Check the flood map before anything else
Parts of East Ridge lie in mapped flood hazard areas, and the city enforces a floodplain ordinance of its own. Inside those areas a development permit is required before any development activity begins, and the city's Chief Building Official administers it. That is in addition to the ordinary building permit.
The Building Codes Department can tell you whether your address is in a mapped flood zone, and FEMA's Flood Map Service Center shows the same maps online. If the house is in one, say so when you call, because it affects the repair in practical ways:
- The ordinance treats a project costing half or more of the building's market value as a substantial improvement, which brings the whole structure under current flood rules.
- Enclosed areas below flood level, such as a crawl space, have their own requirements for openings that let floodwater in and out. Ask the Building Codes Department how those apply before agreeing to have crawl space vents sealed.
- A crawl space that has been under water needs its piers and footings checked for scour and softened soil, not only its wood for rot.
East Ridge Building Codes Department
1517 Tombras Avenue, East Ridge
(423) 867-7711
The department's page says permits are required for alterations, repairs or additions to existing buildings, and that applications and inspection requests are made through the city's online permit system.
Retaining walls need an engineer at four feet
East Ridge requires an engineer's stamped drawing for any retaining wall four feet high or more. That comes up more often than people expect in foundation work, because a failing retaining wall beside a driveway or below a house is frequently part of the same problem as the cracked foundation above it. If a company proposes rebuilding or adding a wall of that height, the drawing is not optional.
The city also states that work started without the proper permit will be met with a stop work order.
If you rent the house out
East Ridge's code enforcement material gives uneven floors and foundation cracking as examples of structural hazards its inspectors act on. For a landlord that turns a slow repair into a compliance matter. Having an inspection report and a dated repair proposal on file shows the problem is being dealt with.
What to tell the company when you call
- That the house is in East Ridge, not Chattanooga, so the permit goes to Tombras Avenue
- Whether the lot is in a flood zone and whether the crawl space or basement has ever taken in water
- Whether there is a retaining wall near the damage, and roughly how tall it is