How to tell which one you have
If your house sits low to the ground with no crawl space access and the floors are concrete under the finish, it is a slab. If there is a vent along the base of the exterior wall, a crawl space door, or a step up into the house, you are probably on pier and beam.
In Arlington and Fort Worth, most homes built before the 1960s are pier and beam and most built after are slab, with plenty of exceptions.
What slab repair involves
Piers go in around the perimeter or under interior load points, driven to soil that will carry the load, and the slab is lifted back to a practical elevation. Access happens outside where we can, or through tunneling when a placement falls under the middle of the house.
It is heavier equipment, more excavation, and a bigger footprint in the yard. Interiors usually stay untouched when we tunnel.
What pier and beam repair involves
The work happens under the floor. We add or rebuild block piers, replace beams that have rotted or split, reset shim stacks, and sister joists where they have sagged.
It is more carpentry than excavation, and on most houses it is less expensive than a full slab pier line. It is also easier to adjust later, which is a real advantage of the older construction.
- New or rebuilt block piers under failing supports.
- Beam replacement where wood has rotted or split.
- Shim resets to bring the floor back level.
- Crawl space drainage when standing water is rotting the wood.
Bouncing floors are not the same as settlement
A floor that flexes when you walk across it is usually a joist or support spacing issue, not the foundation dropping. A floor that slopes consistently toward one corner is settlement.
We get under the house and look before we tell you which one you have, because the repairs are not remotely the same.
Moisture is the killer under a crawl space
Standing water under a house rots beams and piers from the bottom up. If the crawl space stays damp, whatever we rebuild is on a clock.
On those jobs, drainage is not an upsell. It is the part that makes the repair last.
Common questions
People Ask Us This
- Is pier and beam repair cheaper than slab repair?
- Usually, yes, because there is less excavation. It depends on how much wood and support needs replacing once we are under there.
- Can a pier and beam house be converted to slab?
- That is not a repair, that is a rebuild. We would rather fix the supports you have.
- How disruptive is the work?
- Pier and beam work happens under the floor, so most homeowners stay in the house. Slab pier work is outside unless a placement requires interior access.
Written by
Chris Tinsley
Co-owner of Imperial Foundation Repair in Arlington. Runs the crews and the work in the ground.
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