Thin, stable foundation cracks are mostly cosmetic. Wide, widening or stair-stepped cracks, and floors that tilt, are for a structural engineer. Our trade is placing and repairing concrete. We are not engineers, and in the serious cases below an engineer should be your first call, especially in a city crossed by two major faults.
The dollar ranges here are national figures that HomeGuide published for 2026. They are not quotes from us. Inland Empire labor rates, ready-mix prices and what we find on your lot push a real price higher or lower. Last checked October 2026.
Are the cracks in my foundation serious or cosmetic?
A narrow vertical crack that does not change is normally cosmetic shrinkage. Signs that it may be serious: wider than roughly a quarter inch, tapering, offset from one face to the other, stepped through block or brick, or accompanied by jammed doors and sloping floors. Pencil a mark and date at each end and look again in three months and after any noticeable earthquake. If it lengthens or widens, bring in a structural engineer who has nothing to sell.
How much does foundation repair cost?
National published figures: $250 to $800 for minor crack repairs, $2,000 to $12,000 to fix foundation leaks, and $4,500 to $20,000 for settling, sinking or bowed walls. These are very different repairs, which is why the ranges are so wide.
My front steps are pulling away from the house. Is it the foundation?
Most often it is not. Steps pulling away from the house are usually an independent block resting on backfill that has compacted or washed out. A wedge-shaped gap appears at the top and the steps lean outward. With a straight, crack-free wall behind them, the fault is in the steps. Sound steps can be raised; broken ones are rebuilt on a proper footing. No published figure exists for steps, so we price after seeing them.
One side of my garage floor has dropped. Leveling job or foundation problem?
Check the walls first. A garage floor is commonly its own slab, placed inside the foundation after the walls went up. When the floor has dropped or sunk while the walls and door opening remain square and uncracked, the fill under the slab has settled, and lifting or replacing the slab is the remedy. Cracked walls, a racked door frame, or a floor that is part of the house slab call for an engineer before any material is pumped.
My retaining wall is leaning after heavy rain. Will it fail?
Treat a retaining wall found leaning after a storm as urgent. Saturated soil weighs far more, and with blocked or absent drainage that weight pushes on the wall. Keep people, pets and vehicles clear of the downhill side and open any weep holes. A short garden wall with a slight lean can often be rebuilt with gravel backfill and a drain. Tall walls, cracked walls and walls carrying a driveway, slope or structure go to an engineer, and on hillside lots the building department may need to be told.
I was quoted $18,000 for piers and $1,500 to seal the crack. Which is correct?
Each solves a separate problem. Sealing for $1,500 keeps water from entering. Piers for $18,000 stop a foundation from moving. They differ by $16,500 and your house needs only one. A stable crack makes piers a waste. A settling foundation makes sealant pointless. Both bidders sell their own cure, so buy an independent structural engineer's written opinion before choosing; the fee is minor beside either quote. Basements are uncommon in San Bernardino, so locally this is normally a slab or stem-wall crack.
My basement or slab floor leaks or has white powder on it. What is that?
That white powder is efflorescence, mineral salts carried to the surface by moisture and left when it dries. It sweeps off and does no harm, but it proves water is passing through. For a slab floor, look for a plumbing leak under the slab, planters and irrigation against the wall, and roof drains that empty at the footing. The few basements here get the same checklist. Stop the water outside. Interior paints and sealers will not hold it back.
Does insurance cover a retaining wall, slab or foundation?
Often no; it depends on the cause and the policy wording. Home insurance policies routinely exclude earth movement, settlement, wear and defective construction. Earthquake and flood are not in a standard policy and are bought separately, which is worth knowing in this valley. A sudden covered event, say a car striking a wall, is treated differently. Read the policy and phone your agent before filing. We can supply a written repair estimate for a claim.
Does a foundation or building slab need a permit in San Bernardino?
Yes. Footings, foundations and slabs that carry a house, addition, garage or carport are structural and pass through Building and Safety with plans and inspections, including a steel inspection before concrete is placed. Footing size, depth and reinforcing come from the California code and the plans, with seismic requirements built in. Frost depth, the governing factor in cold states, is not what controls design on the valley floor.
When you know the cause and need the concrete repaired, call (909) 306-5897 for a free on-site estimate and written quote.