How to find foundation repair and concrete leads in Wilmington from building permits — free
Wilmington & New Hanover County filed 102 foundation and concrete permits in the last 12 months — about 2 a week, 16 in the last 30 days. Every one is a public record naming the address, the work and, usually, who's doing it. Here's how foundation and concrete contractors find them for free, which ones are worth a call, and when it's worth paying not to.
The busiest ZIP code was 28411, with 25% of them, and the most active name on them was Groundworks North Carolina (Tar Heel Basement Systems), with 12.
- Last 12 months
- 102
- A week, on average
- 2
- Last 30 days
- 16
- Busiest month
- 17
- October 2026
Step 1: Search New Hanover County's COAST portal (free)
The permit office's own records, straight from the source. Search for: residential alteration or repair, and retaining wall.
- Open the portal and choose Search (no account needed to look).
- Set the search to Permit, then filter by permit type (residential or commercial building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing) and an applied or issued date range.
- Page through the results; each permit opens to its address, work description and status.
Who's on a permit: A permit's page lists its contacts on some permits, not all.
Step 2: Keep the permits worth a call
Does the work need a permit in North Carolina? Yes, for structural work. Foundation repair is load-bearing work; a slab or patio that carries nothing usually isn't. So these are the foundation and concrete permits on file, and what each is worth.
New homes
Every new house needs footings, a foundation and flatwork. The builder on the new-home permit picks the concrete sub, often for a whole community.
Foundation repairs
A permit for piers or crawlspace work is a job already sold, but the repair companies filing them show where soils and older homes keep producing work.
Retaining walls and site work
Retaining wall permits come with new subdivisions and commercial sites, where the developer or site contractor hires.
Step 4: Know who's pulling them
The builders and site contractors on this list hire concrete subs; the foundation repair companies are your competition. Ranked by permits in the last 12 months.
| Contractor | Last 12 months | Last 90 days |
|---|---|---|
| Groundworks North Carolina (Tar Heel Basement Systems) | 12 | 4 |
| Southeast Foundation And Crawlspace Repair LLC | 9 | 2 |
| Foundation Solutions LLC Ta Ram Jack | 7 | 0 |
| Foundation Pro NC (Ram Jack) | 5 | 5 |
| Ocean Blue Pools And Spas Of North Carolina Corporation | 5 | 0 |
| Coastal Groundworx LLC (Gc) | 3 | 1 |
| Deck And Patio Tuneup Inc | 2 | 0 |
| Southern Leisure Builders Inc | 2 | 0 |
| Gastell Group DBA Builderpro LLC | 2 | 2 |
| Rhinolift LLC | 2 | 0 |
| Sea Coast Concrete LLC | 2 | 0 |
| Twin Anchors Roofing LLC (Gc) | 2 | 0 |
Step 5: Reach out at the right time
On new construction, call the builder when the permit is issued: footings come first, often within weeks.
The free way, and the fast way
The permits are free either way. What costs time is finding them, one office and one search at a time.
| The office's portal | TarSignal Free | TarSignal Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | One permit office's site at a time | 23 North Carolina offices, one search | 23 offices, one search |
| How recent | Same day, if you search every day | Permits over 30 days old | Up to today |
| Who's doing the work | Depends on the office; phone numbers rarely | Contractor and contact, on permits over 30 days old | Contractor and contact on every permit |
| New permits sent to you | No | Weekly, one ZIP code | Daily, every area |
| Export | Rarely | No | CSV |
| Cost | Free | Free | $199/month |
Foundation Leads in Wilmington: common questions
- How do I find foundation repair and concrete leads in Wilmington for free?
- From the building permits. New Hanover County's COAST portal is free to search: Open the portal and choose Search (no account needed to look). TarSignal's free search has the same permits from 23 North Carolina offices in one place, with the contractor where the record names one, for permits more than 30 days old.
- How many foundation and concrete permits are filed in Wilmington?
- 102 in the last 12 months, about 2 a week, and 16 in the last 30 days. The busiest ZIP codes were 28411, 28405 and 28412.
- Are building permits public record in North Carolina?
- Yes. Permits are public records under the North Carolina Public Records Act (G.S. Chapter 132), so anyone can look them up, and the contractor named on a permit is part of the record.
- Does foundation or concrete work need a permit in Wilmington?
- Yes, for structural work. Foundation repair is load-bearing work; a slab or patio that carries nothing usually isn't. That's state law (G.S. 160D-1110), so it's the same at any permit office in the state.
Related
The numbers behind this guide, with recent permits: Foundation and concrete permits in Wilmington & New Hanover County. Every permit in the area: building permits in Wilmington & New Hanover County.
Foundation Leads in other places
See this week's foundation repair and concrete leads
Permit Search has every foundation and concrete permit filed in Wilmington & New Hanover County, with the contractor where the record names one. Free for permits over 30 days old; Pro has them the day they're filed.
Source: TarSignal, from North Carolina public building permit records, data through October 28, 2026. Refreshed nightly. Counts include every permit type a jurisdiction files — trade permits (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) as well as building permits — so one project can appear more than once. Values are what the applicant declared, where the jurisdiction records one. We keep improving how we collect each office's permits, so a count that steps up suddenly usually means more complete records, not more construction.