Short answer: depending on whose list you read, one pier around Austin and Round Rock is priced anywhere from $350 to $4,000. The number of piers moves the total most, followed by the pier type and what the quote leaves in or out: the engineer's plan, the city permit, the plumbing test. Compare quotes line by line, not by the bottom number.
Key facts
- One Texas company's 2026 Austin cost guide lists $350 to $700 per pier by type. Another company with a Round Rock office lists about $1,000 to $3,000.
- The City of Round Rock's foundation repair permit costs $125. One cost guide budgets $150 to $500 for a permit.
- Round Rock and Georgetown both require an engineer's stamped plan. One guide puts an engineering report at $500 to $1,500.
- A Texas guideline for precast piles spaces outside piles no more than 8 feet apart on a one-story house, and closer on two-story brick.
What Published Prices Say
We read the price pages of three companies that work around Austin and Round Rock. We describe them rather than name them, and we left out national averages, which say little about this area.
A Texas repair company's 2026 Austin cost guide prices each pier by type:
- Pressed concrete pilings: $350 to $500 each, 8 to 15 of them on average, for a total of $4,000 to $8,000
- Steel pressed pilings: $400 to $650 each, with whole jobs at $5,000 to $10,000
- Helical piers: $450 to $700 each, 6 to 12 on average, for $4,500 to $9,000
It lists extras separately. An engineering report is $500 to $1,500, soil analysis $300 to $800 and an inspection after the repair $200 to $500. A building permit is budgeted at $150 to $500.
A Texas company with a Round Rock office says most Austin homeowners pay about $3,500 to $12,000. Its list puts a pier at about $1,000 to $3,000. Mudjacking is $1,000 to $3,000, and minor crack repair $500 to $1,500. Major structural work runs $10,000 to $40,000 or more.
A national franchise's price list, as its Austin page shows in search results, gives $1,500 to $3,000 per steel pressed piling and $2,000 to $4,000 per pier for another method.
Why the Same Pier Gets Such Different Prices
Put those lists side by side and the same unit, one pier, runs from $350 to $4,000. The top of that range is more than ten times the bottom. A few things explain most of it.
What "a pier" includes. One list prices the piling itself and lists the engineer, the permit and the after-inspection separately. Another gives one per-pier figure without saying what's inside it. Before you compare, find out what each price covers.
The pier type. Pressed concrete, steel and helical piers are built and installed differently, and even one company prices them differently.
How deep each one goes. The Foundation Performance Association, a Houston group, publishes a precast pile guideline written for southeast Texas. It says the final depth "will vary from Pile to Pile." Pressed piles go down under the weight of the house until they stop sinking. Steel piles go until they meet the needed resistance or reach rock. Where limestone sits close below, rock may be in reach. Under Houston Black clay, the soil survey shows no rock in the top 80 inches.
Where the piers go. Piers under the outside beam are dug from the yard. Piers inside the house mean breaking through the floor, and the association's guideline lists "concrete breakouts" as their own item in a repair contract.
How Many Piers: The Number That Moves the Total
The pier count drives the price more than anything else, and only a floor survey and a plan can give it. The association's precast pile guideline shows one way to work it out when no engineer sets the layout:
- Outside piles no more than 8 feet apart on a one-story wood or brick house
- No more than 7 feet apart on a story and a half, or on two stories with brick on the first floor only
- No more than 6 feet apart on two-story brick
- A pile at every corner where a wall changes direction
- One near the middle of any room 12 feet or more across
Here's what that means on one 40-foot wall. At 8 feet apart, that's five gaps and six piles. At 6 feet apart, it's seven gaps and eight piles.
At $350 a pier, six piles cost $2,100, eight cost $2,800. At $3,000 a pier, six cost $18,000, eight cost $24,000. These are worked examples, not quotes, and the guideline also allows an engineer to set a different plan.
The Line Items Round Rock Adds
Some costs depend on the city, not the company, so they belong in every quote you compare.
The permit. Round Rock charges $125 for a foundation repair permit. The city's own monthly reports show it. In January 2025, homeowners applied for 19 of these permits, and the fees came to $2,375. Georgetown's published fee is $50 plus a $10 technology fee. If a quote budgets $150 to $500 for a permit, as one guide does, ask what it's for.
The engineer's plan. Round Rock wants a letter naming the engineer of record and an engineered plan with the engineer's seal before it issues the permit. It also wants a final engineered report before the final inspection. Georgetown wants plans stamped by an engineer and the engineer's report on site at inspection. One guide puts an engineering report at $500 to $1,500. Ask whether that's inside the quote or on top of it.
The plumbing test. If the work lifts the house, the Texas engineering guidelines call for a leak test of the water supply and drain lines. The association's pile guideline makes it a written report from the contractor. Ask who pays for it, and who fixes a leak if the test finds one.
Our permits guide covers each town's rules, and our guide on calling an engineer or a repair company first explains the engineer's part.
What a Clear Quote Shows
The same pile guideline lists what a repair contract should include, and it makes a good checklist for any quote:
- The number of piles, and how many are inside and outside the house
- The type of pile
- Concrete breakouts for interior piles
- The price, and how payment is tied to the work
- The warranty terms
After the work, the same guideline says the contractor should provide, on request, a record of how deep each pile went. It also calls for a final floor survey and a written report of the plumbing leak test. When a quote spells out every one of these, you can set it beside another and see the difference.
What Warranties Usually Leave Out
That guideline is frank about warranties. A contractor's warranty typically doesn't cover finishes such as drywall, brick and plants. Upward movement, when wet clay heaves, isn't usually covered either unless the contract says so. The warranty period is whatever the contract sets.
So read the warranty with the quote. Two bids at the same price can be worth quite different amounts once you see what each one stands behind.
Cheaper Options and Their Limits
Not every problem needs piers. Minor crack repair is the lowest line on one company's list, at $500 to $1,500. Mudjacking, pumping grout under a slab to lift it, is listed at $1,000 to $3,000. A second association paper, by repair contractors and consultants, calls mudjacking a shallow repair: if the soil's moisture changes, the slab can move again. On the deep clay east of Round Rock, that's worth weighing before choosing it to save money.
Questions About Foundation Repair Cost
Why did two companies quote such different prices?
They may be quoting different things: a different number of piers, a different pier type, or a different list of extras. Ask each one for the pier count and layout, and what's included.
Is a free inspection really free?
The inspection we arrange is free, with no obligation. An engineer you hire yourself usually charges, and one guide puts an engineering report at $500 to $1,500.
Does homeowners insurance pay for foundation repair?
We haven't read a source that answers this for Texas policies, so we won't guess. Your policy, and a call to your insurer, are the places to look.
Get a Free Foundation Inspection
A fair price starts with a measured floor. Tell us what you've noticed and the town or ZIP code of the house, and a local foundation repair professional can come out to measure and explain what the work would involve. Comparing their quote with others is always fine.