Guide
What affects foundation repair cost in Boston
No honest figure can be given before someone has seen the house. What can be explained is why prices differ so much, so that a written proposal makes sense when you get one.
The six big factors
What a price is made of
Extent
How much of the house is affected
One settled corner needs a few supports. A whole side, or a center beam the length of the building, needs many. The count of piers, braces or posts is the first line of most proposals.
Depth
How far down firm ground is
Piers are priced partly by length. On a glacial hill, bearing soil may be close. On filled land it can lie under fill, peat and soft clay. The company finds out for certain only when the first pier goes in.
Access
How crews and machines get in
A detached house with a driveway is simple. A row house with no side yard, or a triple-decker with four feet between it and the next, may mean hand digging and carrying everything through the basement.
Wall type
What the foundation is made of
Brackets fasten readily to poured concrete. Rubble stone and old brick may have to be rebuilt or cased in concrete where each support attaches.
Paperwork
Engineering and permits
Structural work in Boston goes through a long form permit with stamped plans. The engineer's time and the permit fee are part of the job. See the permit guide.
Afterwards
Putting things back
Plumbing that crosses the work, plaster that cracks during a lift, a finished basement wall that had to be opened, the walk and planting outside. Ask which of these the price includes.
A special case
Houses on wood piles
Replacing rotted pile tops under a row house is a different scale of work from fitting a few steel piers. The Boston Groundwater Trust describes it as done by hand from pits under the building, taking months. It is the largest foundation expense a Boston owner is likely to meet, and it calls for an engineer and a contractor who have done it before.
If you are buying in Back Bay, the South End, Fenway or another filled district, find out the state of the piles before you commit. The guide for buyers and sellers covers how.
Comparing proposals
How to read two bids side by side
Check they solve the same problem
If one company proposes six piers on the rear wall and another proposes a new center beam, they disagree about the cause. Ask each why, or pay an independent engineer to settle it.
Find the unit prices
Look for the price per pier, the depth included in it and the charge for each extra foot. That clause decides the final bill more than the headline number.
List what is left out
Permit, engineering, plumbing, refinishing, landscaping and disposal are each sometimes included and sometimes not.
Look at the payment schedule
Massachusetts says a home improvement contractor may not collect more than a third of the contract price in advance, unless special-order materials are needed. The state's homeowner page sets this out.
Questions about price
Why won't a company give me a price over the phone?
Because the things that decide it cannot be seen from a description: what the wall is made of, how far it has moved, how deep the supports must go and how the crew will reach it. A figure given without a visit is a guess.
Is there a charge for the inspection?
Companies differ, and some charge for a visit or for a written report. Ask when you speak with the company, before anyone comes out.
Will homeowner's insurance pay for foundation repair?
Many homeowner policies exclude settling, earth movement and gradual wear. Read your own policy or ask your agent what it says. This site does not deal with insurance and cannot tell you what a policy covers.
Foundation repair in Boston
Have a Boston foundation company take a look
Give the street, the kind of building and what has changed. The company settles a day to visit, and afterwards you receive its written account of the cause and what it would charge.
Ready to have it looked at?
Phone and say what you have seen. The firm on the other end is a Boston-area foundation repair company, independent of this website, and it can book a visit to your home.
Call (617) 555-0111You speak with an independent company, not with this website. See the referral disclosure.