Cost guides

What foundation repair actually costs

Foundation repair is priced per pier, per linear foot of wall, or per square foot of slab — never per "problem". That is why two quotes for the same house can differ by $10,000 without either contractor being wrong: one is counting piers, the other is counting days.

Method	Typical unit price	Typical job total	Used for
Push piers	$1,000–$3,000 per pier	$6,000–$30,000	Settled footings, load-bearing walls
Helical piers	$700–$2,500 per pier	$5,000–$25,000	Lighter loads, unstable soil, new construction
Mudjacking	$3–$8 per sq ft	$1,500–$8,000	Settled slab, driveway, garage floor
Polyurethane foam lifting	$5–$15 per sq ft	$2,000–$12,000	Slab and pool deck lifting, lighter and faster
Carbon fibre straps	$400–$1,200 per strap	$3,000–$10,000	Cracked, bowing basement walls
Wall anchors	$500–$1,500 per anchor	$8,000–$25,000	Bowing walls with access to outside soil
Slab lifting	$3–$12 per sq ft	$2,000–$15,000	Uneven interior slabs and garage floors
Crawl space encapsulation	$3–$8 per sq ft	$4,000–$15,000	Moisture control, not structural repair

An average residential repair lands between $4,000 and $15,000. Serious structural work on a large home with multiple settled footings runs $20,000–$40,000, and the number is driven by pier count, access and soil — not by the length of the crack you can see.

What drives the price up

• Pier count. A quote is usually pier count × unit price. Ten piers at $1,800 is $18,000 before anything else.
• Depth to bearing soil. Piers are driven to stable strata; deeper bearing soil means longer piers and more time.
• Access. A finished basement, a deck over the work area or a narrow side yard adds labour and sometimes equipment.
• Interior vs exterior. Interior piers avoid landscaping but require floor removal and patching; exterior piers avoid interior work but disturb planting and hardscape.
• Engineering. A stamped engineer's letter adds $400–$1,500 but is what makes a permit and a warranty defensible.
• Cosmetic repair. Drywall, flooring, paint and trim are usually excluded — budget 10–25% of the structural cost to put the house back together.

What a quote should show

A foundation quote that cannot be compared line by line is not a quote. Ask for the same five numbers from every contractor:

Line	What good looks like
Method and count	"14 push piers, exterior, 4 on the north wall" — not "pier system"
Depth assumption	Stated depth to bearing strata, and the price if it is deeper
Engineering	Stamped letter included or excluded, and who pays for it
Permits	Who pulls the permit, and the fee
Cosmetic repair	What is restored and what is left to you
Warranty	Length, transferability, and what voids it

The full cost guide carries worked examples, and the repair methods hub explains when each method is specified. If a contractor cannot explain why a pier rather than a slab lift, the quote is not ready to sign.

Why is foundation repair so expensive?

Because it is engineering plus excavation plus steel. A push pier is a manufactured bracket and a steel shaft driven to bearing strata; the equipment, the engineering letter and the warranty all sit inside the unit price.

Can I repair a foundation myself?

Cosmetic crack filling, grading and downspout work are reasonable DIY. Structural lifting, pier installation and wall anchoring are not — they need engineered design, permits and equipment.

Does insurance pay for foundation repair?

Usually not for settling or poor drainage, which policies exclude as maintenance or earth movement. Sudden events — a burst pipe, a vehicle impact — are more often covered. The insurance hub explains the wording.