# Pier and Beam Foundation question



## Chester (May 2, 2008)

Hi all.  I am so confused.  I have a small rental house (1100 square feet) in Texas that is in need of foundation work.  The walls are cracked at the door frames, the doors are sometimes difficult to close (as the weather changes) and the skirting is cracked, and the windows don't open.  I have gotten 3 estimates and they are all different insofar as what needs to be done.  Two suggeste replacing the all the piers and one suggests replacing only those that have failed.  One even said that if I didn't do anything that it would also be ok.  The house was built in the 40's.  My question is.  If one does not correct the poblems, won't damage to the house become worse and irreparable??  Can a pier and beam foundations be adjusted and fixed to maintain the integrity of the structure, or do they generally need to be replaced.  How bad does it need to be to justify complete replacement of piers.  I considered hiring an engineer, but they charge upward of $600 - should I hire one?  Any help would be terribly appreciated.  Thanks in advance.


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## edsconstruction (May 21, 2008)

If the structural integrity is not compromised in all of the beams you should be able to replace only the ones that are damaged. I don't know how bad the damage is or how many beams you have. $600.00 does not sound like a bade price to do the repair.


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