The short answer
There’s no single San Antonio price. Contractor ranges published for the city include $300–$30,000+ (Ram Jack), $5,000–$7,000 (G.L. Hunt) and $7,000–$15,000 (StoneHouse, in a 2023 article). Neighboring numbers from price guides are lower: HomeAdvisor puts the national average at $5,166, Angi at $5,174, and This Old House gives a typical range of $2,224–$8,134. Another San Antonio contractor, Risen Foundations, refuses to give a figure at all, saying the price depends on how many piers the slab needs.
None of these companies cites a source, and each describes its own mix of jobs. They’re best read as the edges of a field, not a price.
Line by line: what a San Antonio quote can include
A good written plan splits the total into items. Published ranges for each, from national guides unless noted:
| Line | Published figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation inspection or elevation survey | $300–$750 | Often rolled into the repair price if you hire that contractor |
| Independent engineer’s evaluation | $300–$1,000 | The City of San Antonio also needs an engineer of record for the repair itself |
| Concrete pressed piers | $1,000 per pier | Angi’s figure |
| Steel piers | $2,000 per pier | Angi’s figure |
| Drilled piers (contractor price list) | $765–$1,100 per pier | Olshan, a contractor |
| Helical piers | $2,000–$4,000 per pier | Used less often on slabs |
| Building permit | $75–$150 | This Old House; San Antonio sets its own fee schedule |
| Drainage system | $2,800–$6,500 | Only if the plan calls for it |
| Slab leak repair | $2,500 | If a plumbing test finds a leak |
Not every quote has every line. A quote with fewer lines isn’t cheaper; it may just hide them.
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Why advertised pier prices are so far apart
Ram Jack’s San Antonio page prints $1,500–$3,000 per pier for steel pressed pilings, and national guides print $1,000–$3,000 per pier. Olshan’s drilled piers are listed at $765–$1,100 per pier. Several things sit behind the gap:
- Pier type. Pressed concrete, steel pressed, drilled and helical piers hold a house up differently. The Foundation Performance Association explains that pressed piles are held up by skin friction along the side of the pile, while a drilled pier relies on the bottom of the pier.
- Depth. In San Antonio the depth swings with the ground. A house on the east-side clay needs piers through the active layer. On the limestone side the rock can be shallow; a pier that meets it early is cheaper but needs a firm check that it is bearing on rock.
- Access. Tunnels under a slab, gates, pools and flatwork all add labor.
- What’s rolled in. Some prices include the engineer, the permit and the plumbing test. Others show only the piers.
A very low per-pier price deserves a question about depth. The Attorney General’s office warns about the low-ball bidder, and the Foundation Performance Association notes that shallow piling can continue to settle as soil moisture changes.
How many piers you’ll need
Angi says contractors use about 10 piers on a typical job. Olshan says most slab foundation jobs require 5–15 piers. The number depends on how far the slab has dropped and where, not on square footage alone. Ask for:
- The elevation readings that show where the low areas are.
- A drawing with each pier marked and numbered.
- The reason each pier is there.
Two contractors can look at the same readings and propose different counts. Neither is automatically wrong, but a difference of several piers is worth asking about.
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Slab and pier and beam houses cost differently
A San Antonio slab repair is mostly piers plus a lift. A pier and beam house is mostly carpentry: re-shimming, added piers, replaced beams. HomeGuide puts pier and beam repair at $1,500–$15,000, with Angi’s average at $10,000. Re-shimming alone averages $1,600 by Angi’s count. The pier and beam page goes through those jobs.
Insurance and paying for it
Most policies don’t pay for settling. The Texas Department of Insurance lists earth movement among the usual exclusions, and the main exception is damage from a sudden plumbing leak. The insurance guide explains how.
On payment, the Texas Attorney General’s answer is to pay not until the work is complete and you have inspected it. The Texas Department of Insurance warns against a large or full down payment.
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How to compare two quotes
- Put them in a table: pier count, type, depth, who provides the engineer, who pulls the permit, plumbing test, drainage, warranty terms.
- Check that the engineer is named. In San Antonio the permit needs an engineer of record, and the final paperwork comes only from that engineer.
- Ask what’s excluded: interior cracks, flatwork, landscaping, sprinkler lines.
- Get more than one bid, in writing. The Texas Department of Insurance suggests at least three bids.
- Don’t sign anything with blanks.
Where these figures come from
Every number on this page links to its source below. Contractor figures are what the companies say about themselves, and they were not verified. Cost guides (HomeAdvisor, Angi, Fixr, HomeGuide, This Old House) are national or state averages; none of them breaks out San Antonio.