Published August 8, 2021 | By Foundation Repair Expert Arizona - James Belville

How Much Does Foundation Repair Typically Cost?

How much does Foundation repair typically cost for residential home foundations? Depending on its size and shape, foundation repair can cost between $1500 and $30,000- depending on the type of damage and severity. Average cost of $3,700 is the lower mid range cost. Most simple home foundation repairs are done easily and are not structural repairs. More about foundation repair.

Spalling Repair Cost

Most of the time the paint is peeling off causing spalling of the exterior vertical wall. This type of damage is a very prevalent in the cities around Arizona in the desert region Phoenix Arizona. Typically the damage starts at the beginning. The home is built and lastly the home is painted. The paint is painted down to the top of the dirt grade. Because of the fact that homes in this region are never waterproof. This fact is the reason why these foundation types such as, monolithic foundations, stem wall foundation, and post tension slab on grade foundations in this region are damaged. Overtime repair companies have been fixing, repairing, and even replacing foundations from this type of spalling damage. Spalling damage can easily be repaired and one of the least costly foundation repair methods. This type of repair generally cost from $28 to $48 a running linear foot, depending on waterproofing correctly and painting the exterior walls. More about stem wall repair.

Stem Wall Repair Cost of Oxidized Steel Rebar Repair

Oxidized rebar expansion. This type of horizontal expansion of the reinforcement steel breaks out the side of the stem wall and post tension foundation types also. The main difference between the two is, stem wall Foundation types go deeper into the ground. Post tension foundation types are usually only 12in to 14in tall and allow moisture to go in underneath the slab oxidizing the reinforcement steel. This oxidation of the reinforcement steel is breaking out the sides of load-bearing walls around the perimeter of these homes. Stem wall Foundation types because they are deeper, do not allow moisture to go underneath them and is unlikely to occur. However, because the paint is only painted down to the top of the dirt grade. The moisture goes directly into the vertical wall, oxidizing the reinforcement steel. There is no protection from this moisture and oxygen getting to the reinforcement steel causing oxidation process. This oxidation process causes a low voltage electrical current to charge the interior reinforcement steel. Thus causing the expansion in horizontal crack that is very typical in prominent arid climates of Arizona. This type of foundation repair, done correctly, remove the affected cancerous rebar that exists, and replace with same diameter reinforcement bar coated with rust inhibitor epoxy. Most professionals will agree, to sandblast steel clean. The problem with this repair method is, you cannot remove the rust on the far side of the steel without removing it. If not removed this cancer is expansion oxidation of the reinforcement steel will continue and come back later in time. Oxidized rebar crack repair, waterproofed, and painted cost run from $48 to $100 a running linear foot.

Post Tension Foundation Repair Cost

Post tension foundation repair cost can be from $500 to $40,000+ depending on the type of damage. Most of which we see here in the desert climate of Arizona region, is oxidation of the reinforcement steel. Because of the fact that these foundation slabs are considered floating slabs, meaning they float on top of the ground because of the expansive soil problems that were discovered. This type of post tension foundation is very susceptible to oxidation of the re-enforcement hairpins on the interior walls around the perimeter footing. This perimeter footing wall is not only shallow but allows moisture to readily infiltrate underneath to the steel. Water vapor transmission then wants to reach equilibrium evaporating upwards with the oxygen. This process starts the oxidation process. The half moon wedges, that hold the cable tension to 27000 to 30,000 psi. these wedges are also made of steel and corrode, releasing the tension on the cable or cables. This causes subsidence, or sudden settlement, and other detrimental damage, including structural problems. I don’t agree with post-tension slab construction, because of the effect that it allows moisture directly underneath, causing these types of damage to happen. To correctly repair this type of damage, once the cables have been released. the cable is then removed pushed through buy the new cable. The new cable is then tightened after the interior reinforcement hairpin has been removed and replaced. The structural patch secures the bracket and hairpin . After proper curing of this patch material, tension can be reapplied to the cables. This type of damage, meaning the release of the cables, is sudden, and may be covered underneath homeowners insurance coverage and policies. Please refer to your home insurance policy.

Monolithic Foundation Repair Cost

Monolithic foundations are usually older homes in older neighborhoods. The homes foundations are constructed monolithically because they are much stronger and hold up to the elements better than any other type of foundation structures. The footprint signature of the bottom of these foundations are usually 16 in width and 16 in wide by 24 in tall. Sustainability of these types of foundations monolithic, Is also reinforced with steel throughout. not only in the perimeter footing running continuously, but also have returned bars into the interior floor slab approximately 4 foot spacing. Because of the footprint is so wide settlement of these homes becomes less likely over the years. because of the homes age, the roads are built up around them over the years, the grass gets mowed and cut, the wind blows more dirt, and over time the elevation around these homes become negative. Now the holding of the moisture from the rain water coming off of the roof and landscaping hold near these homes in this type of situation. Burms have been used to remediate this moisture from affecting the foundation stability from subsidence, and settlement issues. Subsidence issues will cause interior floor crack heave foundation heave, doors not to close correctly, cracks in the ceiling, drywall, and window cracking. interior floors and structural damage. This type of floor heaving can be ground down and structurally crack stitched and a floor leveling underlayment can be installed to level uneven floors. The other repair method, is push piers, helical piering, and polyurethane slab jacking. Push piers can be very expensive and drive up the foundation repair cost dramatically. This type of foundation repair cost can cost you out of pocket from 2000 to $2,500 per pier. Depending on the number of peers that is needed you can easily see how the foundation repair cost increase. More information about foundation heave.

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Reviews

We are very pleased with James and his guys. We had three companies come out to look at our foundation problem. James explained exactly what was happening and how to fix it. He was the only person who wanted to actually stop the problem from getting worse and fix it properly. The others companies wanted to do a band aid. This was a case of, you get what you pay for. We wanted it done right and not have to revisit the problem in a couple years and waste money. The guys who did the job were awesome. Hard working and we’re done a day early. Polite and informative. Thanks for giving us confidence.

James saved me close to $8k, identified the root cause of the problem, and we were able to save a large tree.

One of my rental units had buckling of tiles. For the past few months, we’ve had professionals come out and even an insurance agent. Each foundation expert gave us a different advice and we were left confused. From injecting polyurethane around the house to injection slurry at the affected site. Each recommendation costed between $4-$8k. I met with James, very professional. He took a look at the property and within 5 minutes diagnosed the problem and it wasn’t even foundation related! When he told me if was humidity and vapors causing the buckling of the tiles, I kinda thought…this guy believes in voodoo magic. Well, we broke out one the tiles to look underneath and low and behold, the foundation was flat underneath and that the tiles really did pull up. So the fix? Pull out the tiles, re-grout, and set them back in place with grout that allows for expansion such as siliconized grout. Isn’t that crazy?? I also speculated that a large exterior tree may have been the culprit of the ground moving. We went outside looked around and he basically said the tree is fine and does not need to be removed. I gave James a great big hug for really helping us with this situation.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Lesson learned: For something as big as a foundation issue, make sure to get several opinions.

James was outstanding! He spent time educating me on the needed repairs and going over what it was going to take to fix my foundation problem. He is very professional and interested in actually helping his clients. He has videos to support his over 30 years of experience and knows how to do the job right. Thanks for your services!!

I highly recommend James and his crew for any concrete job!!! He and his workers are highly skilled, extremely thorough, knowledgeable and polite. I had a stem wall repair job that I’d been putting off for far too long. I sought other bids but James’ was more detailed (by far), priced competitively and provided by James himself—He gave me a complete rundown of the process and the products he would use as well as the time frame and the warranty he would provide. I accepted his bid on the spot and scheduled the work for the following week. The job was completed in the time frame discussed and the results were far beyond my expectations. The house, courtyard, landscaping, sidewalk, yard and street were left cleaner than they found it. They even polished my stained concrete courtyard which was in no way a part of the job!!!! They went above and beyond and I am so grateful for that. Call James if you want the best team for your job!!!

Mick

James came out to my home and was able to pretty quickly identify my problem. He did a full foundation inspection, inside and outside. He was able to identify and show me where these area are and explain each of them, why they matter and what else could stem from them. He was able to provide me with a step by step plan of what I need to do as well as giving me a referral. His solution was not to fix what was cosmetically wrong but rather identify the problem and fix the problem. Once that has been completed we can move forward with a much lower cost option (not using piers or pillars) that is just as effective. I feel empowered and very knowledgeable about our foundation problems. He didn’t try to sell me anything or offer me a buy now gimmick for a discount (As one well known company in the valley does. You feel so pressured to make a very big decision when this happens) . He let me know at the very end how his services could help and when the time to help would be (after we have identified the problem and fixed it). He was very friendly. Family own and ran company. He’s third generation and 35+ years. He not only has expertise in AZ foundation issues but is from Nebraska and has a very well rounded knowledge of Soil and foundation problems. Thank you so much James for getting us started and saving us a ridiculous amount of money!

Libby

Although I cannot speak to the company Concrete Repairman’s actual work, we found James a walking encyclopedia of information concerning many home issues. Our experience was pleasant and professional.

Sylvia

Great company! We were worried we had a foundation problem so we called for an evaluation. They couldn’t find anything wrong but taught us a ton about signs to watch for and didn’t charge us a dime. If I ever DO have a foundation problem I know exactly who to call. Awesome!

Thia

Had the foundation repair completed in March. Later, I noticed a small low line (depression) close to the foundation. Once I notified the company of this, they quickly responded, not only fixing the problem to perfection, but also did a little grading repair to an area that was outside their responsibility. Later it was brought to my attention that the grading problem may have existed before the foundation work was done. Their workmanship is far beyond expectation. I appreciate their quick response and willingness to do more than was asked.

Tomlin

James, Concrete Repairman LLC surely saved the day for us and our home. It became aware that a large crack had formed due to gutter rain being misdirected toward the home. James was amazing in his precise knowledge of how to fix the floor that had heaved several inches across the living room. It was a massive undertaking to us and James was very reassuring that with his leveling and stitching the floor would be better than new. Well, he is amazing. We were so impressed. The crew worked hard and diligently, there were No schedule changes, every day they were on time, the job was done with the utmost professionalism. Communication before and during project was beyond our expectations. I’ve read other reviews and they are so wrong. This is an amazing company with skilled workers who care about the customer.

Christine