Notes

Pier and Beam Foundation Problems: More Than Meets the Eye

Problems associated with pier and beam foundations can be quite tough to pin-point as foundation problems with there being several things happening with pier and beam foundations that might normally stop within an average slab on grade foundation, including the actual sagging with the beams between the piers, or lateral movement in the piers, or uneven loading from the piers (that is a kind of foundation failure).

So not just may a pier and beam foundation be subject the same conditions a normal concrete slab on grade foundation could be subject to, but a pier and beam foundation could have additional conditions that may have almost nothing to do with the soil supporting the piers. Let's briefly talk about some of these non-soil related problems.

One in the main conditions that you might have having a pier and beam foundation has regarding either deterioration (rotting) in the beams spanning between piers (if using wood beams) or excessive deflections (sagging of the beams). As wood beams get older, they tend to disintegrate because they're not properly protected through the environment. As the years pass, the beams begin to increasingly sag, so that anything that those beams are supporting may also sag. A wall being based on these beams will begin cracking, giving the illusion that you have a foundation problem. structural inspection perth would usually be capable of show you if this describes a problem

Another very common condition for pier and beam foundations could be the lateral movement in the piers. In many instances a floor on a pier and beam foundation is several feet out from the ground, we've even seen houses out with 4ft away from your ground. As it is possible to imagine, if the wind pressure pushes up against the house these wind forces should be somehow transferred back to the floor which suggests the top of those piers work as flag poles, swaying back and forth with all the wind. It may not be noticeable for the human eye, but the little movement will develop some cracks inside the walls, supplying you with again the illusion that you've a foundation problem. Once again, an experienced Structural Engineer would manage to determine if it is a problem.

Uneven pier loading is the one other very common problem for pier and beam foundations. This is usually a problem with all the design with the foundation as it pertains to knowing where to place the piers. Heavily loaded areas (like load bearing walls) and lightly loaded areas (like inside the middle in the family area) could settle differentially from each other when the design wasn't done properly from the beginning; which is, the piers around the heavy loaded may "sink" further than the piers inside the lightly loaded areas when the piers are not properly engineered. This differential movement causes cracks in the floors (if using brittle finishes) as well as cracks within the wall. This is the groundwork problem, but as well as hard to verify it given it could simply be confused with soil movement due for the soil moisture changing. Your best bet is to buy a Structural Engineer to evaluate the situation.

We have gone through just a couple instances of conditions you may face which has a pier and beam foundation, so when you can observe, not every problems have about the muse. It is a lot more than you would think. The moral on this story is, even though the thing is a crack that doesn't mean you've got a foundation problem, and when you desire an honest and unbiased opinion then get a Structural Engineer that doesn't work for a foundation repair company.

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