Piers, carbon fiber straps, or wall anchors: what is the difference?

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The first thing to establish is which direction your foundation is moving, because the repair families do not overlap. For vertical settlement, where part of the foundation has dropped. Push piers are steel tube sections driven hydraulically to load-bearing strata using the weight of the house as resistance, then the load is transferred to them. Helical piers are screwed into the soil to a specified torque, which correlates to capacity, and they work better in lighter structures and softer soils because they do not need the building weight to install. Both stabilize; whether they also lift the structure back toward level is a separate decision, and lifting carries its own risk of cracking finishes that have adapted to the settled position. For horizontal bowing, where a wall is being pushed inward. Carbon fiber straps are bonded vertically to the interior wall face with epoxy and resist further deflection. They are minimally invasive, they finish flush enough to drywall over, and they hold rather than straighten. Steel I-beams anchored to floor and joists carry more load and project into the room. Wall anchors use plates buried in the yard connected by rods through the wall, which allows tightening over time and sometimes partial recovery, but requires yard access. For sagging floors over a crawl space, which is neither of the above: adjustable steel supports on proper footings, and sistered or replaced joists and beams where members have failed. How to compare bids honestly. Ask what the diagnosis is, in writing, before comparing prices. Ask what the specified capacity is per pier and how many the design calls for. Ask what the warranty covers and whether it transfers. Two bids proposing different repair families for the same house means at least one diagnosis is wrong.