We get it – suspecting your home’s foundation has issues is stressful enough. On top of that is not knowing the cost of your foundation repair for your Orange County home. These factors compromise your peace of mind.
Dalinghaus Construction wants you to know the cost of foundation repair in Orange County. Spoiler Alert: foundation repair isn’t cheap. But be grateful for these spoilers. That way you know what to expect for the cost and not have it be like a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie. We need to spoil the plot twist for your sake.
Sit down as you read this article.
Dalinghaus Construction has inspected over 10,000 homes throughout Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada, repairing over 2,000. A large chunk of our work is in Orange County and other counties in Southern California. We’re able to compare the pricing in each county we work in so you can have a good idea of your expected foundation repair cost. That way you know what to expect when you receive that repair plan and proposal.
Signs and symptoms of your home needing foundation repair
Homeowners in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada will experience foundation settlement, which means an area of your home is sinking.
Before addressing the cost, you need to see if you’re noticing any signs and symptoms of needing foundation repair for your home.
You need to look for:
- Drywall cracks
- Stucco cracks
- Concrete slab cracks
- Ceiling cracks
- Tile cracks
- Chimney cracks
- Leaning chimney
- Sloping floors
- Doors and windows are hard to open and close
- Water leaks
Finding one of these signs and symptoms in your home doesn’t mean you have foundation issues. It may be an isolated problem in your home. Finding more than one of these signs means there is a higher chance of you experiencing foundation settlement problems.
To understand what exactly to look for and why you notice these signs and symptoms, you will want to check out our Ultimate Guide to Signs and Symptoms of a Home in Need of Foundation Repair.
Cost of foundation repair in Orange County
Our average foundation repair project cost is around $26,000.
Costs will be similar in any county you go to, ranging anywhere between $5,000 and $100,000, sometimes more depending on the project (usually for commercial buildings).
The cost of these projects isn’t unique to Orange County. In any county you go to in Southern California, pricing will be similar – if you can find unique differences in cost at all.
Everything is based on the extent of the repairs. If an area of your home is down one inch, it can cost between $10,000 and $30,000. A home that is down 16 inches can cost closer to $100,000.
A house settling 16 inches isn’t a common occurrence by any means. We have repaired a home like this. You could see through the cracks in the ceiling. A house has to be neglected for a long period to be damaged to that extent. This particular home was vacant for three to four years.
Make a note that the longer you wait to have your foundation repaired, your cost will increase as the damage gets worse.
Technically, we can’t guarantee the damage to your home will get worse. It’s an unknown, but our experience has shown the damage becomes worse over an extended period. What we can guarantee is your home won’t magically become better.
Foundation settlement is similar to any other county in Southern California
Many of the houses built before the 1970s had different regulations, had different understandings of soil compaction and didn’t provide high-quality soil grading to keep water away from the base of your home when it rained.
This isn’t unique to Orange County. Los Angeles County, Riverside County, Orange County, San Diego County, and many other counties have to deal with similar types of foundation settlement.
If there is one thing “unique” to cities in Orange County, it’s that many homes are located on hillsides, which can cause your home to deal with lateral movement. But this is on any hillside your home may reside on regardless of County.
Common types of foundation repair in Orange County
Dalinghaus Construction will do either push pier underpinnings, helical pier underpinnings, polyurethane injection, or a combination of all three. It depends on the severity area affected by foundation settlement, how the area of your home is affected (vertical movement and lateral movement), the material of the house (usually contributes to weight), and the quality of the soil.
Read more about our case study Repairing Mission Viejo Foundation With 19 Push Piers
Cities in Orange County Dalinghaus Construction often works in:
- Anaheim Hills
- Brea
- Costa Mesa
- Chino Hills
- Laguna Hills
- Laguna Niguel
- Mission Viejo
- San Clemente
- San Juan Capistrano
Note – We’ll work in any city in Southern California (up to the Northern portion of Bakersfield), Arizona, and Nevada. These are cities we often work at in Orange County. So if your house is in Huntington Beach, we won’t distastefully say, “ew, no. Not that one.”
The difficulty of permitting in Orange County
If you’re worried about the longevity of your repair being permitted in Orange County, the wait is way shorter compared to San Diego County or Los Angeles County. Orange county is within the 4-16 week range. Sometimes faster than that.
We’ve had some projects in San Diego delayed for a year because of the permitting process in that county. So while 4-16 weeks seems like a lot of time, be thankful your home is in a city where it won’t take a year to get a permit.
If the permitting process happens to go past week 16, don’t worry. The permitting process doesn’t affect your cost.
Types of foundations we deal with in Orange County
In older parts of Orange County like the City of Orange and Santa Ana, we’ll typically see many raised foundations. Raised foundations were cheaper back in the day. We’ve worked on tons of historical homes in these areas ranging from 100 to 120 years old!
With newer homes, and homes on hills, you’ll see more slab-on-grade. As concrete was more understood, prices became significantly cheaper.
While we experience more raised foundations in San Diego, we inspect more slab-on-grade homes in Orange County.
Now that you know the cost of foundation repair in Orange County, be sure to receive multiple bids
The price is always intimidating to learn about with foundation repair. Do you know what isn’t intimidating? Finding the right foundation company for you.
Seriously, you don’t need to go with the first foundation company you schedule an inspection with. It doesn’t even need to be Dalinghaus Construction. While we often work in Orange County, this doesn’t mean we’re the right company for you. Get multiple bids. Compare companies, their prices, and what they’re selling. That way you can find the right company for your peace of mind.
If you need a place to start, schedule a FREE foundation evaluation with Dalinghaus Construction. We can schedule a date and time to have someone come out to see if there are any issues with the foundation of your home.
And when we say free, we mean free. You won’t be spending a single cent for your inspection. All we ask for is 60-90 minutes of your time.
You can call (877) 360-9227, or click the button below to book your free evaluation today!
You can also take the next step to learn about the average foundation repair timing with our article What is the Average Foundation Repair Time?
