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Mudjacking / slabjacking: cost, and when it's the right repair
$500–$1,300 per job in published national guides (a second guide reports $550–$1,300). Source: Bob Vila — How Much Does Foundation Repair Cost?, updated 2024-05-29 A sunken slab section (patio, garage, walkway) on stable soil. Lifts; does not stop shrink-swell.
What it is and what drives the price
Slabjacking pumps a grout or polyurethane foam under a sunken slab section to lift it back to level. It works for a slab that has settled onto a void or soft spot: patios, garage floors, walkways, sometimes a room of a house slab.
It does not stop shrink-swell. Lifting a slab on expansive clay without fixing moisture puts it back where the soil will move it again.
What the soil under your address does to this decision
Best on stable, low-swell soil with a local void. On high and very high shrink-swell soil, treat it as a cosmetic lift, not a repair.
House leveling: what the phrase means on a quote
"House leveling" is a sales phrase, not a method. On a slab it means either slabjacking (this page) or piers with the slab lifted on them, which are priced very differently; on a pier and beam house it means re-shimming or re-setting interior piers. Ask which one is being quoted and get it itemized. A leveling quote that does not say how the house will be lifted cannot be compared with anything.
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.