Crawl space post pier repair is a challenging and time-consuming task requiring much expertise, effort, and money. Unfortunately, many house owners lack the understanding and capabilities necessary to repair their crawl space posts. Even if you know how to repair your crawl space posts, the project can take days to accomplish.
We are the best in the business, and we can help you today. Our team of experts will be able to restore your home to its previous state as quickly as possible. At HydroHelp911, we understand how important it is for you to have a safe and dry home, which is why HydroHelp911 try and strive to provide excellent service to all of our customers. So give us a call and contact HydroHelp911 if you need a crawl space post pier repaired.
Our area’s main enemies of crawl space foundations are settlement, moisture problems, and imperfections in initial construction methods or materials. Let us look at each of these to see how they affect pier and beam foundations differently.
Moisture Under the Home
Poor drainage and limited ventilation make a pier and beam home vulnerable to moisture. Excessive moisture under the house wreaks havoc on the wood, from the sill to the flooring. Water can rot, mildew, or completely dissolve the timber products that make up your pier and beam foundation.
Any rotten timber beneath your house can lead to foundation issues. In addition, because the pier and beam foundation is interrelated, one faulty piece of wood can have compounding negative consequences on the remainder of the structure.
Having an open crawl space under your house has its own set of drainage issues. Even though pier and beam homes feature ventilation openings in the crawl space to enhance airflow, they cannot remove standing water caused by poor drainage.
Watch HydroHelp911’s video on sealing your crawl space.
Drainage can deteriorate over time, going from practical to inefficient, causing more extended periods of wetness under your property and causing crawl space damage.
Original Materials or Construction Methods
Because many pier and beam homes were built before the 1950s, not only were the building codes different, but the materials used were also different. As a result, the materials used might grow old and weaken.
Spongy, bouncy, or wavy roller coaster floors are a unique form of difficulty for a pier and beam foundation. Some pier and beam homes have floor joists that are too wide apart to hold the weight properly. In addition, there are floor joists and shaker sills that have broken or worn out due to constant use.
Piers may need to be replaced if they get damaged. For example, piers may spin and settle differently than those nearby, or they may fracture or break when the number of piers is insufficient to support the weight of the house; additional need to be built at closer spacing.
All of these issues are likely to arise over time and can cause problems with your pier and beam foundation.
Foundation Settlement due to Expansive Clay Soils
Like any other type of foundation, our expansive clay grounds cause challenges. When wet, expansive clay expands, and when dry, it contracts. These influences are stronger than you believe, and each season and year can shift the construction of your foundation.
As you might expect, any upward pressure from the ground and soil shrinking and sinking can impact the construction of a pier and beam foundation. In addition, this constant shifting from season to season can begin to harm the interior of the home, resulting in wall fractures, door misalignments, and other foundation settlement telltale indicators.
Fixing beam and pier foundation problems, on the other hand, might be more difficult, complicated, and expensive if access to the concerned regions is challenging.
Let’s review some repair remedies:
Pier Stacks:
REBUILDING OR ADDING
Activities can happen to the inside piers from time to time. For example, the blocks may decay and disintegrate over time, or there may not be enough of them to begin with. More piers can be added or removed by a pier and beam foundation by a repair contractor like HydroHelp911 to more equally support and distribute weight and straighten out sinking floors. Alternatively, replace and fix any that has degenerated over time.
Watch HydroHelp911’s video on Helical Piers
RESHIMMING
Reshimming is the procedure of making tiny but more regular modifications to the snugness of all your pier and beam foundation parts. Simple reshimming can fix things that have become a little loose or have experienced a small amount of movement.
This procedure is similar to preventative maintenance for a crawl space home. Still, it is only carried out if the house has been kept in good functioning order and installed all necessary support materials. Shims are small pieces of wood placed between the piers and the wooden sill beams and pushed and pressed in place.
Reshimming the gaps between your foundation’s sill and settled support piers is a recommended maintenance task that should be done every 3-5 years. This can be done regularly to keep your pier and beam foundation in good repair and avoid major problems from arising.
REPLACING WOOD
Shaker sills and floor joists can break, distort, rot or wear out, necessitating their replacement. Perhaps there wasn’t sufficient support constructed into the foundation to begin with, and joists are required. This can be worked minutely or a significant overhaul and reconstructing operation, depending on how much wood or other material needs to be replaced and how simple it is to get to the issue location.
Any wood that needs to be fixed or even replaced beneath the house is usually challenging. Every wood piece is connected to another part of the wood, as we mentioned in the building section of this blog. As a result, to remove and replace components of the decayed and damaged wood pieces, nearby sites of the crawl space must be temporarily reinforced to control the structure from collapsing.
ADDING UNDERPINNING TO THE BEAM
Because they are in the weakest areas and are frequently under constructed and under-supported, the internal support elements of a pier and beam home are commonly affected by settling. In addition, however, settling and weight distribution complexities can compromise the perimeter and size of a support beam.
Concrete pilings and drilled bell-bottom piers must be used to offer the proper support to settled sections if the perimeter and size of the beam need to be restored to their original height.
The importance of crawl space support piers in crawl space construction cannot be overstated. By shifting the weight to the ground, Support Piers relieve the strain on your foundation. You could face major structural problems or failure if you don’t have them.
They’re an essential part of any crawl space project because they provide much-needed support and protect against future structural issues. Still, suppose they’re not installed correctly. In that case, they can lead to bursting pipes or other unforeseen problems in the future that can be costly to fix or, worse, cause significant damage, lowering your home’s value. So adding these supports pier is a brilliant option that eliminates the need to endanger your life!
Contact HydroHelp911 for Crawl Space Repairs
If you want to dodge expensive repairs in the future, your home’s foundation must be properly maintained. However, if you’re experiencing issues with your post and pier foundation, you should have it inspected by a professional.
Contact HydroHelp911 right away if you have any concerns about your foundation or require crawl space repairs. Our experts will inspect your foundation or crawl space for free and work with you to keep your home safe and well-maintained.
What is the difference between a crawl space and a pier and beam structure?
A concrete base is built after a pier is sunk deep enough into the ground to butt up against the stone. Following that, the beams are extended from one pier to the next. These will support the flooring and joists of the house. The crawl area beneath the beams is typically 18 inches above ground level.
Is it true that foundation piercings work?
The piers that foundation repair businesses utilize are similar to the pencils that support your desk. These foundation piers undoubtedly aid in the leveling of your home, but don’t you think the same force that causes your foundation to shift will eventually affect those piers as well? Yes, it is true!
Should I fix my foundation first or start remodeling?
According to our knowledge, many piers and beam homes were built before 1950. If you live in an older property like this, you’re probably considering upgrading or updating it somehow. Fix your foundation first, then renovate it as a general guideline. Pier and beam foundations are constructed in a variety of ways.
One type of crawl space foundation is a pier and beam foundation. Crawl Space foundations are most widespread in older homes built before the 1950s in the Brazos Valley, although they are also found in other areas and regions of the state and country.
