How much does foundation repair cost?

Minor crack injection runs $1,500 to $4,000. Underpinning a settling wall with six to eight piers typically runs $10,000 to $25,000. Stabilising a badly bowing basement wall or a full-perimeter repair can reach $40,000 or more.

How much does one foundation pier cost?

Between $1,000 and $2,500 installed, depending on depth to load-bearing soil and whether it is a push pier or a helical pier. Piers are spaced roughly every five to eight feet along the affected wall.

Which foundation cracks are serious?

Hairline vertical cracks in a poured wall are usually shrinkage and not structural. Horizontal cracks, stair-step cracks through block joints, cracks wider than a quarter inch, and any crack that is visibly growing all warrant a structural engineer.

Do I need a structural engineer?

For anything beyond a hairline crack, yes. An engineer who is not selling the repair produces an independent specification that contractors can bid against, typically for $400 to $900. It usually saves more than it costs.

Does homeowners insurance cover foundation repair?

Almost never for settlement, soil movement or hydrostatic pressure — these are standard exclusions. Damage from a sudden covered event, such as a burst supply line washing out soil under a footing, may be covered.

Can I sell a house with a foundation problem?

Yes, but it will be disclosed and priced in. A documented, permitted repair with an engineer's sign-off and a transferable warranty is far easier to sell past than an unrepaired crack or an undocumented fix.

Foundation Repair Cost Calculator

Pick your foundation type and what is going wrong, then enter the affected length and, where it applies, the number of piers. The result is a low-to-high range with the line items a structural repair contractor would actually put on the proposal.

Foundation type

Problem

Affected length(linear ft)

The run of wall or slab edge showing the problem, not the whole perimeter.

Piers or anchors (if applicable)

Roughly one every 5–8 ft on a settling wall. Ignored for crack and water work.

Accessibility

Regional market

Estimated total cost

$10,672 – $25,288

settling / uneven floors over 30 linear ft

Most likely cost: $17,980
Repair along the affected run$40–$90 per linear ft before site factors: $1,440 – $3,240
Underpinning piers6 at $1,000–$2,500 each: $7,200 – $18,000
Structural engineer's reportinspection, drawings and a sign-off letter: $650
Permits & inspection4% of the work: $346 – $850
Contingency12% — foundation work uncovers things: $1,037 – $2,549

What this figure includes

This is a planning range for a licensed structural repair contractor and assumes a single-family house on ordinary soil. It includes the repair itself, a structural engineer's report, permits and a 12% contingency. It does not include interior finish repair — drywall, tile, trim and paint after the house is lifted — landscaping restoration, replacing a driveway or patio cut for access, plumbing repairs to lines broken by movement, mould remediation, or full foundation replacement. Soil conditions vary enormously; expansive clay and high water tables both push costs above these figures.

How this is calculated

How foundation repair is priced

Foundation work is quoted by method, and every method is measured either per linear foot of affected wall or per installed pier. The estimate here is:

Work = (affected feet × rate per foot + piers × rate per pier) × foundation factor × access factor × regional factor

Total = work + engineer's report + permits + contingency

The rate depends entirely on what is actually wrong, which is why the problem is the first thing to establish — before price, before contractor, before anything.

Settling and uneven floors are corrected by underpinning: driving steel push piers or helical piers down to load-bearing strata and transferring the house onto them. Piers run $1,000 to $2,500 each installed, spaced roughly every five to eight feet along the affected wall, plus $40 to $90 per linear foot of associated excavation and prep. This is the most expensive common repair and also the most permanent.

Cracks in a slab or wall run $55 to $140 per linear foot for epoxy or polyurethane injection with surface preparation and patching. A hairline crack that has not moved in years is often cosmetic; a crack wider than a quarter inch, one that steps diagonally through block courses, or one that has visibly widened is structural and needs the engineer before the caulk gun.

Bowing or leaning walls are the most urgent item on this list. Carbon fibre straps run $130 to $350 per linear foot; wall anchors or steel I-beam braces add $550 to $1,100 each. Carbon fibre stabilises a wall that has moved less than about two inches; beyond that, anchors that can be tightened over time, or excavation and rebuilding, become the honest answer.

Water intrusion runs $70 to $180 per linear foot for interior drain tile, a sump pump and a vapour barrier, and considerably more for exterior excavation and membrane. It is worth doing the cheap things first — extending downspouts, regrading soil away from the wall at an inch per foot for the first ten feet — because a surprising share of basement water problems are surface water problems.

Site factors

A slab is the baseline. A crawlspace adds about 10% because everything is done lying down. A full basement adds about 25% because of depth of excavation and the interior work involved. Access adds up to 45%: a clear elevation a mini-excavator can reach is the baseline; mature planting, a patio or a neighbour's fence two feet away means hand digging.

A worked example

A slab house with settling along 30 linear feet of one wall, six piers, moderate access, national pricing:

Factor: 1.0 × 1.2 × 1.0 = 1.2
Along the run: 30 × $40 to $90 × 1.2 = $1,440 – $3,240
Piers: 6 × $1,000 to $2,500 × 1.2 = $7,200 – $18,000
Engineer's report: $650
Permits at 4%: $346 – $850
Contingency at 12%: $1,037 – $2,549
Total: roughly $10,700 to $25,300

Before you sign anything

Get the structural engineer before the contractor, and pay for that report yourself. An engineer who is not selling the repair has no reason to recommend more piers than the house needs, and their letter gives you a specification that three contractors can bid against on identical terms. It is the best six hundred dollars in this whole process.

Ask every bidder for the transferable warranty in writing, and read what transfers: many warranties cover the pier but not the settlement of anything between piers. Keep the engineer's report and the final inspection — at resale, documented and permitted foundation work is far less alarming to a buyer than an undocumented repair.

Cost figures last reviewed 9 Sept 2026 · Structural repair contractor pricing by method, per linear foot and per installed pier.

Frequently asked questions

How much does foundation repair cost?: Minor crack injection runs $1,500 to $4,000. Underpinning a settling wall with six to eight piers typically runs $10,000 to $25,000. Stabilising a badly bowing basement wall or a full-perimeter repair can reach $40,000 or more.
How much does one foundation pier cost?: Between $1,000 and $2,500 installed, depending on depth to load-bearing soil and whether it is a push pier or a helical pier. Piers are spaced roughly every five to eight feet along the affected wall.
Which foundation cracks are serious?: Hairline vertical cracks in a poured wall are usually shrinkage and not structural. Horizontal cracks, stair-step cracks through block joints, cracks wider than a quarter inch, and any crack that is visibly growing all warrant a structural engineer.
Do I need a structural engineer?: For anything beyond a hairline crack, yes. An engineer who is not selling the repair produces an independent specification that contractors can bid against, typically for $400 to $900. It usually saves more than it costs.
Does homeowners insurance cover foundation repair?: Almost never for settlement, soil movement or hydrostatic pressure — these are standard exclusions. Damage from a sudden covered event, such as a burst supply line washing out soil under a footing, may be covered.
Can I sell a house with a foundation problem?: Yes, but it will be disclosed and priced in. A documented, permitted repair with an engineer's sign-off and a transferable warranty is far easier to sell past than an unrepaired crack or an undocumented fix.