What’s the Cost of Fixing a House Foundation?

Foundation problems aren’t always a disaster

Few things cause more concern for homeowners and buyers than the idea of foundation repairs. They’re often associated with high costs and major disruptions.

But there’s good news: it’s not always as bad as it seems. Before jumping to conclusions, have a professional assess the situation. If the issue is caught early and the damage is minimal, repairs can be far more manageable—both in scope and cost—than many expect.

The key is not to delay. Foundation problems can worsen over time, potentially affecting your home’s structure and safety. Acting promptly can make all the difference.

In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to make informed decisions—from typical costs and signs of damage, to common causes and repair options.

In this article (Skip to...)

• Signs a home’s foundation needs repairs
• Types of foundation repairs
• Financing home foundation repairs
• The bottom line

Average foundation repair costs

When This Old House reviewed 2025 foundation repair costs, it found the national average was around $4,500—uncomfortable, but not devastating for most homeowners. Most people paid between $2,000 and $7,500.

That said, costs vary widely. Minor repairs might be as low as $250, while major structural fixes can reach $25,000 or more. In extreme cases—especially with large homes or advanced repair methods—bills of $30,000+ aren’t unusual.

Signs your home’s foundation might need repairs

Family Handyman reveals 12 tell-tale signs your home’s foundations might have problems. These include:

1. Cracks in exterior walls — Especially diagonal ones and “staircase” ones in the mortar between bricks or stones. But other cracks might indicate an issue.
2. Buckling and warping sidings.
3. Sinking ground around the home. Can you see lines where the soil used to be? Is there water pooling around your foundations?
4. Spongey floors — Your floorboards shouldn’t be too bouncy.
5. Weeds clustered near the foundation — These may mean nothing if your yard’s full of weeds. But if they’re all close to your foundation and not elsewhere, that’s a warning sign.
6. Damp crawl space.
7. Sudden cracks in internal drywalling — But, in a newish home, that could be normal a settlement as the building dries out.
8. Problems with your drains — These can be a symptom of foundation issues or a cause.
9. Doors and windows sticking — If it becomes hard to open, close or latch windows and doors, that could be a sign of walls moving as your foundation shifts.
10. Unevenness in tiled floors — Why would a tile lift? Because your home’s moving.
11. Cracked floor tiles — Don’t worry if a tile’s cracked because someone dropped something on it.
12. Doors or windows detaching from the structure — If yours begin pulling away from the walls, that’s a bad sign.

Having just one of those may or may not be a sign that you need to fix a house foundation. But you may prefer not to wait for more signs to appear.

What factors affect foundation repair costs?

Modernize.com identifies the four factors that can affect the costs of fixing a house foundation:

1. Your type of foundation — Typically, concrete slabs are more expensive to repair than basement foundations. And repairs to basement foundations are more costly than those to crawl spaces.
2. Severity and type of damage — This is why it’s so important to act quickly while the damage is still fairly limited.
3. Technique required to repair the issue — See the next section.
4. Your location — This is partly down to local costs for labor and materials. But your soil type, climate, and the accessibility of your site can all affect costs, too.

Common types of foundation repairs and their costs

Home Depot describes the seven most common techniques when fixing a house foundation. Very roughly, the earlier ones in the list are often more expensive than the later ones:

1. Concrete piering
2. Steel piering
3. Helical piering
4. Spot piers
5. Polyurethane foam jacking
6. Mud jacking
7. Masonry patches and sealants

Piering involves inserting a supporting structure beneath the existing foundation. That typically includes major earthworks and use of expensive materials.

How to finance fixing a house foundation

If the cost of fixing a house foundation runs into the hundreds, you might pay for it out of savings or by charging it to your credit card. Providing you repay the card debt over two or three months, the eye-watering interest rate you’ll pay probably won’t break the bank.

If the bill is in the low thousands, a personal loan may be a smarter choice. These tend to have lower interest rates than credit cards and are repayable in equal installments over a period you largely get to choose.

But what if you’re staring at a five-figure invoice? Then, you might prefer to tap your home equity, which is the amount by which your home’s market value today exceeds your current mortgage balance.

Such borrowing is secured by your home, which is something to think about because failing to keep up payments could ultimately lead to foreclosure. But, because it’s secured, you can almost always get a much lower interest rate than on a personal loan or credit card. And that’s important when you’re borrowing a lot of money.

Home equity options

Your three main options for tapping your equity are:

• Home equity loan — A straightforward loan that you pay back in equal installments. Think personal loan with a lower rate.
• Home equity line of credit (HELOC) — A line of credit, much like a credit card. Borrow, repay and borrow again as often as you wish up to your credit limit and within your draw period. After that draw period ends (often after 10 years), you can’t borrow anymore and must repay your balance, often over another 10-15 years.
• Cash-out refinance — These are usually a good idea only if you can get a lower mortgage rate than your existing one. Otherwise, you’re paying a higher rate for your mortgage as well as your new borrowing.

When this was written, most homeowners would be better off with a home equity loan or HELOC than a cash-out refinance. But that could change if mortgage rates start falling again.

The bottom line for fixing a house foundation

Fixing a house foundation could cost you as little as $250 — or as much as $30,000 or more. The bill you face will depend on how bad your foundation is, the technique required to fix it, and where you live.

Be aware of the 12 signs that your foundations may have issues. And act immediately if you spot one. Issues tend to get worse, and the repair costs get higher the longer you leave the problem unaddressed.

Your first step may be to call in a specialist contractor. But it is incentivized to maximize your issues.

So, getting an independent, expert foundation inspector might give you a better understanding of what to expect. This Old House says such an inspection costs “an average of $600 but typically ranges from $300–$1,000.”

You’ll kick yourself for getting an inspection if you need to spend only $300 for repairs. But not as hard as if you spend $30,000 on a job that should have cost only $3,000.