What goes wrong under a pier-and-beam house
Many older homes in Dallas, Fort Worth and the surrounding towns sit on piers and beams with a crawl space underneath. Over time the piers settle into the clay, wood shims dry out and slip, and moisture under the house softens joists and the sill plate. The result is a floor that slopes, sags in the middle or bounces when you walk across it.
Signs to look for
- Floors that slope toward the middle of the house or toward one wall
- Bouncy or soft spots, especially in kitchens and bathrooms
- Gaps opening under baseboards
- Doors that swing open or closed on their own
- A musty smell or damp air coming from under the house
How the repair works
- Free inspectionThe crew goes into the crawl space and checks the piers, beams, shims, joists and sill plate, and finds where the floor has dropped.
- Written bidYou get the scope in writing before anything starts.
- New piers and re-levelingNew concrete piers are set under the main beam where the old ones have failed, and the beam is jacked back toward level and shimmed.
- Framing repairRotted joists, sill plate and subfloor are replaced, and the moisture that caused the rot is dealt with so it doesn't come back.
Videos from the job site
Questions people ask
Is the inspection really free?
Yes. There's no charge for the inspection or for the written bid, and no obligation to go ahead with the work.
Do my floors have to be torn up?
Most pier-and-beam work is done from the crawl space. If the joists or subfloor under a room are rotted, that section of floor may need to come up, and the bid will say so before any work starts.
Why does the floor keep sagging after it was shimmed before?
Shims only fill a gap. If the pier underneath is still settling, or the wood above it is rotting, the floor drops again. A lasting fix deals with the pier and the wood, not just the gap.
Is a bouncy floor a foundation problem?
Sometimes. It can be a failing pier, or it can be joists that are undersized, cut for plumbing, or softened by moisture. Our post on sloping and bouncy pier-and-beam floors walks through the usual causes.
Who does the work?
The inspection and the repair are done by Allied Foundation LLC. Your contract and your written warranty are with Allied. Lone Star Foundation Co. is your point of contact from the first call to the finished job.
Get a free inspection
A straight answer on what the house needs, and a written bid before any work starts.