Sign 06
Sagging floors: pier and beam foundation repair
Most houses in Frisco's subdivisions were built on concrete slabs. If yours is older, or has a raised wood floor with vents in the skirting, it probably stands on piers and beams with a crawl space beneath. Those floors fail in their own way and are repaired in their own way.
What it looks like
How a pier and beam floor tells you something is wrong
- The floor bounces or the furniture rattles when someone walks across the room.
- A dip you can see along a hallway, usually midway between two piers.
- Floors that slope toward the middle of the house while the outside walls stay put.
- Gaps opening between the floor and the baseboard, or between floorboards.
- A musty smell indoors after rain, which points at the crawl space.
A flashlight through the access hatch answers a lot. Look for standing water, wood touching soil, and timber that is dark or soft.
Other causes
Wood, water and insects
A floor frame is timber, and timber rots when it stays wet. A slow plumbing leak or a crawl space with no airflow can soften a beam while every pier under it stands straight.
Termites do similar damage. That is a job for a licensed pest control operator before any carpentry.
Sometimes nothing has failed. The joists were simply spaced too far apart for the load, and the floor has always had some give.
Under the house
What a company checks
Each pier: is it upright, is it cracked, has the soil washed out around its base.
The shims between pier and beam. They compress, split and fall out over the years, and a missing shim is a dip in the floor above.
Beams, joists and the sill around the perimeter, probed for rot.
Moisture: drainage into the crawl space, ventilation, and how much clear space there is between the wood and the ground.
Putting it right
What pier and beam repair might involve
Re-shimming. Hardwood or steel shims are added on top of the existing piers to bring the floor frame back up.
Timber repair. Damaged beams and joists are replaced or doubled up, normally in treated lumber.
More support. Extra piers or posts go in where a span is too long or an old pier no longer does its job.
Crawl space repair. Cross ventilation, drainage and proper clearance under the wood keep the new work dry.
Who to call
Which trade does which part
A foundation repair company handles the piers, shims, beams and levelling, which is what this number is for.
A leaking pipe under the floor needs a plumber. Active termites need pest control. Fix those first or alongside, or the new timber goes the way of the old.
Foundation repair in Frisco and nearby
Describe the problem, book the inspection
This number is for foundation repair on houses. Say where the cracks are, which doors stick and how long it has been going on. If part of the house shifted all at once, there is a gas smell, or brickwork seems about to come down, clear the house and dial 911 or the gas utility before anything else.
Ready to have someone look at it?
Phone and say what you have noticed. The foundation repair company on the other end is independent of this site and takes on houses in your part of Collin or Denton County. Ask it for a time to come and inspect.
Call (972) 430-3959Your call may be recorded. Read how referrals are paid for and what happens to call details.