Pier-and-beam foundation leveling
Plenty of San Angelo's older houses are built over a crawl space. Their floors move for different reasons than a slab, and the fixes are different too.
In a pier-and-beam house, wood beams and floor joists sit on interior piers, with a perimeter beam or wall around the outside and a crawl space underneath. When clay under individual piers swells or shrinks, the piers move on their own schedule, so floors develop humps, dips and soft spots. Moisture in the crawl space adds a second problem: wood that stays damp can rot or invite insects.
How do you know it's a crawl space problem?
- Floors that bounce when you walk across the middle of a room
- A noticeable dip or hump in a hallway
- Interior doors sticking more than exterior ones
- Shims on top of piers that have slipped, split or crushed
- Damp soil, standing water or a musty smell coming from the vents
- Sill plates or beams that feel soft when probed
What does the work involve?
- Shimming. Adding or replacing steel shims between pier caps and beams to bring floors back toward level.
- Added supports. Installing new piers where spans are too long or where the original supports have sunk or leaned.
- Wood repair. Replacing rotted sill plates, and sistering or replacing damaged beams and joists.
- Perimeter work. If the outer beam has dropped, it may need piers just like a slab edge.
- Moisture fixes. Improving drainage away from the house and airflow through the crawl space.
Is pier-and-beam easier to fix than a slab?
Often it is, because the crawl space gives the crew room to work without breaking concrete. It also means the house can be readjusted later if the clay moves again after a very dry or very wet year. That's why it pays to ask whether future adjustments are covered and for how long.
Questions to ask before you sign
- How many supports are being added or reset, and where?
- What are the shims made of?
- Did they find rot or insect damage, and is that repair in the price?
- What's being done about water under the house?
Pricing comes from the contractor after they've shot floor elevations and figured out what's driving the movement. We don't quote prices, and no honest contractor can price a pier job over the phone without seeing the house.
Where we connect you with help
Common questions
Will the house need leveling again later?
It can. Clay soils keep moving with the weather, and crawl space houses are designed to be adjusted. Ask whether the contractor's warranty includes readjustments.
Can they work if the crawl space is tight?
Contractors deal with tight crawl spaces regularly, sometimes by cutting an access hatch in a closet floor. They'll tell you after looking underneath.
Related services
More background: San Angelo foundation guide.
Doors binding, brick splitting or a floor that's out of level?
Call and get connected with a foundation contractor who works around San Angelo.