Pier and Beam Foundation Repair in Wichita Falls, TX

Older homes have a different kind of foundation

Many older homes in Wichita Falls do not sit on a slab. They sit on short posts, called piers, that hold up wood beams. The floor rests on those beams, and there is a crawl space under the house. This is called pier and beam.

Census data shows about a third of Wichita Falls homes were built before 1960, and about 4,300 were built before 1940. Neighborhoods like Floral Heights have many homes from around 1920. Older parts of Electra, Burkburnett and Henrietta have homes from this era too. Houses this old are often pier and beam.

The good news is that pier and beam is easier to adjust than a slab. A crew can reach the supports from under the house and bring the floor back to level.

What pier and beam problems look like

Tell us what you notice. These are the most common calls from older Wichita Falls homes:

• "The floor in the hallway is soft or bouncy."
• "My floors slope toward the middle of the house."
• "The kitchen floor dips by the sink."
• "Doors stick or swing open by themselves."
• "There are cracks in the plaster over the doors."
• "I can see gaps where the wall meets the floor."
• "The crawl space smells musty or stays wet."
• "An old addition is pulling away from the main house."

Why pier and beam floors sag in Wichita Falls

Clay under the piers. Common soils here, like Tillman clay loam and Kamay silt loam, have subsoils of 35 to 50 percent clay, according to USDA. The piers sit on that clay. When it shrinks in a dry summer, some piers drop. When it swells, others lift. The floor follows.

Wet crawl spaces. USDA rates these soils as slow to drain. If rain runs toward the house, water can sit in the crawl space. Damp air rots wood shims and beams and can weaken the floor.

Age. Wood shims crush and rot over decades. In a 100-year-old house, some supports may have been sinking for a long time.

Big swings in rain. Wichita Falls went through a four-year drought from 2011 to 2015, then got 50.5 inches of rain in 2015 alone. That much change in soil moisture can move piers in a short time.

Old additions. Many older homes have a back room or porch added later on a different foundation. The two parts move in different ways, and cracks show up where they meet.

How pier and beam repair works

Re-shimming

The crew crawls under the house and checks each pier. Where the beam no longer sits tight on the pier, they add or replace shims to bring it back up. Steel shims last longer than wood.

Adding new piers

Where a beam sags between piers, or an old pier has sunk too far, new piers go in. They can be concrete or steel, and they are placed under the beam to carry the load.

Replacing beams and joists

If a beam or floor joist has rotted or cracked, the crew replaces it or adds a new one next to it, called sistering.

Re-leveling the whole floor

With the supports fixed, the crew lifts the floor a little at a time with jacks until it is as level as it can safely go.

Fixing water in the crawl space

If water is getting under the house, the fix may include better gutters, regrading, or a drain. See drainage correction.

What moves the price

The table above shows typical ranges from published cost guides. They are not quotes.

The number of new piers, how much wood needs replacing, and how hard the crawl space is to reach all move the price. A low, tight crawl space takes more time. Your written estimate lists every item. See the full cost guide.

What a good crawl space inspection covers

• Floor level readings in every room
• A check of every pier, shim, beam and joist
• A look for rot, termite damage and standing water
• A check of vents, gutters and yard slope
• A written plan that shows what gets replaced and where new piers go

Soft floors usually get worse, not better. Call (940) 468-1786 or send the short form for a free crawl space inspection and a written price.