Why A Pier And Beam Foundation Is Far Superior To A Slab Foundation

Okay, nicely, which may be overstating it only a bit. Or loads. I simply thought I’d begin my day by getting a few of you riled up. I’m feeling a bit feisty at present. 😀 So sure, it’s a little bit of an overstatement to say {that a} pier and beam basis is “far superior” to a slab basis. In reality, the kind of basis required (or allowed) for a home will largely rely on issues like (1) location and commonplace constructing practices for that space, (2) the local weather of a selected space, and (3) the kind of soil on which the home is being constructed. There are such a lot of components that go into figuring out what’s finest for what space, and people choices are finest left to the engineers in that space.

However since I discussed the opposite day that I’d all the time desire to reside in a pier and beam home, and at the very least one particular person was very shocked by that and questioned what my reasoning is for that call, I believed I’d share my ideas and experiences in a publish relatively than a remark.

I occur to reside in an space that has each pier and beam homes and homes constructed on slab foundations. (Whereas basements aren’t commonplace on this space, there are some homes with basements, in order that’s a complete totally different class.) So we truly had a selection. We might have purchased a home on a concrete slab basis, however I all the time knew that I wished a pier and beam home. And I’d all the time select pier and beam 100% of the time. However earlier than I clarify why, let me ensure we’re all caught up on what, precisely, I’m speaking about.

What’s a pier and beam basis?

A pier and beam basis home is constructed in order that the ground is raised up off of the bottom with room sufficient below the ground of the home that an individual can get below there and crawl round (therefore the identify “crawl area”).

The perimeter of the home could be concrete piers, or it may be a strong concrete footing throughout the perimeter of the home, which is what ours is. That is an outdated image that I discovered of our home, taken earlier than we had the brand new sidewalk poured, earlier than I constructed the brand new steps and hand rails, and earlier than we had new home windows put in. However you possibly can see the strong concrete footing across the perimeter that’s above floor degree.

However the flooring of our home doesn’t begin on prime of that footing. As a result of simply above that concrete footing, you’ll see vents. These vents are venting our crawl area below the ground of our home.

So the ground of our home is someplace above these vents. You possibly can see the place our entrance door is, and it opens degree with the ground in the home.

However not all pier and beam homes have that concrete footing across the perimeter. My grandmother’s home in east Texas (Henderson) didn’t have that, at the very least not in the back of the home. Her crawl area was open to the surface. You may stand outdoors the home within the again and see below the home. My mother lastly blocked it with siding or one thing like that simply to maintain animals from getting below there, however it was open.

So with my grandmother’s home, as a result of the crawl area below her home was accessible from the surface, she didn’t want inside entry to her crawl area. However as a result of our home has the concrete footer round the entire perimeter, we now have to have a scuttle gap inside our home to entry the crawl area. That gap is within the dwelling gymnasium flooring within the closet space. This part of flooring within the nook of the closet space comes up if somebody must get below the home. And it’s a good squeeze to get below there!

So whereas the perimeter could be performed in numerous methods, the center of a pier and beam home is fairly commonplace. There are concrete piers spaced based on regardless of the constructing code requires (or required when the home was constructed). After which spanning throughout these concrete piers are large wooden beams. After which on prime of the beams, perpendicular to the beams, are the ground joists. After which on prime of the ground joists are the subfloor after which the flooring.

So right here’s a take a look at what was below our toilet flooring as soon as we took out the hardwood flooring and the subfloor. Pay no consideration to the cinder blocks. I don’t know why these have been below there. They served no structural objective in any respect, and we eliminated them, so that they’re now not below there. However from the bottom up, you see (1) concrete pier, (2) metallic shims (defined later), (3) wooden beams, (4) flooring joists. After which on prime of the ground joists could be (5) subfloor (i.e., plywood), and (6) flooring. You too can see one other vent beneath and to the suitable of the door. It seems to be like a white rectangle, however that’s a vent with daylight coming via.

Along with the construction, you’d even have issues like insulation and vapor barrier, based on present constructing codes.

For instance, once I acquired prepared to rework our kitchen again in 2014, I knew I wished the kitchen organized in a totally totally different format than the unique. Within the authentic kitchen, the sink was on the again wall that it shares with the sunroom.

And the gasoline line was on the facet the place the peninsula now could be. (That room past the wall is now the breakfast room/sitting room, with that door resulting in my studio)…

I knew I wished issues fully rearranged, so I had a plumber come out and put issues the place I wished them. He crawled below the home, and inside about two hours, he had the traces for the sink within the space the place the gasoline line was once within the picture above, and that space now seems to be like this…

And he moved the gasoline line to the opposite facet in order that I might have my range on the alternative wall. He additionally ran a water line for the fridge whereas he was below there.

Once more, that work took him and his helper about two hours, and value us about $500. After which he left, and I used to be able to DIY my new kitchen with the plumbing and gasoline fully rearranged and proper the place I wished them.

Now examine that to my mother’s toilet rework. Her home is on a concrete slab basis. When she wished to rework and increase her grasp toilet and rearrange the position of the bathroom, the bathe, and the sinks, that required the contractor coming in with a jackhammer to bust up her slab basis. This was very onerous work. It was work that produced mud that discovered its approach into her whole home, no matter how a lot they tried to dam off the work space. It was LOUD work. Right here’s what that course of regarded like…

After which as soon as they’d the brand new pipes the place they wanted to be, they pushed the grime again into the trenches, coated it with a moisture barrier, added rebar…

After which coated the world with new concrete.

That didn’t take two hours and value $500. 😀 I don’t keep in mind precisely how lengthy that took, however it was at the very least a number of days. Possibly per week. Possibly longer. And paying for that labor value hundreds of {dollars}. There’s simply way more flexibility and ease with a pier and beam basis. And that’s true with regards to plumbing repairs as nicely.

It’s true that pier and beam foundations might have to be leveled every so often, however once more, that can rely on local weather and soil circumstances. However that’s usually not tough work. Fundamental home leveling work is a matter of climbing below the home with some jacks and a few small metallic shims (which you noticed and I identified within the picture above of the inspiration below our toilet flooring). When the employee inside the home finds a low spot (which he locates by merely utilizing a laser or bubble degree on the ground inside), the particular person below the home makes use of the jack to elevate that beam up a bit and slide a metallic shim or two between the pier and the beam, leading to a degree flooring.

And slab foundations aren’t resistant to turning into unlevel. They will additionally crack, which is a typical drawback in our space with our soil and our lengthy, dry summers. There are lots of slab basis houses on this space of central Texas with cracked foundations. A few of them have giant cracks working clear from entrance to again down the center of the home, and fixing a cracked slab basis could be very pricey and time-consuming. It may be performed, however so many householders discover it to be completely cost-prohibitive, particularly contemplating that there’s no assure that it received’t occur once more, that they simply reside with the cracked basis and hope that it doesn’t trigger critical structural injury down the street.

The underside line is that pier and beam foundations are costlier to construct, however the upkeep and adaptability with them can save hundreds and hundreds of {dollars} over the lifetime of the home. Slab foundations are cheaper to construct, however the prices of restore and transforming could be very pricey over the lifetime of the home.

However once more, there are professionals and cons to each. It’s actually only a matter of choice in case your space is one through which you’ve got a selection between the 2. And in case you do have the selection, the selections have to be made with issues in thoughts which might be specific to your space, like the kind of soil, the local weather, and many others. What looks as if a transparent winner to me primarily based on circumstances right here in central Texas would be the absolute incorrect resolution for somebody dwelling in very totally different circumstances.

Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and beautify the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You possibly can study extra about me right here.