Foundation repair: $2,225 to $8,133, signs and who to call

How much does foundation repair cost

National figures. Each publisher's range is shown on its own; none are merged.

Angi puts foundation repair at $5,174 on average in its August 2026 data, with most homeowners paying $2,225 to $8,133, and This Old House's October 2026 guide lands almost on top of it at $5,179 average, $2,224 to $8,134. The spread inside those averages is wide: a single crack injection is $250 to $800 in both HomeGuide's and Angi's figures, while settling that calls for piers runs $4,500 to $20,000 (HomeGuide) or $5,000 to $25,000 (Angi). The foundation repair cost guide breaks the price down by method, by pier and by foundation type.

Do this now: what to check before anyone comes out

Three checks take ten minutes and change what a contractor will tell you. Work through them before you book an inspection, and write down what you find with the date:

1. Measure and photograph the crack. HomeGuide treats cracks under 1/8 inch as often cosmetic and flags cracks wider than 1/8 inch; This Old House's threshold for calling a structural engineer is 1/4 inch. Put a pencil mark at each end and a date beside it so you can see whether it grows.
2. Look at the water first. Walk the outside after a rain. The University of Minnesota Extension says the grade should fall at least 1 inch per foot for 6 feet from the wall, with downspouts discharging at least 4 feet out. Pooling water, a short downspout or a flat bed against the house explains a lot of cracks and most wet basements.
3. Note the pattern. A horizontal crack at mid-height, a wall that bows inward, or stair-step cracks in block are the ones engineers single out (see what basement cracks mean). A thin vertical crack in poured concrete usually is not.
4. Check doors and floors. Doors that stick, gaps over cabinets and a floor you can feel slope are the signs HomeGuide lists with cracks. The ASCE Texas Section guideline says a floor slope over 1 percent is usually noticeable.
5. Decide who inspects. A foundation repair company's visit is often free; a structural engineer's report costs $300 to $1,000 (Angi) and comes with no repair to sell. Foundation inspection cost explains the difference.

Is it an emergency? Signs that should not wait

Most foundation problems move over months, not hours, and the ASCE Texas Section guideline says the majority of cracks do not compromise structural integrity. A few things do move fast:

• A wall that is visibly leaning or has shifted since you last looked, or a new horizontal crack that opened after heavy rain. Forcon's engineer calls mid-height horizontal cracks "a cause for immediate concern."
• Water rising in a basement or crawl space with power on: do not stand in water near outlets or equipment (Red Cross). The water in crawl space and basement flooding guides start with the safe order.
• A gas smell with any of the above: leave, then call 911 or the gas utility from outside.
• Plumbing that has stopped draining under a slab, which can mean a broken line washing out the soil. A plumber's camera comes first; see slab leak repair.

Everything else is a measured problem: photograph it, mark it, and get it inspected within a few weeks rather than tonight.

What the signs usually mean

Cracks fall into a few patterns, and the pattern says more than the size. In Forcon's engineering guide, shrinkage cracks run near-vertical in poured concrete and follow mortar joints in a stair-step in block, with roughly the same width top to bottom; settlement cracks are diagonal at corners and wider at one end; a horizontal crack at mid-height with the wall bowing inward comes from soil pressure, usually saturated soil. HomeGuide's own grouping is the same: hairline, vertical and diagonal cracks are priced as non-structural ($250 to $800 per crack), horizontal and stair-step as structural ($1,000 to $5,000 minor, $10,000 to $30,000 major).

A foundation contractor or engineer would check the crack pattern and width, measure floor elevations, look at drainage and downspouts, check for plumbing leaks under a slab, and look at trees and soil type. A crack or a damp wall is a reason to get it looked at, not proof that the house is failing: the ASCE Texas Section guideline says "the majority of cracks do not compromise structural integrity." The basement crack repair and bowing basement walls guides go through each pattern.

Foundation repair methods and what each costs

• Underpinning and piers: steel push piers, helical piers and drilled concrete piers under a settling footing, $1,000 to $3,000 per pier in Angi's and This Old House's figures, $2,000 to $4,000 for helical piers in HomeGuide's. House leveling, shims and mudjacking vs polyurethane foam are on the same page.
• Bowing wall repair: carbon fiber straps, wall anchors, helical tiebacks or straightening, $80 to $550 per linear foot (HomeGuide), $4,500 national average (Angi).
• Crack repair: epoxy or polyurethane injection at $250 to $800 per crack (HomeGuide, Angi).
• Basement waterproofing: interior drain tile with a sump, $6,000 to $12,000, or exterior membrane and drain, $10,000 to $18,000 (HomeGuide).
• French drains and yard drainage: $500 to $8,800 in the yard, $4,000 to $17,000 inside a basement (HomeGuide).
• Crawl space encapsulation: vapor barrier, sealed vents and a dehumidifier, $5,500 average (Angi), $3 to $10 per square foot (HomeGuide).

Fix the water before the concrete

Water moves foundations, and the cheapest fixes come first. The University of Minnesota Extension's order is: control indoor moisture sources, stop ventilating a basement with humid summer air, correct grading, gutters and downspouts, and only then add interior or exterior drainage. A 1-inch rain puts about 1,250 gallons on a 2,000-square-foot roof, which is why a downspout that ends at the wall matters. The ASCE Texas Section repair guideline makes the same point for expansive clay: keep soil moisture near-uniform around the house, extend downspouts well away, grade at least 5 percent for the first 5 feet, and consider non-structural measures and monitoring before structural repair. Basement leak repair goes through where water gets in.

Insurance: what a homeowners policy pays for

Standard homeowners policies exclude flood, earthquake, landslide and sinkhole damage and damage from lack of maintenance (Triple-I), and the Maryland Insurance Administration says water that seeps in through a foundation wall or floor is treated as a maintenance issue and generally not covered. A burst pipe is the usual exception. Does homeowners insurance cover home repairs covers the lines.

Licensing and who to hire

Texas has no state license for foundation repair: a 2011 bill that would have created one (S.B. 1399) said at the time that "there is no state regulation in place to directly mitigate these risks," and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation's list of 41 regulated industries still has no foundation repair program. Other states differ, so check your own state's contractor board, ask for the license number if your state issues one, and ask for proof of insurance either way.

Two things to ask any company: whether an engineer designs the repair and signs the plan, and what the warranty covers if the house moves again. The ASCE Texas Section guideline says the engineer of record has approval authority over changes and that "perfection is not attainable by remedial measures," so a plan that promises a perfectly level house is a flag. HomeGuide warns that companies offering free inspections "may be more likely to recommend repairs to get your business."

Foundation repair by city

Soil, water tables and frost differ by region, so the city pages carry local rules, permits and published local prices. Foundation repair: San Antonio, Fort Worth, Dallas, Kansas City, Houston, Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Oklahoma City. Basement waterproofing: Chicago, Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Minneapolis. Crawl space encapsulation: Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Raleigh.

All foundation guides

• Foundation repair cost: by method, pier type and foundation type, with three publishers side by side.
• Basement crack repair: what horizontal, stair-step, diagonal and hairline cracks mean and what gets checked.
• Bowing basement walls: anchors, straps, tiebacks, and the inch thresholds publishers use.
• Foundation underpinning: push, helical and drilled piers, house leveling, mudjacking vs foam.
• Foundation inspection cost: free contractor visit vs paid engineer report.
• Basement waterproofing cost: interior drain tile vs exterior membrane, grading and downspouts first.
• Basement leak repair: where water comes in and what each entry point costs to fix.
• French drain cost: yard, curtain and interior drains, dry wells and regrading.
• Crawl space encapsulation cost: vapor barrier, sealed vents, dehumidifier.
• Water in crawl space: the safe order when you find standing water, and the mold line.

Foundation work is one line on the home repair costs table. Calls go to an independent company that serves your area and takes this kind of job; hours vary. How calls work.