Foundation repair in Gun Barrel City, TX

Gun Barrel City sits on the east shore of Cedar Creek Lake in western Henderson County. The Census counted 6,190 people in 2020 and estimates 7,133 for July 2025, up about 15%. It is about 48 miles from Tyler and 20 miles from Athens in a straight line. The city took its name from Gun Barrel Lane, the road now numbered State Highway 198, which a 2021 Spectrum News story says ran “straight as a gun barrel.” The city incorporated on May 26, 1969.

A lake town built mostly after 1980

Gun Barrel City’s houses are younger than those in the older county seats nearby. Of 3,346 housing units in the 2020 to 2024 Census estimates, 31.7% went up before 1980, and the median year built is 1989. Another 35.1% date from 2000 or later. The Census found no homes here built before 1950, which fits a town that grew up around a lake filled in the 1960s.

Two other numbers stand out. About 90.7% of occupied homes are owner occupied, the highest share of any town on this site, and the median owner-occupied value is $237,300. And 715 housing units, 21.4%, are mobile homes, against 72.5% single detached houses. A mobile home sits on piers or blocks, not a slab, so a sagging floor in one usually means releveling, not slab piering. Our house leveling page covers what that work involves.

What the city asks before foundation work

The Building Department at 1716 W. Main St. handles permits, at (903) 887-1087, weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. per the city’s staff directory. Its page says “Applications must be made and permits issued prior to beginning work,” and that once work starts “it is your responsibility to schedule needed inspections.” The city lists the 2015 International Residential Code among its adopted codes, an older edition than Tyler’s 2021 code.

City code section 150.018 doubles the permit fee “where work for which a building permit is required is started or proceeded with prior to obtaining a permit.” The fee amounts sit in section 150.125, which we could not open, and we found no rule written for foundation repair. So the practical step is a phone call: give the office your address and the repair plan, and have the company pull the permit before it digs.

Lakefront lots and the 322 to 325 foot easement

Cedar Creek Lake belongs to the Tarrant Regional Water District, which supplies water to Fort Worth and its neighbors. The Texas Water Development Board dates the start of impoundment to July 2, 1965. Along the shore, TRWD’s permit guidelines say the district bought “a flood easement that encompasses the property between the conservation level of 322.00 and elevation 325.00,” and that structures on the reservoir need a district permit.

TRWD revised its residential improvement permit guidelines effective February 5, 2026. They say work “at or below the Flood Flowage Boundary must use erosion control practices.” If your house is close to the water, or the repair plan involves regrading, drains or a retaining wall near the shoreline, call the district’s Cedar Creek office at (903) 432-2814 before the work is scheduled. Water is a frequent cause of foundation movement, so our drainage correction page is worth reading too.

Henderson County soils on the west side

The 1979 Henderson County soil survey puts about 32% of the county in soil units whose limits include shrinking and swelling, mostly in the west-central claypan area. The largest, Axtell-Freestone, covers 17% of the county. The sandy Pickton-Wolfpen group, 45% of the county, lies mostly on the east side, closer to Chandler. Gun Barrel City is on the west.

That is a county map from 1979, not a test of your lot. Lots near the shore may also have been graded or filled. If a slab house has cracks or doors that stick, an independent engineer’s evaluation, usually $300 to $800, tells you whether the soil, the fill or a leak is behind it. Our foundation inspection page explains what the evaluation covers, and the cost guide has typical prices by industry estimate.

Water bills, leaks and land outside the city

Water and sewer in Gun Barrel City come from the East Cedar Creek Fresh Water Supply District, 115 Hammer Road, at (903) 887-7103, the number given in a 2021 state utility filing. Confirm it on your bill. A slab leak is a plumber’s job first; see slab leak repair for how the tests work.

Outside the city limits, Henderson County’s Development and Floodplain Administration Office, at (903) 677-7242, handles floodplain matters and plats. We found no county building permit office. State Highway 334 runs west across the lake to Seven Points, and SH 198 runs north toward Mabank and south toward Malakoff, so a few miles in any direction can put an address under different rules.

Nearby: Athens, Chandler and Tool

Athens, the county seat about 20 miles east, requires a Texas-registered engineer’s seal on foundations its code covers and lists a $50 simple permit for leveling. Chandler, farther east near Lake Palestine, sits on the county’s sandier side and publishes no building fees online. Tool, about 4 miles west on the lake, has a similar share of mobile homes and a City Hall that books inspections by phone.