, the comparison is arithmetic rather than opinion: either the slab has moved beyond tolerance since issuance, or it has not.
- 3
Coverage determination
The measured movement is assessed against the coverage scope of your issued policy. Because AFW is a separate entity from the contractor who performed the work, the determination is not being made by the party who would have to pay for their own mistake.
- 4
Remediation under policy scope
Approved claims trigger corrective work — typically additional piering or re-levelling — scoped to bring the slab back within tolerance, per the terms of the issued policy.
How transfer works at closing
The policy follows the address
It is registered to the property and references the engineering baseline captured there, not to you personally. Selling the house does not end the coverage.
No re-inspection fee
Ordinary transfer at closing does not require a paid re-inspection, which is the most common place a contractor service guarantee quietly dies.
The buyer gets the documentation
The baseline survey, the repair scope, and the policy pass across together. That package is what turns a disclosure line from a negotiating lever into a documented asset.
The counterparty does not change
Because the warranty entity is separate from the contracting company, the new owner's coverage does not depend on the original crew still being in business years later.
Everything above is a plain-language summary written to help you understand the product before you buy it. It is not the contract. Coverage scope, limits, exclusions, and claim procedure are governed entirely by the terms and conditions of the policy issued for your property, which controls in the event of any conflict with this page. Warranty coverage is subject to inspection, certification, and the full terms of the issued policy. Arkansas Foundation Warranty LLC is a warranty provider, not an insurer.
Homeowners, sellers, and asset-protection minded buyers.
- Homeowners who want a documented, defensible foundation baseline.
- Sellers preparing for the inspection contingency phase.
- Buyers who want to protect a major asset post-close.
- Investors and flippers seeking transferable coverage at closing.