# pier and beam mess



## jill (Feb 9, 2006)

Hi,

My home is from the 1920s and has a pier and beam foundation. I recently hired a company to level the house and they did not do a good job. Tomorrow they return to do "whatever I tell them to do" - now I have to be the expert!!  

Anyway, does anyone know how far apart the piers should be? There's one perimeter wall with about 15 feet between piers and that seems pretty far to me. 

Thanks for any help. I tried to do my research and hire a good company but in the end you just have to trust people and I got ripped off.


----------



## Square Eye (Feb 9, 2006)

Gee! so sorry, 

I also think 15 ft is excessive. I try to stay in the 8 to 12 ft range and still 12 ft is a little far. If the house is old and has no plywood on the walls, the walls can rack and sag. The diagonal bracing is pretty good but does not compare to modern building techniques. Perimeter walls on modern construction usually have a continuous foundation wall under them. The foundation wall that runs perpendicular to the run of the floor joists is the major load bearer, but even so, the walls that run parallel with the floor joists usually have the gable wall on them and are bearing a great weight also. 

It may be time to call a certified building inspector to evaluate the work done and abide by his findings.

Tom in KY, a building inspector can sometimes be better than an attourney. Inspector D,, Are you out there today?


----------



## inspectorD (Feb 9, 2006)

Hey Guy's!!

Why yes Tom in KY I am out there, WAY OUT THERE!! But seriously folks,....
 Where to start... First what was the reason for the repairs.
Termites? Settling of piers? Soil bearing capacity or soil type like sand or clay.You live in Texas where there are not likely to be earthquakes but clay soil can expand to 4 times when wet. Do you live by a shore. I assume this is a one story home?

The reason you need to know all these diferent variables is I need to know about soil movement and high wind or hurricane areas as they change your spacing of piers and any new tie downs you may need to bring it up to current standards.

To get a real answer to your questions you need to get someone local to your area, like your building department or a licenced engineer or a competent ,licenced home inspector,preferably one from the www.ASHI.org site.

Tell us how you make out and mabey let the crew wait until monday to get the answers, don't be rushed and get it wrong.
It's to important to get a professional to look at it.

If you have to hire someone, take it of their end. They should have known how to fix this in the first place.

Good luck Jill!!


----------



## mmcracken (Feb 19, 2006)

If you have somebody with a Internatinal Building codes book this will give you your pier distants and footing sizes based on the dimensions of the lumber you are using for the band sill / rim joist.


----------

