Structural repair comparisons

Mudjacking or slab jacking vs piering. Slab jacking fills voids under a slab and raises it. It is fast and cheap, and it is the right answer when the slab settled into a void but the soil below is now stable. It is the wrong answer when deep soil is still moving, because the slab will sink again. Piering bypasses the unstable soil entirely by carrying load to a deeper bearing layer. The price gap between them, per Fixr, is roughly $500-$1,900 versus $10,000-$40,000, which is why the diagnosis matters more than the discount.

Carbon fiber strips vs steel beams vs tiebacks for a bowing wall. Carbon fiber bonds to the wall face and resists further inward movement; Fixr puts a job at $4,000-$12,000, and This Old House prices reinforcement around $4,000-$12,000 for twelve strips. Tiebacks or anchors ($5,000-$15,000, Fixr) run out into the yard soil and can, in some cases, pull a wall back. Steel I-beams brace against the joists. The deciding factors are how far the wall has already moved, whether the yard can be excavated, and the engineer's judgment.

Stabilize vs lift. This is the comparison most homeowners miss. Stabilizing stops further movement and leaves existing cracks and slopes as they are. Lifting attempts to return the structure toward level, which costs more, carries more risk of cosmetic damage during the lift, and is not always advisable in an older house. Ask each bidder which one they are proposing, in writing.

Repair vs drainage-first. Sometimes the honest recommendation is to fix grading and gutters, then monitor for a season. Not every company will offer that, because it doesn't sell piers.

How to choose

Compare scopes, not headline prices

A $6,000 bid and a $22,000 bid usually describe different work. Line them up on method, count, depth and outcome.

Ask what happens if it moves again

Pier systems are often sold with adjustability. Whether adjustment is covered, and for how long, is a real differentiator between bids.

Cheapest method that solves the actual cause wins

Not the cheapest method overall. Mudjacking a slab over still-moving soil is money burned.

Check who signs off

Ask whether the completed work will be inspected and signed by an engineer. That signature is what a future buyer's inspector will want to see.