My house was built in 1832, I have a pier and beam foundation and have several large openings covered by either plywood and concrete board and I am in a flood zone where water is next to the house even when it rains a few inches, do you recommend an open vented crawlspace or an encapsulated one? I was going to open up all of the vents and put lattice panels back (assuming that the foundation has openings for a reason and I’ve had some mold growth but it’s been taken care of) it is a dirt floor and it was unvented for the last 5 years and unknown if it was vented the 10 years before that. It seems to be fine when I got it dry under there but would just venting and drainage make a difference? Thanks!
Venting and drainage helps with the longevity a ton. If you are going to have water coming through, let it flow! If the house is elevated you want to let the water move through and it will usually remain intact in good shape
What would you recommend for skirting and its application around an old pier and beam built in 1930. There is not concrete footing. Old plywood was being used as skirting when we purchased it. I'm in North Texas for climate considerations.
I like either a PT deck board or a Hardie product if you’re really going for long lasting. Also if you need to do it on a tight budget you can always to a pvc lattice product
I'm in the Tampa area and bought an old 1920 bungalow ~1100 sq feet with pier and beam foundation in the last few years. Recently had a structural engineer come out as we were noticing some floor sagging and they basically told me that 15-20 piers weren't in line with code and needed to be replaced. Was kind of surprised that my initial inspector never caught this and was wondering if this is something you often see in Tampa area? Is it common to just have a foundation company come in and just do a complete replacement for all the piers / beams to bring it up to code?
It is definitely something we see often. There is a simple way to support the whole floor system using new piles & beams that just takes a few days to do. It does require replacing most of the floors
@@HomeLoveConstruction hi there, would you mind elaborating on this a little more? What is the simpler method and why would it require replacing most of the floors? Do you go in from the floor down? This brings me to my next question-- is there ever a time when you go down from the inside, through the floors? I know many of the "crawlspaces" in these pier construction built homes can be extremely tight (for lack of a better word) so I am wondering how is the best way to access them when work is needed aside from excavating. Thank you for this video-- it is very informative and I will be following/ watching more of your videos! I am a realtor and am just curious to learn.
Do you have any suggestions how to prevent the perimeter of the p&B foundation from settling? Water gets there and soften the dirt and then the posts (yes, only the perimeter) of the foundation/house settle. The inner portion of the foundation is in a much better shape. I think this is more a drainage issue, but my question is how to get the water away? My house has gutters installed, but rain will still get the footings. Thanks!
You can add concrete footings pinned to the existing footings. It makes them wider, more stable and less likely to sink. If you added 12” on each side that would hold it there for a loooooong time
@@HomeLoveConstruction thank you for your reply! I was thinking of putting lime stones there like laying a railway road. However, I still need to get water away; otherwise, it will sink/settle too, probably slower.
Good video. My house has brick piers that are crumbling, as you discussed here. Question. If the beam on top of the foundation wall has deteriorated, how would you support the interior wall and ceiling above it during replacement? I saw one suggestion to screw a plank of wood into the studs along the wall, then brace 2x4s at a slight angle between the plank and the ground. I can't find many references to this method, so I'm wondering if it's reliable.
Yes you need to basically add a large board to the side of the house then Jack it up with that board holding everything together. Then replace the beam under the wall and lower it back down. Easier said than done to be honest
@@HomeLoveConstruction Thank you! Ideally, I'll hire someone, but I always like to know roughly how it's supposed to be done! Knowing to ask the right questions has saved me a mess before!
