Four separate cost guides put the average foundation repair between $5,001 and $5,200 — unusually close agreement. And that number describes almost no real job.
Sealing a crack costs $200 to $1,000. Underpinning a settling house costs $10,000 to $40,000. The “average” is the midpoint of two things that have nothing to do with each other. What you actually need to know is which of those two jobs you are looking at.
Cost by what is actually wrong
| Repair | Cost |
|---|---|
| Crack seal or epoxy injection | $200–$1,000 (about $250–$800 per crack) |
| Mudjacking / slab lifting | $500–$1,900 |
| Waterproofing and sealing | $2,000–$7,300 |
| Carbon fibre strips | $4,000–$12,000 (about 12 strips) |
| Wall anchors / tiebacks | $5,000–$15,000 |
| Piering, per pier | $1,000–$3,000 |
| Underpinning, whole job | $10,000–$40,000 |
| Lifting and levelling the house | $20,000–$30,000 |
Piering, where the money goes
Most sources price piers at $1,000–$3,000 each without distinguishing type. HomeGuide is more specific on helical piers: $2,000–$4,000 installed, around $3,000 typical, split roughly $1,500–$2,000 in materials against $500–$2,000+ in labour. The shaft itself is $15–$30 a linear foot at a typical depth of 10–30 feet.
A typical house needs 5 to 10 piers at 5–8 foot spacing. That is where the $10,000–$40,000 underpinning figure comes from, and why the number of piers on a quote matters far more than the price of each.
One honest gap: no cost guide we could find publishes a clean price difference between push piers, helical piers and concrete piers. Contractors will tell you their type is better. There is no published data to arbitrate that.
Ignore the “cost by foundation type” tables
Every cost guide publishes one, and they contradict each other badly. Fixr puts slab repair at $1,000–$10,000; Bob Vila puts the same job at $350–$20,000. Fixr says basements run $2,500–$25,000; Bob Vila says $2,300–$7,600. This Old House cuts through it: repairs cost about the same across foundation types, except pier-and-beam and stone.
Price the repair, not the foundation.
The costs before the repair starts
| Item | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Structural engineer report | $300–$2,000 | Sources range from $340–$780 to $300–$2,000. Get one before you accept any piering quote. |
| Soil / geotechnical report | $500–$5,000 | Needed when the soil is the actual problem |
| Permit | $75–$150 minor; $600–$3,600 for structural piering | A 20x spread — it depends entirely on whether the work is structural |
| Hard-access pier installation | +$200–$500 per pier | Hand-dug rather than machine |
| Landscaping restoration | $50–$100 an hour | Piering tears up the perimeter |
| Contingency for what they find | $1,000–$2,500 | Standard advice from two sources |
Labour runs about $200 an hour across all three of the sources that publish a rate. None of them publishes a labour-versus-materials percentage for foundation work — only the helical pier split above.
There is no resale figure, and you should be suspicious of anyone quoting one
Foundation repair is not in the Remodeling Cost vs. Value report. We checked the 2025 edition — 28 projects, from garage doors at 268% down to primary suite additions at 18%. Foundation repair is not among them. Any “foundation repair recoups X%” claim is not coming from that report, because it does not exist there.
Two things are true instead. A transferable warranty gives buyers confidence. And you are required to disclose completed foundation work when you sell — which is a reason to keep every document, not a reason to expect a return.
How to read a foundation quote
- Is there an engineer’s report? If the only assessment is by the company selling the repair, get an independent one for $300–$2,000. It is the cheapest money in this project.
- How many piers, and why those locations? The count is the price.
- Is the water problem being fixed too? Stabilising a foundation while the drainage still saturates the soil buys you a repeat. Check gutters and grading first, and read sump pump installation cost if water is reaching the basement.
- Is the warranty transferable? An untransferable warranty is worth much less at sale.
Keep reading
Water is usually what caused the movement. Here is what basement waterproofing costs in 2026, and the cheaper fix most contractors skip.
Working out your own number? Our free renovation cost calculator gives you the range for your size and area in about ten seconds.