What foundation repair costs in San Antonio in 2026
Foundation repair in the US averages $5,179, and most jobs cost between $2,224 and $8,134, according to This Old House's cost guide, updated on 8 October 2026. Nobody publishes a dataset of San Antonio prices, so treat national ranges as a starting point and local quotes as the real number. This guide shows what each type of repair typically costs, what makes San Antonio jobs different, and how to compare the quotes you get.
Cost by type of repair
These are national ranges from the same This Old House guide. Your quote depends on how much of the house has moved and how deep the piers have to go.
| Repair | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Crack filling | $250 to $800 |
| Mudjacking or slab jacking | $550 to $1,300 |
| Piering or underpinning | $1,000 to $3,000 per pier |
| Sealing and waterproofing | $2,300 to $7,300 |
| Reinforcement and stabilization | $4,000 to $12,000 |
| Lifting and leveling | $20,000 to $23,000 |
| Structural engineer report | $500 to $1,000 |
| Soil report | $500 to $3,000 |
Piers are most of the bill
Most slab repairs in San Antonio involve driving piers down through the clay to firmer ground and lifting the slab back toward level. At $1,000 to $3,000 a pier, the number of piers matters more than anything else on the quote. A repair that needs eight piers along one side of the house costs very differently from one that needs twenty around the whole perimeter, plus interior piers under the middle of the slab.
That is why two quotes for the same house can be thousands of dollars apart. The companies may simply disagree about how much of the house is moving. Ask every company to mark its pier locations on a drawing of your house so you can see where they differ.
This video shows pressed concrete piers being installed under a slab, a method many Texas companies use.
Costs San Antonio adds to every job
The City of San Antonio requires a permit for foundation repair, and the rules in its Information Bulletin 172 add some costs that national guides leave out:
- The repair must be designed by, or done under the guidance of, a professional engineer licensed in Texas. That engineer also inspects the work.
- An "Assumption of Engineer of Record" letter, signed and sealed by that engineer, has to be uploaded with the permit application.
- The permit inspection is cleared by an Engineer's Inspection Letter from the same engineer once the work is done.
- The city charges a double permit fee if work starts before the permit is issued.
For homes, the permit can be pulled by the property owner or by a City-licensed residential building contractor. The city's bulletin notes that the applicant is typically the foundation repair contractor, so ask whether the permit and the engineer's fees are inside the price or billed separately. If an engineer's report is a separate line, This Old House puts it at $500 to $1,000.
Crack repair on its own
Filling a crack is cheap, at $250 to $800. It only makes sense when the crack is the whole problem. If doors are sticking, floors slope or the crack keeps widening, the crack is a symptom of movement underneath and filling it will not stop it. Our guide to signs of foundation problems covers which cracks deserve a closer look.
How to compare quotes
- Pier count and a drawing showing where each pier goes.
- Pier type: pressed concrete, steel or helical, and the depth the company expects to reach.
- The floor elevation readings the plan is based on.
- Whether the permit, the engineer's letters and a plumbing leak test before and after the lift are included.
- Warranty length, whether it transfers to the next owner, and any transfer fee.
- What is excluded, such as landscaping, flatwork, sheetrock and paint.
Getting quotes? Compare the ten most-reviewed foundation repair companies in San Antonio and send an enquiry to the ones you want to hear from.
See the top 10 companiesCommon questions
How much does foundation repair cost in San Antonio?
No public dataset covers San Antonio prices. Nationally, foundation repair averages $5,179 and most jobs cost $2,224 to $8,134 (This Old House, October 2026). Pier count drives most of the price, so get two or three local quotes.
Do I need a permit for foundation repair in San Antonio?
Yes. The City of San Antonio requires a foundation repair permit, an engineer of record licensed in Texas, and an Engineer's Inspection Letter to clear the inspection. Starting work without a permit means a double permit fee.
Why are my foundation repair quotes so different?
Usually because the companies disagree about how many piers the house needs and where. Ask each one to show its pier locations on a drawing of your house.
Sources
- This Old House, foundation repair cost guide (updated 8 October 2026)
- City of San Antonio, Information Bulletin 172: Residential and Commercial Foundation Repair Permits (revised 7 April 2025)
Checked 2026-10-14.