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Piering / underpinning: cost, and when it's the right repair
$1,000–$3,000 per pier in published national guides (a second guide reports $1,000–$3,000). Source: This Old House — Foundation Repair Cost, updated 2026-03-06 Settlement or heave on expansive or weak soil. The pier COUNT is where quotes diverge most; an engineer's report specifies it.
What it is and what drives the price
Piering (underpinning) drives steel or helical piers down to stable soil or rock and transfers the house's load onto them. It is the right tool when the soil under part of the house is moving and moisture control alone will not stop it.
The price is the pier count times the per-pier cost, and the count is where quotes diverge. Two contractors looking at the same house commonly propose different pier counts, because each is estimating where the movement is from the outside. An independent engineer's elevation survey replaces the estimate with a measurement.
Ask every bid for: pier type and depth, the count and a plan showing where, what happens to the slab or beams at each pier, the moisture plan, and what the warranty covers (usually the pier, not the house).
What the soil under your address does to this decision
On very high shrink-swell soil, piers without moisture control leave the clay moving between them. On low-swell soil, a pier proposal deserves a second opinion, because expansive clay is not the likely cause.
Pier and beam foundation repair is a different job from piering
The words overlap and the work does not. A pier and beam house sits on a crawl space over wood or concrete piers; repairing it usually means re-shimming or replacing those interior piers, sistering joists, and replacing rotted sills, and it is priced by the item. Piering, also called underpinning, drives steel push piers or helical piers down to stable soil under the perimeter of either foundation type and transfers the load to them; that is the per-pier price on this page.
A pier and beam house on expansive clay can need both: interior piers re-set, and perimeter underpinning where the beam has dropped. Ask a bidder which of the two they are quoting, and get the interior work itemized separately. We cite no published range for shimming or replacing interior piers.
Check the soil under an address
USDA soil survey, read for the top 60 inches under the address. Free, no account, nothing is sent to a contractor.
Usually 1–3 seconds. The USDA service occasionally takes longer.
Compared with other methods
| Repair | Published range | When it's the right tool | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crack repair (epoxy / polyurethane injection) | $250–$800 per crack | Hairline or non-moving cracks, moisture entry. Not a fix for movement. | Bob Vila — How Much Does Foundation Repair Cost?, updated 2024-05-29 |
| Mudjacking / slabjacking | $500–$1,300 per job | A sunken slab section (patio, garage, walkway) on stable soil. Lifts; does not stop shrink-swell. | Bob Vila — How Much Does Foundation Repair Cost?, updated 2024-05-29 |
| Piering / underpinning | $1,000–$3,000 per pier | Settlement or heave on expansive or weak soil. The pier COUNT is where quotes diverge most; an engineer's report specifies it. | This Old House — Foundation Repair Cost, updated 2026-03-06 |
| Wall stabilization / reinforcement (carbon fiber or steel, ~12 strips) | $4,000–$12,000 per job | Bowing basement walls from lateral soil pressure. | This Old House — Foundation Repair Cost, updated 2026-03-06 |
| Bowed wall repair (all methods) | $5,000–$15,000 per job | Bowing basement walls; method depends on deflection. | Bob Vila — How Much Does Foundation Repair Cost?, updated 2024-05-29 |
| Foundation sealing / waterproofing | $2,300–$7,300 per job | Water entry in a basement or crawl space. Usually paired with drainage, not piers. | This Old House — Foundation Repair Cost, updated 2026-03-06 |
| Drainage system | $2,800–$6,500 per job | Often the first, cheapest fix on wet or moderately expansive soil. | Bob Vila — How Much Does Foundation Repair Cost?, updated 2024-05-29 |
| Settling / sinking repair (all methods) | $4,500–$20,000 per job | The typical range a pier job lands in; the top end is a whole-house pier plan. | Bob Vila — How Much Does Foundation Repair Cost?, updated 2024-05-29 |
| Foundation lifting and leveling | $20,000–$23,000 per job | Whole-structure lift. Rare; get two engineer opinions. | This Old House — Foundation Repair Cost, updated 2026-03-06 |
Full cost guide → · Get an independent scope first →
We are not engineers and this is not an engineering opinion. We report public soil-survey data and published price ranges. Nothing here states that a specific house is or is not structurally sound; a licensed structural engineer who has seen the house can. Typical whole-job figures for context: $2,224–$8,134 Source: This Old House — Foundation Repair Cost, updated 2026-03-06.