Foundation Repair in Kansas City, KS

About half the homes in Kansas City, Kansas were built before 1961, and one in five went up before 1940. Many still stand on stone or concrete block walls that have held back wet soil for generations. If you’re seeing a new crack, a basement wall leaning in, or water on the floor after a big storm, you want to know what’s actually moving before you spend a dollar. That’s where we start. Olson has provided foundation repair in Kansas City, KS, and across the metro since 1986, and the person who inspects your home has spent 21 years installing this work himself.

What We Check When We Inspect Your Foundation

Three different problems can look alike from upstairs. Each one needs a different fix, so the first job is figuring out which one you have.

What’s happening	What you might notice	What usually fixes it
Settlement: part of the house is sinking	Diagonal cracks from door and window corners, doors that stop latching, sloping floors, a gap at the front stoop or garage	Concentric steel push piers under the section that dropped
Inward wall movement: soil is pushing a basement wall in	A horizontal crack, a wall bowing in at mid-height, stair-step cracks in block, a wall sliding in at the bottom	Steel I-beam bracing, anchors, or pushing the wall back
Water entry: water is getting past the wall or floor	A damp base of the wall, puddles after heavy rain, white mineral streaks, a musty smell	Gutters and grading first, then crack injection or drain tile and a sump

How we look:

Outside first. Grading, downspouts, window wells, retaining walls, and the slope of your lot.
Every corner. All four corners of the house and the garage, not just the spot that worried you.
Inside. Which way cracks run, whether walls are plumb, and how level the floors are.
Your history. When you first noticed it, and whether it changes with the seasons.

Some homes don’t need a repair at all. When that’s the case, we’ll show you what to watch and leave it there. Here’s more on what a foundation inspection involves and how to monitor your foundation between visits.

Why Foundations Move on the Kansas Side

No two lots here are alike, so we don’t diagnose from the street.

Silty Hills and River Bluffs

Much of eastern Wyandotte County sits on loess, a fine wind-blown silt, over shale and limestone. Landslides have been mapped on bluffs along the Kansas and Missouri rivers and Turkey Creek.

Hillside and walkout basements carry more soil on the uphill wall.
On a slope, we check the hill and any retaining walls too.

River-Bottom Ground

Argentine, Armourdale and other low neighborhoods near the Kaw sit on river sand, silt and clay, which can call for a different fix than homes on the hills.

Older Walls

Stone, brick and early block basements are common here. Mortar washes out, and block walls often bow along a single joint. See foundation problems in older homes.

Big Storms and Older Sewers

In July 2025, parts of KCK got over 10 inches of rain in about 12 hours, and many basements flooded. About a third of the city’s sewers carry stormwater and sewage in the same pipe.

Water through a wall or at the floor edge: a drainage or waterproofing problem.
Water up through a floor drain: usually a sewer backup, which is a plumbing fix.

Wet Springs, Dry Summers

Clay swells in wet May and June and shrinks in late summer, so cracks can open and close. Watch a crack for a full season before deciding what it means. See why soil pulls away from a foundation.

None of this means your home has a problem. It means we inspect your house, not a template.

House Foundation Repair Options That Fit the Problem

The right repair depends on which way your foundation is moving: down, in, or letting water through.

Concentric Steel Push Piers for a Settling Foundation

When a corner or wall has dropped, piers carry that part of the house past the soil that keeps changing and down to bedrock or weathered shale.

How they go in: we dig beside the footing, set a steel bracket with the pier centered under the wall, then use a hydraulic ram and the weight of your house to drive 5-foot sections of high-carbon steel tube until they stop. That’s typically 22 to 70 feet down.
Tested as installed: every pier is load-tested as it’s driven, not just installed to a set depth.
Spacing: about 5 to 7 feet apart on poured concrete walls, 4 to 5 feet on block and stone.
Only where it’s needed: we pier the section that’s settling. Sometimes the right call is to pier one side and see how the house performs before doing more.
After the lift: give the house a month or two before you patch drywall.

More on foundation piering and when underpinning is needed.

Steel I-Beam Bracing for Bowing Basement Walls

Bracing stops a wall from moving further inward, and it’s installed from inside, so your yard stays intact.

How it works: each beam sits on the footing, is fastened to the floor joists above, and gets new concrete poured around its base.
Spacing: about every 4 feet on block walls, up to 6 feet on poured concrete.
Finished basement? We open about a 1-foot strip of ceiling drywall at each beam.
When beams are enough: in our experience, a wall that has moved less than about 3 inches can usually be held with beams. At 3 to 4 inches or more, it needs to be pushed back or rebuilt.

See how wall bracing works.

Anchors, Wall Push-Back and Rebuilds

Deadman anchors: a concrete anchor buried in the yard and tied through the wall with a steel rod. They suit walls opposite an exposed side and homes at the bottom of a hill.
Push-back: we dig outside, push the wall back toward plumb, add restraints, then backfill and regrade.
Rebuild: when a wall is past saving, we rebuild with reinforced block, cells filled with rebar and concrete.
Stone and block mortar: where mortar has washed out but the wall hasn’t moved much, tuckpointing may be the first step.

Water Control, Before or With Structural Work

In our experience, 90 to 95 percent of basement water problems start outside.

Gutters and downspouts: discharge 5 to 10 feet from the house, or bury the downspouts. See gutter installation and drainage solutions.
Grading: soil should fall about 6 inches over the first 10 feet away from the walls.
Crack injection: seals a single leaking crack from the inside. We check the wall for movement first, because sealing a crack on a moving wall doesn’t last. More on wall crack repair.
Drain tile and sump: perforated pipe in gravel at the footing carries water to a sump pit, and the pump sends it at least 5 feet from the house. Add a battery backup for storms that knock out power. See basement waterproofing.

Got a sunken porch, steps or garage slab? Helical piers or polyjacking may be the better fit.

What the Work Looks Like at Your House

Outside work: piers need small excavations beside the wall. We put back the soil, concrete and landscaping we dig. Here’s what it means for your yard.
Tight spots: a narrow side yard, a driveway or a utility in the way gets planned for at the estimate, not discovered on install day.
Inside work: clear 6 to 10 feet along the walls we’re working on. The rest of the house stays usable.
Staying home: in about 95 percent of jobs, you can stay. Here’s how to prepare.
How long: a crack injection is often done in a day. Most pier and waterproofing jobs take 2 to 5 days. See how long foundation repair takes.
Phased work: some homes are best handled in stages, such as fixing water first and structural work later. We’ll tell you when that makes sense and when it doesn’t.

What Your Written Estimate Shows

You’ll get the diagnosis on the spot and a written, itemized bid, usually within 24 to 48 hours. It covers:

What we found and what’s causing it, in plain language.
Each repair, priced separately and listed in order of importance, so you know what matters now and what can wait.
The warranty for each item, in years, on the bid sheet.
Your options, including phasing the work if your budget calls for it.
The permit, and who handles it.

Already have another company’s bid or an engineer’s report? Bring it. We’ll walk through where they agree and where they differ.

What Your Foundation Repair Warranty Covers

Coverage depends on the repair, so every item on your bid lists its own warranty in years. Our warranties are transferable, so they go with the house if you sell.

Steel piers driven to bedrock: lifetime
Wall anchors and steel I-beams: 15 years
Interior drain tile: 15 years
Sump pumps: 5 years
Waterproofing membrane: 5 years
Adjustable posts: 3 years

Before any work starts, we walk you through what each warranty covers and for how long. Keep it with your invoice, because a buyer’s inspector will ask for both. See what our warranties cover.

Foundation Repair Cost in Kansas City, KS

Most of the repairs we do land between $4,000 and $15,000. A single crack injection can come in under $500, and a full-perimeter pier job can pass $25,000.

Repair	Typical price
Concentric steel piers	$1,600 to $1,800 per pier
Steel I-beam wall bracing	$500 to $700 per beam
Deadman anchors	$1,100 to $1,300 per anchor
Wall push-back	$325 to $375 per foot
Wall rebuild	$90 to $120 per square foot
Crack injection	$40 to $50 per foot
Interior drain tile	$75 to $90 per foot
Sump pump (pit, pump, lid, discharge)	$1,800 to $2,000
Sump pump with battery backup	$2,400 to $2,600
Burying downspouts	$30 to $40 per foot

What moves your price:

How far it’s gone. Catching movement early almost always costs less.
How many units. More piers, beams, or feet of drain tile means a higher total.
Access. Tight side yards, finished basements, and deeper digs add labor.
How much of the house needs it. If one wall is the problem, we price one wall.

Standard homeowners policies usually don’t cover settling or soil movement (here’s why). Ask about financing at your inspection, and see our full pricing guide.

Permits and Paperwork in Wyandotte County

Permits: the Unified Government requires permits for regulated repairs and alterations. We confirm what your job needs with UG Building Inspection and handle any permit before work starts.
Licensing: contractors working in Wyandotte County need a Unified Government business license. Whoever you hire, it’s fair to ask for it.
Buying a rental or an older home: get the foundation looked at before closing, not after. Here’s what to weigh when a house has known foundation issues.
Selling later: Kansas sellers and agents are expected to disclose known structural problems and past repairs. Keep your bid, invoice and warranty together. A documented, warrantied repair is far easier to explain to a buyer’s inspector than an open question.

Why Homeowners Choose Olson as Their Foundation Repair Company

Your estimator has done the work. John Murphy has 26 years in foundation repair: 21 doing the installation and labor, then 5 in sales. He knows what each pier and beam takes to put in, spots access problems before the crew shows up, and can tell when a smaller repair will do the job.
The repair matches the problem. One wall when one wall is the problem. Piers where the house is settling, not around the whole house by default.
We’ll tell you when you don’t need us. Our reviews include homeowners we told to just keep an eye on things, and one whose own structural engineer’s assessment matched our bid. Read our reviews.
Here since 1986. A lifetime warranty only means something if the company is still around to honor it.
Warranties in writing. Each repair carries its own warranty, from lifetime on piers to 3 years on adjustable posts, and they transfer if you sell. See what our warranties cover.
Rated by your neighbors. 4.7 stars on Google and BBB A+ accredited.

How Your Repair Works, Start to Finish

Contact Us Now

Call (913) 592-3300 or request your free in-home inspection. No charge, no deposit. Tell us if it’s a rental, a home you’re buying, or a basement that floods in big storms.

Get an Assessment

We check the outside first (grading, downspouts, slope, retaining walls), then the basement for cracks, wall movement, and where water gets in. You get the diagnosis on the spot and an itemized bid within 24 to 48 hours.

Complete Work

We confirm any UG permit and start on the date we gave you. Most jobs take 1 to 5 days, and you can usually stay home.

Get Peace of Mind

Before work starts, you see the warranty for each repair: what it covers, for how long, and whether it transfers if you sell. When we finish, we walk you through the work and hand over the bid, invoice, and warranty, the paperwork a buyer’s inspector will ask for.

Foundation Repair Contractors Near You in Wyandotte County

If you’re looking for foundation repair near you on the Kansas side, we work throughout Kansas City, Kansas: Strawberry Hill and Rosedale, Argentine and Armourdale, Turner, and the newer neighborhoods out west.

We also serve nearby cities:

See all our foundation repair services or our full service area.

Kansas City, KS Foundation Repair FAQs

How much does foundation repair cost in Kansas City, KS?

Most repairs we do fall between $4,000 and $15,000. Piers run $1,600 to $1,800 each, and a single crack injection can be under $500. Your inspection gives you an exact, itemized number.

Do I need a permit for foundation repair in Kansas City, Kansas?

The Unified Government requires permits for many structural repairs and alterations. We check what your job needs with UG Building Inspection and handle any permit before work starts.

Does homeowners insurance cover foundation repair in Kansas?

Usually not. Standard policies typically exclude settling and soil movement, though damage from a covered event like a burst pipe may be different, so check your policy.

Is a horizontal crack in my block basement wall serious?

It usually means soil is pushing the wall inward, so have it looked at soon. Caught early, steel bracing can often hold the wall before it needs to be pushed back or rebuilt.

Why does my basement only flood in heavy rain?

Often it’s overwhelmed gutters, poor grading, or a clogged drain near the house. If water comes up through a floor drain, it’s more likely a sewer backup. We’ll tell you which, because the fixes are completely different.

Do I need piers around the whole house?

Not always. We pier the section that’s settling, and sometimes the right call is to fix one side and see how the house performs.

How long does foundation repair take, and can I stay home?

A crack injection is often done in a day, and most pier and waterproofing jobs take 2 to 5 days. Most homeowners stay home; just clear 6 to 10 feet along the walls we’re working on.

Should I get a foundation inspection before buying an older home or rental?

Yes. A free inspection with written findings tells you what you’re buying and gives you something solid to negotiate with.

Do I have to disclose foundation repair when I sell in Kansas?

Kansas sellers and agents are expected to disclose known structural problems and past repairs. Keep your bid, invoice, and warranty together so a buyer sees exactly what was done.

Can an old stone foundation be repaired?

Often, yes. Washed-out mortar can be tuckpointed, a bowing section can be braced, and a failed section can be rebuilt, depending on how far the wall has moved.

Get a Straight Answer About Your Foundation

Whether it’s a new crack, a wall leaning in, or water after every big storm, we’ll tell you what’s moving, what it takes to fix, and what can wait. Call (913) 592-3300 or request your free estimate to schedule foundation repair in Kansas City, KS.