A home is the safest place for you and your family. You can’t afford it to be in a poor condition. Whether it is different climatic conditions, theft or robbery in all scenarios, your home is the safest place to be. That is why you invest once in lifetime to prepare a place where you can keep your family forever. Since you have invested so much to the house you wouldn’t like any damage or harm to be done to it.
Old homes were built on pier and beam foundation because they believed it to be stronger than a slab foundation. It is much easier to repair than any other foundation. Since it is solid iron, it is strongly recommended because it helps in holding your entire house firmly. If you see old houses they are still in good shape, only slight wear and tear is renovated.
Pier and beam was introduced in building houses back in 1910. Pier and beam provide space of around 18 inches underground so that any type of plumbing or heating could be accessed conveniently, unlike slab which you have to break to check all utilities. Although it takes lot of time in getting installed, but is safe as well as convenient.
However, there are certain things that have to be kept in mind before installing pier and beam –
- Ventilation under the house should be according to the moisture in soil and woods. When inspection is done, the size of ventilation should be decided right then.
- Drainage system should be good so that water doesn’t accumulate near the floor. Stagnant water at one place can force the soil to sink further, which can push the foundation to go down.
There are many ways that you can understand there is time for repairing foundation-
- Wall cracks on interior and exterior walls.
- Sagging and uneven floors.
- Vertical and horizontal cracks on ceiling.
- Crooked doors that don’t open easily.
Pier and beam go down into the soil which holds further the foundation of the house. There is always a gap between the foundation and ground. Every foundation gets uneven due to soil. If soil gets moist it loosens its particles there by pushing heavy material of beam further down. This way, the flooring becomes uneven. Since doors and windows are fixed accordingly, they tend to move from their place and get crooked and jammed.
One cannot say that after installing pier and beam you don’t need renovation in future.
