How Much Does Pier and Beam Foundation Repair Cost? [2024 Data]
Normal range: $6,000 - $14,000
Pier and beam foundation repair costs around $10,000, on average, and most homeowners pay somewhere between $6,000 and $14,000, depending on the necessary repair.
Pier and beam foundation repairs cost an average of $10,000, but you could pay anywhere between $800 for a simple fix-up to $25,000 for structural repairs and foundation waterproofing. In this guide, we’ll discuss how to determine your foundation repair costs to help you budget more appropriately, and we’ll also share some tips on how to save money in the process.
- Average
- $10,000
- Low end
- $800
- high end
- $25,000
Pier and Beam Foundation Repair Cost Factors
Pier and beam foundation repairs can cost anywhere from $800 up to $25,000, and where inside that range your repair falls will depend on a number of factors.
Type of Repair
The type of repair you need for your pier and beam foundation will be the most significant factor when it comes to the repair cost.
| Repair Type | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| Adding new piers | $800–$4,000 ea |
| Beam replacement | $400–$1,200 ea |
| Replacing piers | $2,000–$6,000 ea |
| Reshimming | $1,200–$4,000 |
| Underpinning | $1,000–$3,000 ea |
| Waterproofing | $3,000–$20,000 |
Adding New Piers
You can expect to pay around $2,000 to add a new pier to your pier and beam foundation or anywhere between $800 and $4,000, depending on a few factors.
Adding a new pier is a great way to provide additional support to your structure if the original number of piers installed was insufficient or if you’re building an add-on and need additional support for a specific section of the adjoining structure. In some cases, installing additional piers can be an option to take the load off of existing ones that would otherwise need replacement.
Adding new piers to a foundation is common in older homes, where the original number of piers may be insufficient for the weight of the home. They can also be a good option for adding support if you’re adding a second story—and significantly more weight—to your home or if you’re experiencing some unusual settling inside your house due to uneven support below.
Replacing Beams
The cost to replace a beam in your pier and beam foundation sits around $800 on average or between $400 and $1,200 per beam. For a typical home with 10 to 12 beams, you’re looking at a total cost of between $4,000 and $12,000 to replace all of the beams.
Replacing an existing beam is a relatively straightforward process that involves jacking up the portion of the home above the affected beam, detaching it from the floor joist above and the pier below, and installing a new beam. No excavation is necessary, so this is a more affordable process than replacing a pier.
The beams in a pier and beam foundation are usually pressure-treated lumber. Although this wood resists rot, it will eventually decay from exposure to moisture. Wood-destroying insects can also pose a threat to beams and lead to replacement.
Replacing Piers
Replacing a single pier will cost an average of $3,000, but your total could fall anywhere between $2,000 and $6,000, depending on a few factors, like accessibility and the depth of the pier, which is determined by the frost line in your area.
Replacing a pier involves your foundation contractor getting under your home, jacking up the area around the pier, excavating the existing pier, and installing a new one before redistributing the load from the beam onto the new pier. The process is quite involved, and the foundation repair timeline can last several days, which means the labor costs can be high if your underhome area provides minimal space to maneuver equipment.
Pier replacement is a necessary repair when one of the piers fails, either because of soil settling, lateral shifting of the structure above, or damage caused by natural disasters like earthquakes.
Reshimming Cost
The average cost of reshimming your piers and beams is around $1,600, and most reshimming jobs total between $1,200 and $2,000.
Reshimming involves a foundation repair contractor inserting steel shims between the concrete piers and the beams or between the beams and floor joists. The goal of reshimming is to make minor adjustments to specific areas of the foundation where some settling or sinking has taken place. Your foundation repair cost will depend on how many piers need shimming, how many shims are required per pier, and how your piers are connected to your beams.
Reshimming is usually an ongoing maintenance item rather than a standalone repair because of the natural and minor settling of the home and the piers in the soil. More involved and expensive repairs will be necessary if major movement occurs.
Underpinning Cost
Underpinning a foundation costs between $1,000 and $3,000 per pier you need, with an average total project price of around $8,000 and prices usually totaling between $2,000 and $20,000.
Underpinning is the process of installing long pilings beneath the pier and beam foundation footings. The piers are designed to redistribute the weight that the footing would normally hold further down into the ground, where soil expansion, contraction, and freezing are less of a risk.
Underpinning is a common repair in areas with karst landscapes and sinkholes, but it may also be necessary after earthquakes or if your soil composition can no longer support your structure properly after a home addition.
There are a few different kinds of piers your contractor can use, depending on your soil consistency, how far down the bedrock is, and your proximity to an underground aquifer. The most popular ones are steel piers (also called push piers), helical piers, and segmented piers.
Segmented piers usually cost around $1,000 each, steel piers are around $2,000 each, and helical piers, ideal for sandy soil, cost around $3,000 each.
Waterproofing and Moisture Management
“Waterproofing” a pier and beam foundation can cost as little as $3,000 if you want to apply a water-resistant application over the underside of your foundation, but the total can climb well over $20,000 for extensive measures, like enclosing the area with a concrete block wall and installing a foundation drainage system, like a French drain or sump pump.
If you’re running into issues with indoor humidity, you might be able to get away with a simple and inexpensive sealant application. If you want to build a concrete block wall to encapsulate your underhome area, creating something more similar to a crawl space, the work will be much more involved and costly. Your contractor will need to build the block walls and install vents, and installing a sump pump or other foundation drainage system can add to your cost as well.
If you already have a concrete block perimeter wall installed, then waterproofing might just involve sealing foundation cracks and installing a drainage system, which could fall between $200 and $800 per crack and around $10,000 for a drainage system.
Home Size
The square footage of your home will usually play some role in how many of the piers or beams need repair or replacement. The larger your home, the more likely you’ll need to repair, shim, or replace multiple supports below. This is especially true since the center piers are the most likely to settle and shift due to the heavier load, and larger homes naturally have more piers in the center than around the perimeter.
Although pier and beam foundation repair cost per square foot can vary widely, you can expect an average price of between $6 and $8 per square foot. Prices per square foot can be as low as $0.50 or as high as $17.
Soil Quality
Depending on the repair method, the soil quality—sandy, loamy, or clayey—can affect your foundation repair costs.
Just as an example, installing three to five piers in clayey soil where bedrock is close to the surface and steel piers are suitable will cost between $6,000 and $10,000. Installing the same number of supports in sandy soil where helical piers are necessary to distribute loads would cost between $9,000 and $15,000.
Soil quality may not change the cost of some other pier and beam foundation repairs, like shimming, but it can increase the frequency with which you need the repairs. For example, highly expansive clay soil that increases and decreases in volume rapidly will lead to more differential settlement than loamy soil, which could mean you’d need reshimming every two or three years as opposed to every three to five years.
The Extent or Cause of the Issue
As is the case with all types of foundations, the more extensive the damage your foundation has suffered, the more expensive your repair costs will be. Pier and beam foundation repair for minor shifting and settling can total under $1,000 for reshimming while installing reinforcements for major settling and sinking can easily top $20,000.
The extent of the problem is closely related to the underlying issue. For example, soil expansion and contraction in areas with clayey soil are the most likely to require structural repairs like underpinning, so soil composition issues will often be more expensive than something like reshimming, which is more likely a suitable solution in areas with loamy soil.
Underlying moisture issues, whether they’re from excessive runoff or flooding, are probably going to be the most expensive repairs because you’ll need costly preventative measures like installing waterproofing measures. You’re also more likely to need pier and beam replacement due to rotting from moisture or damage from pest infestation.
Permits
Many types of foundation repair require building permits, which can add a few hundred dollars to your repair costs. Minor repairs like reshimming might not need permits at all, depending on where you live, but most municipalities require building permits for anything involving excavation or structural repairs, so underpinning, beam replacement, pier replacement, and installing high-end waterproofing systems like French drains will often demand permits.
Additional Services
All foundation repair contractors should address the underlying issue and not just patch the problem. In some cases, the underlying problem can be expensive to fix, like a moisture issue that might demand sealing your underhome area, totaling up to $25,000. If natural shifting and settling is the cause of the issue, you might spend $1,000 to $8,000 to install a gutter system to limit the effect of runoff on soil movement around your home.
The table below includes some pricing for additional foundation services that could help address the underlying problem or help reduce the effects those issues have on your home.
| Service | Normal Cost |
|---|---|
| Dehumidifier | $1,000–$4,000 |
| Encapsulation | $12,000–$20,000 |
| French drain | $8,000–$25,000 |
| Gutter system | $1,000–$8,000 |
| Insulation | $2,600–$5,500 |
| Soil gradation | $500–$1,000 |
| Sump pump | $1,200–$2,500 |
Accessibility
Finally, the accessibility to the damaged area of your foundation will play into your labor costs. A pier that needs replacement in the center of your home might require additional time and special equipment to get to and remove, while a pier around the perimeter of your home will naturally be more accessible and will cost less due to lower labor costs.
You may also need to consider the landscaping features around the affected area, as you could tack on hundreds or even thousands of dollars to your total if excavation around a pier under your home will interrupt a patio, deck, or some other structure.
Repair vs. Replace a Pier and Beam Foundation
It’s often difficult deciding if a pier and beam foundation needs repair or if parts need total replacement. Generally speaking, if you’re noticing signs of an uneven foundation inside your home—like an uneven or sinking floor, cabinets pulling away from walls, or large cracks forming in the drywall around wall openings—then at least a partial replacement is probably best. Similarly, noticeable insect or water damage on the wooden components under your home will likely require replacement.
You could just need minor repairs, though, if you notice sudden creaking of the floors inside or unlevel floor joists under your home during a foundation inspection.
In either case, we recommend calling in a foundation repair company near you to assess the issue, as foundation problems can sometimes be more involved than they seem on the surface.
DIY Pier and Beam Foundation Repair vs. Hiring a Pro
"Safety is key when working around foundations, crawlspaces, and basements. Always wear protective gear like gloves, masks, and goggles, and ensure proper ventilation. Minor tasks like filling small cracks and basic inspections can be DIY projects, but leave structural repairs, extensive waterproofing, and significant drainage work to the pros."
— Tim O'Shea, The Build Pros
Home foundations are complicated and under immense stress from both the structure above and the soil below, so DIY repair usually isn’t a good idea. For anything structural in nature, including shimming, replacing beams or piers, or underpinning, we not only strongly recommend hiring a pro, but your building department will likely also require that a licensed professional complete the repairs and pull the necessary permits.
For less involved fixes like installing insulation or addressing minor moisture issues, it’s possible to DIY, but we still recommend hiring an expert. Mistakes are easy to make when doing pier and beam foundation repair, and you could end up just having to pay for a professional to come in and get the job done properly anyway. We recommend hiring a pro from the start to ensure a proper and permanent repair that includes a warranty.
It’s also worth mentioning that DIY foundation repair can negatively affect your home value since buyers will almost always be more comfortable buying a home that has had foundation repairs done by a certified pro.
How to Save Money on Pier and Beam Foundation Repair
Pier and beam foundation repair costs can get expensive quickly, especially if you need a multifaceted approach to solve the issue. There are a few things you can do to help keep costs down as you get your foundation issues fixed.
Address the underlying problem. Foundation damage doesn’t just happen for no reason, and unless you find and fix the underlying issue, you’ll end up paying far more down the road for ongoing repairs. Solving drainage issues, moisture problems, or soil composition issues can be expensive up front, but it’s almost always worth it in the long run.
Call in a professional. It might be tempting to try minor foundation repairs yourself, but we strongly recommend hiring a pro. Foundation problems can be complicated to diagnose, and it’s easy to make mistakes when trying to fix them. Professionals will be able to find the root issue and implement a permanent solution that will avoid the need for ongoing repairs.
Carry out routine maintenance. Pier and beam foundations need more maintenance than many other foundation types, and keeping up with that maintenance with annual foundation inspections and routine reshimming can prevent the need for some of the more expensive repairs, like pier replacement, beam replacement, and even underpinning.
Install a gutter system. Proper soil drainage is one of the most crucial things for foundation health, and a gutter system is a simple but effective solution for good drainage. Make sure you have gutters, downspouts, and downspout extenders installed to minimize soil expansion, moisture issues, mold growth, wood rot, and pest infestation in and around your foundation.
Don’t relocate during the repair. In some cases, it might be easier to relocate during foundation repair to get away from the noises and distractions. However, in most cases, you can live in your house during foundation repair, and doing so will save you money on alternative living arrangements.
Get multiple quotes. Finally, get at least three quotes from local professionals to compare based on cost and value. This can help you avoid unnecessarily high pier and beam foundation repair costs from an overpriced contractor in your area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pier and beam foundations are great in some situations, like on sloped lots and in areas where flooding is common. However, pier and beam foundations generally don’t last as long as other foundation styles, and the wood components—the beams and the floor joists above—are exposed to the elements and will need regular maintenance and occasional replacement, whereas an entirely concrete foundation can last for many decades with little to no maintenance.
A pier and beam foundation can last for around 75 years, on average, if it’s built properly and maintained appropriately. The life expectancy can be shorter if you live in an area with highly expansive clay soil or frequent rainfall, as moisture can pose a threat to the concrete piers and wooden building materials above. Routine maintenance and annual foundation inspections are both good ways to prolong the life of your pier and beam foundation.
There are a few ways to reinforce a pier and beam foundation, including installing additional piers and beams for added support and performing underpinning, which redistributes the weight of your home further down into the ground where frost and soil expansion don’t pose a threat to the foundation. The best option for reinforcement varies based on your particular home and the soil conditions beneath it.