Pier-and-beam foundation repair
Many of the older houses in Wichita Falls sit over a crawl space on piers and beams. They move differently from a slab, and the fixes are different too.
A pier-and-beam house rests on a perimeter beam or wall, with interior piers holding up wood beams and floor joists above a crawl space. If the clay under an interior pier shrinks or swells, that pier goes up or down and takes the floor with it. Moisture in the crawl space adds a second problem: wet wood framing softens, rots and draws insects.
What are the signs?
- Floors that feel soft or bouncy, or slope toward the middle of a room
- Interior doors sticking more than doors on outside walls
- Damp soil, standing water or a musty smell under the house
- Shims that have slipped out or crushed on top of the piers
- Sagging or split beams, or sill plates soft from rot or termites
What does the repair usually include?
- Re-shimming between piers and beams to bring the floor back toward level. As the clay moves, this may need revisiting.
- New or reset interior piers where spans are too long or existing piers have tipped or sunk.
- Framing repair, such as replacing rotted sills or sistering damaged beams and joists.
- Perimeter support if the outside beam itself has dropped, using piers the way a slab edge would.
- Crawl space moisture control through drainage and ventilation so soil and wood stay drier.
Why can this be the easier repair?
Access. A crew can crawl under the house and adjust it without cutting through floors, and the same access allows touch-ups later after an unusually wet or dry year. Ask whether future readjustments are part of the warranty and for how long.
What should I ask before signing?
- How many interior piers will be added or reset, and where?
- What material will the shims be?
- Is there rot or termite damage, and is that repair in the price?
- What's being done about water in the crawl space?
Pricing comes from the contractor, after they've taken floor readings and worked out why the house is moving. We don't quote prices, and any number offered over the phone before someone has measured the floors is only a guess.
Where we connect you with help
Common questions
Is a crawl space house worse on clay than a slab?
Not necessarily. Both move on clay. A pier-and-beam house is often easier to readjust because the crawl space gives access; a slab needs piers from outside.
How often do shims need adjusting?
It depends on how much the ground moves from year to year. Ask whether the contractor's warranty includes readjustments and for how long.
Related services
- Slab foundation repair
- Foundation piers (steel, helical, concrete)
- Foundation drainage and watering
- Foundation evaluations and crack repair
More background: Wichita Falls foundation repair guide.
A door that won't latch, a crack in the brick, or a floor that tilts?
Call and a foundation repair contractor who works in Wichita County will come take floor readings and explain what the house is doing.