Foundation repair research and data

The scale figure is the one most homeowners have never heard. Geology.com, citing ASCE, notes that a quarter of US homes have some expansive-soil damage and that these soils cause greater annual financial loss than the headline natural disasters combined. Crucially, it also explains why nobody knows this: the damage is slow, cannot be attributed to a single event, and gets blamed on construction quality or age instead.

That has a direct implication for you. "Some damage" is not the same as "needs $25,000 of piers." A statistic that a quarter of homes are affected is often deployed as a sales argument. It is better read as a reason to manage soil moisture and to keep records, not as evidence that your particular house needs structural work.

On costs, two independent 2026 sources: HomeCostLab gives crack sealing $250–$800, slabjacking $500–$1,500, foam injection $1,000–$3,000, steel push piers $1,000–$3,000 per pier, helical piers $1,500–$3,500 per pier, wall anchors $500–$1,000 each, carbon fiber strips $300–$700 each, and full replacement $20,000–$100,000+. Today's Homeowner gives steel push piers $1,500–$2,500, concrete piers $2,000–$3,000, helical piers $2,500–$3,500, segmented piers $1,000–$1,500, and a whole-job range of $7,000–$30,000.

Diagnosis costs: a structural engineer's foundation inspection runs $400 to $1,500, with hourly rates of roughly $70 to $250, per Today's Homeowner. Set against those repair figures, that is the cheapest risk reduction available.

How to choose

Check whether a statistic is being used as a sales tool

"A quarter of homes have damage" is true and says nothing about your house.

Prefer ranges from two independent sources

Where HomeCostLab and Today's Homeowner overlap, the number is more trustworthy than either alone.

National averages hide the method split

A $4,500 average mixes $300 crack repairs with $30,000 piering. Price your method, not the average.

Local soil beats national data

Your state geological survey or a local geotechnical engineer knows your soils. National statistics do not.