House Leveling vs. Pier and Beam Repairs: Differences You Need to Know

Sep 28, 2023

What are the differences between house leveling and pier and beam repair methods

House leveling and pier and beam repairs are both important methods for maintaining and repairing your homes' foundation. House leveling involves adjusting the foundation of a house to ensure it is even and stable. On the other hand, pier and beam repairs focus on fixing issues within the crawl space beneath the house.

Let’s dive right in to understand the differences between these two essential home maintenance tasks, house leveling and pier and beam repairs. Let us help you understand when each is necessary and how they contribute to the longevity of your home.

House Leveling Vs. Pier And Beam Repairs: Learn The Basics

House Leveling:

As the name suggests, house leveling simply involves leveling houses that have tilted somehow. Your home can get unleveled for many reasons. For example, foundation settlement, degraded or damaged parts of the foundation, adding more loads or floors to a weak foundation, natural disasters, and so on.

And you can level your houses in many ways, such as by mudjacking, polyjacking, replacing structural components, adding structural components, using mechanical parts like jacks to level the house, reducing the load on the house, and so on.

It is important to level a home when the first signs of unevenness occurs. If you leave the issues alone, you will experience much worse issues quickly, resulting in more work, more money, and more long term damage. No matter what kind of house it is, what kind of foundation it has, leveling is a must. House styles differ, from a traditional wooden house with a wooden foundation, a foundation with concrete, or any modern house with different characteristics.

Pier and Beam Repair:

To know how to repair, you first need to know what pier and beam actually means. It’s a type of foundation that most residential houses have in the USA. If your house has a crawl space, then the foundation type is definitely a pier and beam foundation.

In this foundation system, there are vertical columns, or piers and horizontal beams to support the building structure. The beams, or piers, or both of them are usually made from strong wood, unlike the concrete slab foundation, where only concrete is used for the support system.

The wooden pier and beams can’t withstand loads forever; they’re more susceptible to environmental change, and wood can get damaged over time, especially if there is so much moisture. Any natural disaster or underground soil movement can also damage or degrade the pier and beams.

When this foundation gets damaged, the whole house or part of it can become unlevel most of the time, and it would need replacement or repairs. And when you repair or replace the pier and beam, it will also mean leveling the house more or less.

Knowing the Differences Between House Leveling And Pier and Beam Repairs

The final level of ‘house leveling’ and ‘pier and beam’ repair is the same, but the reasons behind them as well as the repairing process can vary. You can say pier and beam repair is one kind of house leveling, but not every house leveling is pier and beam repair.

In pier and beam repair, you will need to repair only the pier, beam, or other components directly related to these two parts. On the other hand, house leveling repair can be done anywhere in the house, in any type of component, and it can be directly or indirectly in contact with the house foundation.

Also, house leveling can be done on many types of houses with different structural components. But for pier and beam repair, you’ll need a house that has only a pier and beam foundation. And sometimes the repair of those pier and beam needs has nothing to do with house leveling, just some simple repairs that don’t affect the superstructure.

When to Choose House Leveling?

There are lots of reasons why one would need to level their house. The main indicators that suggest you contract a professional for house leveling, which are typically foundation repair specialists, are:

● When any specific portion of your house floor is sagging.

● There can be visible cracks in the interior and exterior walls of your house.

● Cracks can be found in the foundation area.

● Doors and windows will get stuck and not close or open properly.

● There can be moisture and mold issues in the house.

● After a big natural disaster.

When Should I Consider Repairs for My Pier and Beam Foundation?

You should consider repairs for your pier and beam foundation only when there are signs that your crawl space is facing problems. The possible signs that you should contact a professional for pier and beam repairs are:

● The biggest sign can be an unlevel house that became unstable due to any fault in the pier or beam components.

● There can be visible damage on either piers or beams, or both. The damages can be due to rotting wood, cracks, or termite damage.

● Sometimes the floors can sag in certain areas.

● There can be cracks in ceilings, walls, and the frames of doors and windows.

● Also, there can be leaks in the foundation area, it will increase your energy bills and increase moisture, mold, and insects in the crawl space.

As now you know the basics about house leveling and pier and beam foundations, now you can confidently hire a foundation repair professional to do the job for you. Determining what your house needs requires keen observation by a professional to assess the situation and select the perfect solution within your budget. So make sure to contact your local contractor for a thorough inspection.