Three foundation bids, a $10,000 spread, and no one showed you the math.
Settling does not wait for you to decide. Neither does the next bid revision. We measure the movement, tell you whether it is piers, foam, or nothing yet, and put the number in writing before any work is scheduled.
“Three different companies looked at it, all three said the front half has sunk about an inch and a half, and now I have to decide whether the foundation or the AC gets the money first.” — r/HomeImprovement
West County Foundation Repair Cost Guide
This West County foundation repair cost guide exists because homeowners routinely report a $2,500 bid and a $13,000 bid on the same house. The spread almost always comes down to method, not markup — here is what actually drives the number on a West County foundation repair quote.
What Drives Foundation Repair Cost Per Pier
Cost scales with pier count, pier depth to reach load-bearing soil, and access difficulty (finished basement vs. crawlspace vs. open yard). A shallow-bedrock lot needs fewer, shorter piers than a lot where stable soil sits 20+ feet down.
Why Two Foundation Repair Bids on the Same House Can Differ by $10,000
The bids are usually not pricing the same scope. One prices piers to bedrock, one prices foam injection, one prices cosmetic crack sealing that does nothing for the movement itself. Ask each bidder for the method, pier/injection count, target lift in inches, and warranty term before comparing price alone.
- Fixed-price written quote before any work starts. The number on the estimate is the number on the invoice, or the difference is ours.
- Zero-obligation on-site inspection. If the answer is 'monitor it, do not spend money yet,' that is the answer you get in writing.
- Licensed, bonded, and insured, with the license number on the estimate itself, not just the truck.
- Itemized scope: every line shows what is being done, what it costs, and what it does not include. No lump-sum 'foundation work, $18,000.'
- Named point of contact with a same-day callback commitment. If we go quiet for 48 hours during an active job, the next scheduled payment is waived.
- Written start and completion window, with the permit and utility dependencies listed as separate line items so you can see which clocks we do not control.
- If a second opinion contradicts our diagnosis on a structural call, we pay for a third-party engineer's evaluation.
Further reading: American Society of Civil Engineers · Deep Foundations Institute · International Code Council
Related: crawl space repair cost · how long foundation repair takes
Ready for a written number on your project?