Why Pier & Beam Foundations In Amarillo Need Adjusting Every 2 To 4 Years

Your Crawl Space Pier and Beam Foundation Is Prone To Unique Issues, So It Requires Regular Adjustment.

Fortunately, We Make This These Adjustments Quick, Painless & Friendly For Your Wallet.

BY CORY DAVIS, CO-OWNER

There are two main types of foundation in the Amarillo area: concrete slab foundations and pier-and-beam foundations.

Today, concrete slab foundations are much more common. They are sturdier and longer-lasting than pier-and-beam foundations, so most homes built from the 1980s onwards have them.

Homes built before then are likely sitting on pier-and-beam foundations. And since you’re on this page right now, that probably includes yours.

You’re likely here because you’ve noticed some signs of foundation trouble or crawl space issues.

If you’ve never had your piers and beams adjusted, your home has probably been experiencing these problems right under your nose for a long time. They’ve only now manifested in damage that’s in plain sight.

Before I get to solutions to your pier and beam foundation problem, let’s talk about why this type of foundation needs regular TLC.

Why Regular Pier and Beam Adjustment Is Necessary

There are a few reasons pier and beam foundation adjustment in the Amarillo area is necessary about every two to four years.

For starters, piers and beams are made of wood. Wood is simply not as strong as concrete. As such, pier-and-beam foundations are prone to problems concrete is not (rot, for example).

Secondly, the setup of a pier-and-beam foundation allows for a finite number of support points to hold the load of your home.

If your pier-and-beam foundation has 10 total support points, the entire weight of your home is transferred to one of those 10 points. So if your home is 20,000lbs, those 10 load points each have to carry 2,000lbs. That’s a lot of weight!

Not only that, but each support point’s load has to travel through the decking, joists, beams, and piers before it reaches the ground. This can cause a lot of stress on the piers and beams, making them prone to movement.

Compare this to a concrete slab foundation, which rests entirely on the ground. This essentially provides unlimited support points and also creates a direct path for loads to travel.

If your home is 20,000 lbs, each load point is responsible for only 1 lb of weight. And since the concrete slab foundation provides the load a direct path to the ground under your home, it causes less stress on the support points.

If this sounds confusing, let me explain with an example…

Say I was standing in your home, which has a pier-and-beam foundation. Depending on where I am, the closest support point could be five or six feet away.

That means my 180lbs may have to travel quite a distance to get transferred to the nearest support point. Since the support point is so far away—and since my weight has to travel through the decking, beams, and so on—there is a higher chance for foundation movement.

Now imagine I’m standing in your neighbor’s home, which has a concrete slab foundation. My 180lbs would transfer directly below where I’m standing. No matter where I go in the home, that will always be the case.

Since there is a direct load path to the ground and virtually an infinite number of support points, there is nowhere near as much stress on the foundation. As a result, the risk of foundation movement is much lower.

Why Pier and Beam Foundation Adjustment is Crucial

All of this is basically a long way of saying get your pier-and-beam foundation in Amarillo adjusted regularly! Ideally, every two to four years if you don’t have proper soil stabilization.

You’re probably not jumping with joy at the thought of that. But pier and beam adjustment is the textbook definition of an “ounce of prevention = pound of cure” project.

Failure to adjust your piers and beams regularly can cause SERIOUS (and seriously COSTLY) structural damage to your home.

Soil Stabilization Can Help

And as I mentioned, soil stabilization can drastically improve the standard two-to-four-year interval for adjustments. Pier-and-beam homes in which we’ve installed our EcSS 3000 soil stabilizer can go 10 years or longer without adjustment.

In some cases, we’ve NEVER had to go back after we stabilized the customer’s soil!

Childers Brothers Knows Pier and Beam Foundations

If you even think you’re having problems with your pier and beam foundation, contact us immediately. Though you may just now be seeing the problem, trust me—it’s been going on a lot longer.

We can utilize our special 27-Point Analysis on your home and crawl space to pinpoint the problem and how severe it is. We’ll even record our inspection so you can see the exact issue firsthand.

After we’ve reviewed our findings with you, we’ll make a recommendation on the right remedy to fix the problem. We’ll then provide you with an ironclad quote and step back to give you time to think things over.

We can even create a discounted service plan so you can have your foundation adjusted as necessary for a low price.

Or not—the choice is up to YOU. The last thing we’d ever do is pressure you into making a decision. We simply want you to have all the facts you need to make not only the right choice… but also the choice with which you’re most comfortable.