Guide

What affects the cost of foundation repair

You will not find a price on this page. A figure quoted without seeing the house is a guess, and a guess is no use to you. What follows is how the number in a written proposal gets built, so you can read one critically.

The main drivers

What the proposal is made of

Number of piers: The largest single item. A corner needs a handful. One long wall needs more. Going right round the house needs the most.
Depth: Piers are priced on the assumption that they stop at a certain depth. In deep clay they can go further. Ask what depth is included and what each extra foot adds. Why foundations move in Frisco explains why depth varies across the city.
Type of pier: Pushed steel, pressed concrete, helical and drilled concrete piers differ in materials, equipment and time on site.
Piers inside the house: Supporting the middle of a slab means tunneling under it from outside or cutting through the floor from above. Either costs more than a pier at the edge, and cutting means flooring to replace.
Access: Decks, air conditioning units, pool equipment, mature planting and narrow side yards all slow the digging.
Type of foundation: Carpentry under a pier and beam floor is priced by the beam, joist and shim, not by the pier.

Often left out

Costs that follow the piers

Engineering. Frisco wants a stamped engineer letter, stamped pier drawings and an engineer's report at completion. Ask whether those fees are in the price. See permits in Frisco.
The permit fee itself.
A plumbing test after the lift, and the repair of any pipe that the test shows is leaking.
Brick, drywall and paint. Cracks that close still need finishing, and a lift can open new ones.
Flooring over any spot where the slab was opened.
Landscaping. Shrubs dug up for access, beds, sprinkler lines and sod.

A proposal that lists these as exclusions is being straight with you. One that never mentions them has not made them go away.

Side by side

Comparing two proposals fairly

Count the piers on each drawing and check they support the same parts of the house.
Compare the included depth, not just the price per pier.
See who pays the engineer and the permit fee.
Read the exclusions in both.
Ask what the warranty covers and whether it passes to a buyer.
Check the payment schedule. Paying the whole amount before work begins leaves you with no leverage.

Insurance

Do not plan around a claim

Many homeowner policies exclude settling, shrinking and earth movement. Some cover damage that follows a sudden plumbing leak. The only reliable source is your own policy, or your agent, so read the wording before you assume anything. The companies reached through this site repair foundations. They do not handle insurance claims.

Cost questions

Why will nobody give me a price over the phone?

Because the number depends on how many piers, how deep and where, and none of that is known until someone has measured the floors and walked the outside. A company that names a figure sight unseen is guessing.

Is there a charge for the inspection visit?

Ask when you book. Repair companies and independent engineers handle it differently, and an engineer preparing a written report charges a fee for it.

Is a smaller repair now cheaper than a big one later?

Not always. If the movement is seasonal, drainage and watering may be all that is needed. If one side is steadily dropping, waiting can add piers and cosmetic damage. That is the judgment the inspection is for.

Foundation repair in Frisco and nearby

Describe the problem, book the inspection

This number is for foundation repair on houses. Say where the cracks are, which doors stick and how long it has been going on. If part of the house shifted all at once, there is a gas smell, or brickwork seems about to come down, clear the house and dial 911 or the gas utility before anything else.

Ready to have someone look at it?

Phone and say what you have noticed. The foundation repair company on the other end is independent of this site and takes on houses in your part of Collin or Denton County. Ask it for a time to come and inspect.

Call (972) 430-3959

Your call may be recorded. Read how referrals are paid for and what happens to call details.