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Foundation Work Cost in San Diego, CA: what the permits say

How much does foundation work cost in San Diego? The usual foundation & seismic retrofit job filed with San Diego is $10,000, from 320 priced permits (October 2023 through September 2026); the middle half of firms file between $9,000 and $33,561. A filed value is what the contractor wrote on the permit, not a quote or the final bill.

$10,000usual filed value
$9,000–$33,561middle half of firms' usual jobs
320priced permits (93% of 344)
59firms on file
105days, permit issue to final
Sep 2026records through

How much does foundation work cost in San Diego?

The usual foundation & seismic retrofit job filed with San Diego is $10,000, from 320 priced permits, October 2023 through September 2026. The middle half of firms usually file between $9,000 and $33,561. Half of jobs were filed for less, half for more. A filed value is what the contractor wrote on the permit, not a quote or the final bill. A foundation & seismic retrofit permit here usually takes 105 days from issue to final inspection. How long permits take →

What the spread looks like

Approximately, from each firm's own spread: every firm's range of filed values, weighted by its 320 priced permits across 55 firms, pooled into one. Half of San Diego foundation & seismic retrofit permits were filed between $8,000 and $31,000.

PercentileFiled valueReads as
10th$6,0001 in 10 permits filed below
25th$8,0001 in 4 filed below
50th$10,900the middle permit
75th$31,0001 in 4 filed above
90th$70,9001 in 10 filed above

By home value

Firms split into thirds by the usual value of the homes they work on, with each third's usual filed value weighted by permits. Home values: San Diego County assessed values (Prop 13, below market).

Firms working onUsual home valueUsual filed valueFirmsPermits
Lower thirdunder $625,801$9,00018217
Middle third$625,801–$1,037,427$25,0001899
Upper third$1,143,402 and up$68,3321924

Busiest firms and what they usually charge

Top 10 by permits in the last 12 months. Usual is each firm's middle filed value; middle half is the range its middle half of jobs were filed in; both are shown for firms with 5 or more priced permits. Busy is not the same as careful: pick what you value to build a list.

FirmPermitsLast 12 moUsualMiddle halfFinished
Premier Choice Restoration and Building Services5319$6,000$6,00090.3%
Sure Safe Efs2718$8,000$8,0006 of 9
Zak Zapara- Aloha Pacific Builders6412$9,000$9,00097.0%
Craftsman Foundation Repair239$25,000$25,00090.5%
Rad Construction Inc229$24,175$15,312–$29,90695.6%
Dalinghaus Construction Inc167$9,919$6,505–$36,2509 of 9
Michele Strand at San Diego Footing Repair Inc136$70,000$22,400–$73,4007 of 7
South Coast Piering dba Saber445$22,037$7,731–$42,15057.3%
Ram Jack Pacific174$19,000$16,000–$27,00095.6%
Aloha Pacific Builders54———

Why filed values run low or high

  • Job values exist only on building permits.
  • The 10 busiest firms usually file $9,000; the 46 firms with fewer than 10 permits usually file $51,805.
  • Firms working on the most expensive third of homes (usual home value $1,143,402 and up) usually file $68,332, against $9,000 for the least expensive third.
  • One permit type covers small and large jobs: 1 in 10 foundation & seismic retrofit permits is filed under $6,000 and 1 in 10 over $70,900, 12 times as much.

Is your quote normal? Compare it with 320 filed values

Line your quote up against the file. In San Diego, 1 in 10 foundation & seismic retrofit filed values sit under $6,000, the middle half between $8,000 and $31,000, and 1 in 10 over $70,900.

  • $92,200Above $70,900: higher than 9 in 10 filed values for this work in San Diego.
  • $10,000Right at the usual $10,000: in the middle of the file.
  • $4,200Below $6,000: lower than 9 in 10. Ask what the quote leaves out.

When to schedule foundation work in San Diego

San Diego files the fewest foundation & seismic retrofit permits in September (49 against an average month of 100) and the most in March (164). If you can choose, ask for quotes in a quiet month. We have no prices by month, so this is about crews' schedules, not a discount. When each trade is busiest in San Diego →

How these numbers are made

Source: City of San Diego Development Services approvals. The window is October 2023 through September 2026; a permit filed after that isn't here yet.

Usual is the middle permit: half were filed for less, half for more. Only permits with a filed value count; a value of $0 or none is left out.

The spread is approximate: we keep seven points of each firm's own range of filed values, not every permit, and pool them.

Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. How the records work in San Diego →

Common questions

  • How many quotes should I get for a foundation & seismic retrofit job in San Diego?At least three. In the permit record the middle half of San Diego foundation & seismic retrofit firms usually file between $9,000 and $33,561 a job, so two ordinary firms can sit 3.7 times apart and both be normal for San Diego. A third quote shows which one is the outlier. Filed values are what contractors wrote on permits, not quotes, so use them to judge the spread, not to price your own job.
  • What range is normal for foundation & seismic retrofit jobs in San Diego?Half of permits were filed between $8,000 and $31,000; 8 in 10 between $6,000 and $70,900. These are approximate, pooled from each firm's own spread.
  • How much do foundation contractors charge in San Diego?The usual foundation & seismic retrofit job is filed at $10,000; the middle half of firms usually file between $9,000 and $33,561. The 10 firms with the most permits in the last 12 months usually file $9,000, less than the usual. See every firm's usual job →
  • Do bigger houses get bigger bills?In the file, yes for the firms: those working on the upper third of homes by value usually file $68,332, the lower third $9,000. That is firms, not single jobs.
  • Where does this data come from?City of San Diego Development Services approvals, read October 2026. How the records work in San Diego →

Foundation & Seismic Retrofit cost in other cities: St. Louis Colorado Springs Greensboro Arlington, VA Cary Palo Alto Denton San Francisco Wheaton, IL Marin County (unincorporated)

Other job costs in San Diego: Remodel & Alteration · ADU (Companion Unit) · Addition · Pool & Spa · Damage Repair · New Home · Patio Cover, Garage & Accessory Structure