How many piers does a foundation repair need?

It depends on the length needing support and the spacing an engineer sets from soil, load, depth and measured movement. On 60 ft, spacing alone moves the count from 7 to 13. We will not estimate yours, because a count without those inputs is a guess you cannot defend.

Two quotes gave me very different pier counts. Who is wrong?

Possibly neither. Across 5 ft to 10 ft spacing, the same 60 ft takes 7 to 13 piers, an 86% swing. Before treating the difference as a disagreement about your house, ask both firms what spacing they used and why. That often explains the gap.

What determines foundation pier spacing?

Soil bearing capacity, the load at that point, the depth to competent bearing, and the pattern of movement measured. Those are site-specific engineering inputs, so “our standard spacing” is a company policy, not an answer.

Why does pier depth matter more than count?

Because depth is where the price stops being fixed. Piers are commonly quoted per pier plus a rate per extra foot beyond an assumed depth. A firm count with an open depth is not a firm quote. See the foundation cost calculator .

What should a proper pier plan look like?

A drawing with positions and reasoning, not a number with a total. It should reference the movement measured and the elevations it was measured against. A count on a sales proposal gives a second bid nothing to compare against.

Are interior piers ever necessary?

Sometimes. Interior piers mean breaking the slab and working inside the house, so they are far more disruptive. They should be justified and priced separately, not buried in a bundled total.

What should I do before getting pier quotes?

Measure the movement first. Floor elevation readings against a stated reference give bids something to be compared against. The elevation log covers readings, and the repair methods guide explains when piers are the right method at all.

HyreFoundation tools

How many piers does a foundation need?

Dividing a length by a spacing is easy. The spacing is the hard part, and it comes from soil, load, depth and measured movement.

86% swing from spacing alone Sixty feet of foundation takes 7 piers at 10 ft spacing and 13 at 5 ft. Nothing about the house changes, only an assumption. Computed by the tool on this page.

A pier count depends on spacing, and spacing is an engineer’s call based on soil, load, depth and measured movement.

This tool takes the length a quote says needs support and shows the count across 5 to 10 ft spacing: 60 ft swings from 7 to 13 piers.

It shows how much of a gap between bids is just spacing. It does not estimate your pier count.

Spacing sensitivity

Not an estimate. A demonstration of how much the count depends on one unstated input.

— Swing from spacing alone

— At the quoted spacing

— Across the range

— Count at each spacing

— What to ask

— Note

What this assumed —

Not a pier estimate. Spacing, depth and capacity are a licensed engineer’s determination.

Why this tool will not estimate your pier count

Not because it is difficult, but because a number you cannot defend is worse than no number at all — and the arithmetic below shows why.

Dividing a length by a spacing is the easy part. The hard part is the spacing, which follows from the soil, the load path, the depth to bearing and the movement actually measured. None of those fit in a form, and a count made without them is a guess wearing a number.

Watch what the spacing assumption alone does. Sixty feet of foundation takes 7 piers at 10 ft spacing and 13 at 5 ft — an 86% swing from one input the homeowner cannot verify and the quote often does not state.

If a competing bid comes back with a different count, that difference may be entirely a spacing assumption rather than a disagreement about your house.

Naming the cause and specifying the repair is engineering. The Texas Board of Professional Engineers put it directly in Engineering Advisory Opinion Request 43 (February 2018): "Analyzing the cause of a condition, recommendations for repair, or providing any other expert engineering opinion associated with a foundation … would be considered the practice of engineering."

A home inspector flags a symptom, and that is a good job. Naming the cause and specifying the repair is engineering. So when a free inspection hands you a diagnosis and a pier count on one visit, ask who signed it. This is Texas law; every state regulates engineering, so check the wording in yours.

So the useful output is a question, not a count. Ask what spacing was used, what determined it, what depth the piers go to and who signed that determination.

A firm that can answer those four in writing is one you can evaluate. A firm that cannot has given you a price for an unspecified quantity of an unspecified thing.

Depth is the line item that moves the money, and it is the one most often left open. A pier is priced per pier and then per additional foot of depth. A quote with a count but no depth commitment is not a fixed price, and the variable is discovered after the work has started.

The same 60 feet, at six spacings

Every figure computed by the tool on this page. Nothing about the house changes across these rows — only an assumption the quote may not state.

Spacing assumed	Piers	Against the 10 ft figure
5 ft	13	+6 piers
6 ft	11	+4 piers
7 ft	10	+3 piers
8 ft	9	+2 piers
9 ft	8	+1 pier
10 ft	7	reference

Six questions that make a pier quote checkable

None of these asks the company to justify its price. They ask it to state its design, which is a different and much harder thing to dodge.

What spacing did you use, and what set it?
The single input that moves the count most. "Our standard spacing" is not an engineering answer — spacing follows from soil bearing, load and measured movement, and those differ from house to house.
What depth are the piers going to, and what happens if they go deeper?
Depth is where the price becomes variable. Ask for the assumed depth, the per-foot rate beyond it, and what evidence supports the assumption. A count without a depth is not a fixed price.
Who determined this, and are they licensed to?
Analyzing cause and specifying repair is the practice of engineering in at least one state that has said so explicitly. Ask whether a licensed professional engineer produced the determination, and ask to see it — separately from the sales proposal.
What movement was measured, and against what?
Elevation readings across the floor, with a stated reference. A repair scope derived from a walk-round and a crack photograph is a scope derived from symptoms, not from movement. Our elevation log covers taking readings.
Why these locations and not others?
A pier plan should show positions with reasoning, not a count with a total. If you get a number rather than a drawing, there is nothing to check and nothing to compare against a second bid.
What is the interior work for?
Interior piers are a different, far more disruptive operation and should be justified and priced separately. If they appear in a single bundled figure, ask for them to be broken out.

Questions this calculator answers

How many piers does a foundation repair need?: It depends on the length needing support and the spacing an engineer sets from soil, load, depth and measured movement. On 60 ft, spacing alone moves the count from 7 to 13. We will not estimate yours, because a count without those inputs is a guess you cannot defend.
Two quotes gave me very different pier counts. Who is wrong?: Possibly neither. Across 5 ft to 10 ft spacing, the same 60 ft takes 7 to 13 piers, an 86% swing. Before treating the difference as a disagreement about your house, ask both firms what spacing they used and why. That often explains the gap.
What determines foundation pier spacing?: Soil bearing capacity, the load at that point, the depth to competent bearing, and the pattern of movement measured. Those are site-specific engineering inputs, so “our standard spacing” is a company policy, not an answer.
Should a repair company diagnose my foundation?: It depends on your state. The Texas Board of Professional Engineers says “Analyzing the cause of a condition, recommendations for repair, or providing any other expert engineering opinion associated with a foundation … would be considered the practice of engineering.”; If a free inspection leaves a diagnosis and a pier count on one visit, ask who signed the diagnosis.
Why does pier depth matter more than count?: Because depth is where the price stops being fixed. Piers are commonly quoted per pier plus a rate per extra foot beyond an assumed depth. A firm count with an open depth is not a firm quote. See the foundation cost calculator.
What should a proper pier plan look like?: A drawing with positions and reasoning, not a number with a total. It should reference the movement measured and the elevations it was measured against. A count on a sales proposal gives a second bid nothing to compare against.
Are interior piers ever necessary?: Sometimes. Interior piers mean breaking the slab and working inside the house, so they are far more disruptive. They should be justified and priced separately, not buried in a bundled total.
What should I do before getting pier quotes?: Measure the movement first. Floor elevation readings against a stated reference give bids something to be compared against. The elevation log covers readings, and the repair methods guide explains when piers are the right method at all.

Sources and methodology

Figures dated 5 September 2026. Last reviewed August 16, 2026.

Engineering Advisory Opinion Request 43 (February 2018) (Texas Board of Professional Engineers, retrieved 2026-09-05. Diagnosing a foundation and specifying repair is engineering. Texas law; other states draw the line differently.)
ICC-ES Acceptance Criteria AC358 — helical pile systems and devices (ICC Evaluation Service, retrieved 2026-09-05. The acceptance criteria under which helical foundation systems are evaluated, and the kind of document a specification should be able to reference. Named as what to ask for rather than reproduced here.)

Foundation repair methods compared When piers fit, and when the movement calls for something else.
Foundation repair services What pier installation involves and how it is scoped.
Choosing a foundation contractor Questions that make pier bids comparable.
Foundation cost calculator Price a pier line only once depth is stated.

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