Pier Beam Foundation

In a pier and beam foundation a concrete pier is reinforced with steel forming a strong cage within the pier.

Pier beam foundation.

Pier and beam foundations sometimes called post and beam elevate homes to protect them from flooding and moisture. Usually a pier and beam foundation includes a crawl space below the living space and footings that offer the foundation support. While easier to build and less costly than the more common perimeter concrete foundation it is best used for smaller buildings on building sites with a low likelihood of earthquake or hurricane force winds. After pier and beam foundation repairs this foundation now floats separate from the stem wall.

As with many home repairs there is more than one way to solve a problem. A pier and beam foundation offers some great advantages that a full basement does not afford. Pier and beam construction also provides easier access to plumbing and electrical lines which are located in the crawlspace beneath the home. First a reinforced concrete footing is buried deep underground which anchors the entire foundation of the building in the ground to prevent shifting in volatile soils.

Between the home and the ground is a crawl space high enough to crawl through hence the name allowing utilities including plumbing and electrical wiring units to be installed and easily accessed if issues should occur. Building houses with pier and beam foundations is extremely common because it s a foundation that s popular in the dallas fort worth tx areas. It offers more stability to areas like dallas tx that have shifting soils. Next piers are constructed and attached to the footing.

Also a pier and beam foundation preempts the need for heavy machinery to dig a large foundation. A building with a pier and beam foundation can have a crawlspace because it does not rest directly on the grade. Pier and beam foundation pros because they are elevated homes built on pier and beam foundations are less prone to flooding than those built on slab foundations. A pier and beam foundation allows a building to have a deeper more secure footing than a concrete slab or a slab on grade foundation.

It forms a crawlspace under the home that provides easy access to many of the utilities in case repairs are needed. Pier and beam foundation repairs are no exception. Sometimes foundation repair may be required on a pier and beam property. This post will describe two methods to repair a pier and beam foundation.