Start with conditions, not a product
Cracks and sticking doors are clues, not diagnoses -- and near Knoxville, karst limestone bedrock in the Tennessee River valley means soil moisture, grading, drainage, framing, and foundation type have to be considered together first.
Build a complete scope
- What was measured, over what period, and what it actually showed
- What the footings bear on, given how unpredictable bedrock depth is here
- Whether uphill groundwater is loading the wall, and how that is being addressed
- The repair method proposed, and what was considered and ruled out
- Permits, access on a graded lot, restoration, and the terms of the warranty
Knoxville context
This is the trade Knoxville's geology was made for, and the karst is the reason to be careful rather than alarmed. Soluble limestone with irregular underground drainage means a void can develop beneath a footing without any surface indication, and sinkhole activity is a documented feature of East Tennessee rather than an exotic possibility -- so establishing what actually supports a foundation properly precedes designing anything to sit on it. Irregular bedrock produces a second and more common problem: a footing bearing on rock at one corner and on soil at another will move differentially, and that alone cracks walls. Hillside lots add lateral loading from uphill groundwater against walls that were built to carry vertical load. The century-old streetcar-suburb housing fails differently again, on brick piers and unreinforced perimeter walls, where sloping floors rather than a single crack are the signal.