How many piers for 36 ft of wall on a solid masonry house

36 ft of wall, solid masonry or a retaining wall

9piers

at about 5 ft centres, plus 0 for corners · roughly $16,200 at typical pricing

Piers	9piers
Spacingfull-height block or stone — closest spacing, and an engineer should size it	5ft on centre
Along the wall36 ft ÷ 5 ft, plus one to close the end	9piers
At cornersload arrives from two directions — corners crack first	0piers
Typical total$1,000–$3,000 per pier installed	$9,000 – $27,000
Affected wall	36ft

Notes

Spacing is set by load, not by wall length. solid masonry or a retaining wall carries roughly what 5 ft of spacing is designed for. The same 36 ft of wall under a single-storey frame house needs 6 piers; under two-storey brick it needs 7. A contractor quoting a pier count without asking what is above the wall has not done the sizing.
Use this to read a quote, not to write a scope. The real design comes from a structural engineer or a soils report: depth to load-bearing strata, the actual footing condition, and how much of the settlement is still moving. What this number does is tell you when a bid is unusually low — and an unusually low pier count is the most common way a foundation quote gets cheap.
Corners get their own pier because that is where load converges. Two walls deliver into the same point, and it is where the stair-step cracking in brick starts. A layout that spaces evenly along the wall and skips the corner is a layout that will crack at the corner again.
Piers do not always lift the house back. There are two outcomes and they cost differently: stabilisation, which stops further movement, and lift, which returns the foundation toward its original level. Lift is not always achievable and it can open cracks in finishes elsewhere as the structure moves back. Get in writing which one is being sold.
Fix the water before or with the piers. Most residential settlement is moisture-driven — expansive clay shrinking in drought and swelling in rain, or a downspout discharging against the foundation for twenty years. Piers installed under a house whose drainage has not been corrected will hold that section while the untreated sections keep moving.
Ask about the warranty and what voids it. Most pier work carries a transferable lifetime warranty on the piers themselves. Read what it excludes — commonly further movement in areas not piered, which is precisely what happens when only the visibly damaged wall is done.

9 piers, at about 5 ft centres

Spacing is set by load, not by wall length. A single-storey frame house and a two-storey brick one put very different weight down the same wall, so the same 36 ft needs a different number of piers under each.

A contractor quoting a pier count without asking what is above the wall has not done the sizing.

Use this to read a quote

The real design comes from a structural engineer or a soils report: depth to load-bearing strata, the actual footing condition, and whether the movement has stopped.

What this figure does is tell you when a bid is unusually light. An unusually low pier count is the most common way a foundation quote gets cheap, and it is the one that costs most later.

Stabilise or lift — get it in writing

Two different outcomes at two different prices.

Stabilisation stops further movement and leaves the house where it is. Lift returns the foundation toward level, and it is not always achievable — it can also open cracks in finishes elsewhere as the structure moves back.

A contract that says "repair" without saying which one is a contract with an argument in it.

Fix the water, or repeat the job

Most residential settlement is moisture-driven: expansive clay shrinking in drought and swelling after rain, or twenty years of a downspout discharging against the foundation.

Piers under a house whose drainage has not been corrected will hold that section while the untreated sections carry on moving. The drainage work is a fraction of the pier cost and it is what stops this being a recurring expense.

Read what the warranty excludes

Most pier work carries a transferable lifetime warranty on the piers themselves. The exclusion to look for is further movement in areas not piered — which is exactly what happens when only the visibly damaged wall gets done.

Nearby sizes

Expansive Clay and Your Foundation — The Seasonal HouseIf the problems come and go with the seasons, the soil is doing it. Piers are not always the answer, and watering the foundation sometimes is.
Helical vs Push Piers — The Choice Is About the House, Not the PriceThey cost about the same per pier. A contractor who only installs one type will always recommend that one, and that is the thing to notice.
Signs of Foundation Settlement — And Which Cracks Do Not MatterEvery house cracks. What separates shrinkage from settlement is the shape of the crack, not its presence.