“Never buy a pier and beam house they have too many problems!” – Does this sound familiar? Countless times I have encountered people who are convinced that homes with this type of foundation are money pits – that they will always have problems. Maybe you have heard the same too.

I have a personal passion for pier and beam homes, as an owner of a historic home myself (built in the 1880s). I find it rather sad the amount of flack older homes receive, especially homes with a p&b foundation. Is the bad reputation warranted?

What is a pier and beam foundation?

To put it in simple layman’s terms, a pier or “post” and beam foundation is a foundation system with wood floor framing supported by beams or walls. There are several different types of p&b foundations – stem walls, deep piers, shallow piers, masonry walls, and more…

Are pier and beam foundations bad?

Each type of p&b foundation has different strengths and weaknesses. I have personally seen p&b homes that were 80+ years old and in better condition than slab homes that were 5 years old! The main difference between a “good and bad” foundation mostly has to do with the particular type of foundation supports and the maintenance it has received.

Darr Engineering

At Darr Engineering, we can assess the foundation of your pier and beam home, and give you recommendations on how to improve the performance of the foundation, and whether or not the foundation would benefit from “foundation repair”. Unlike foundation repair companies, who may be biased to sell their products, we do not sell “foundation repair”, we only give an honest and unbiased opinion. Maybe your home needs “foundation repair” or maybe it doesn’t. Either way, don’t spend money on foundation repair without getting an independent expert opinion from a structural engineer. We serve San Antonio, Austin, and the surrounding communities of South Texas. Contact Us Today.

-Brandon Darr, P.E.

Contact Us by Mail:

933 N Flores Street, Suite 3

San Antonio, Texas 78212

Contact us by Phone:

San Antonio: (210)-300-6767

Austin: (512)-400-0150

Victoria: (361)-400-7487

Contact us by Email:

info@darrengineering.com