Home Foundation Decisions: Should You Choose Pier and Beam or Slab? That’s because construction allows for, or demands, that certain foundation types be used. For example, in North Texas and southern Oklahoma, homes use either a pier and beam (also called a post and beam) foundation or a slab (or “slab on grade”) foundation. When choosing which type for your new home, you’ll want to think about why each one is used. For that, a little history is in order.
Pier and Beam. Originally, prior to the 1. This type of structure was used primarily because the technology for laying slab concrete foundations wasn’t as refined as it is today, but mostly pier and beam has important advantages over slab in certain parts of the country – especially those areas where soil is very expansive or where there is a distinct “wet” and “dry” season. The construction of pier and beam is relatively simple to understand. A pier is dug into the ground far enough that it can rest on stone. Because stone doesn’t expand or move based on moisture content surrounding it. Then, grade beam is laid on top of the pier, and stretches across the home, connecting to other piers laid into the ground. The beam is similar, in concept, to beams in the ceiling or roof – they run long distances and are strong enough to support the home.
HD Foundations offers foundation repair in Fort Worth, Arlington and Dallas, TX, free foundation repair estimates and a lifetime warranty.
Slab on grade, or foundation and basement The first step to home design deciding what sort of base you will rest it on. The following pages outline the benefits and.
RONA carries supplies for your Design and build a foundation for your storage shed projects. Find how to help your home improvement project. Home Foundation Decisions: Should You Choose Pier and Beam or Slab? Posted by Rickk Miller on Dec 23, 2014 in Home Help How to Install Underground House Plumbing Slab Foundation. Installing plumbing is a necessary step in ground preparation before pouring a concrete slab foundation for. We want to install a 14mm laminate floor on our hydronic heated concrete basement (on grade) floor. There is a plastic vapor barrier under the concrete.
Under the beams are void forms. These are voids (spaces) that are left when void cartons (usually cardboard) rot away. The void cartons are used to provide structure for the concrete when it’s being poured. These homes do not sit directly on the ground. Instead, they are situated up into the air. It’s a really cool process and, if you’re willing to pay the money for it, it’s often considered an excellent construction scheme.
It’s reminiscent of the way homes “felt” in the 1. Slab. A slab on grade foundation is a concrete slab that sits directly on the ground. It requires very little preparation, and these foundations tend to work well on flat surfaces. So, if you live in the mid- west, you’ll often find new homes built using this method.
The perimeter of the slab is usually only 2 feet deep, while the interior can be as little as 4 to 6 inches. Yes, this is what’s holding up the home.
The concrete sits on top of 4 to 6 inches of gravel. To keep moisture from negatively affecting the concrete, a 4 millimeter sheet of plastic is used as a “vapor barrier.” Because it’s so simple to construct, many new homes use this method as it’s also less labor- intensive and doesn’t require as much time to design. Why You Should Choose Pier and Beam. Simply put, there are a lot of advantages to using this setup. According to Foundation Repair Pros, a pier and beam foundation has a superior design over slab foundations. These types of foundations are easier to repair, it’s easier to get at plumbing under the foundation, and the wood platform construction makes for a more comfortable living space.
They also help make a home more energy- efficient, since the air under the home acts as an insulator. If constructed properly, the house will not move. Even if the pier and beam system isn’t designed and built optimally, any small shifts in the home can be easily fixed with steel shims. Why You Shouldn’t Install Pier and Beam. Now, with all of the benefits of pier and beam, why wouldn’t you want to go with this as your first option? For starters, there’s cost. These foundations almost always cost more than slab foundations.
Secondly, not all construction companies know how to build this type of foundation well. It requires a special set of skills that are, unfortunately, becoming more and more rare in the construction industry. Low cost is replacing quality construction, largely due to demand. So, there’s simply a lack of qualified companies out there doing the job. For example, if the piers are spaced too far apart, they won’t do a good job of supporting the structure. As a result, the floor in the home might start to crack or sag. If this happens, you may experience problems opening and closing doors (they’ll shift in the frame).
Finally, if the construction crew doesn’t have experience with this design, they may not make the piers wide enough or dig deep enough into the ground, which will erase all of the benefits of pier and beam. Why You Should Choose a Slab Foundation.
The major reason to choose a slab foundation is cost. It’s much, much cheaper to build a slab foundation. Another advantage is that there’s no crawl space under the home so there’s no chance of water sitting underneath there, rotting your floorboards or foundation. Finally, this is a super- easy foundation to pour, so many construction companies like it. Why You Shouldn’t Install A Slab Foundation. Slab foundations have some major disadvantages, and many of them lie in the maintenance aspect of it.
Slab on grade homes are hard to maintain. If you ever need repair or maintenance of pipes under the home, there’s just no easy way to repair them. There’s also easy way to repair the foundation itself if it cracks. If you live in an area where the soil is expansive (it gets wet due to heavy rains and shifts or expands), you could find your foundation cracking over time, your house shifting or moving, or your structure becoming unstable. Which Should You Choose?
Bottom line: if you don’t have much money to spend on labor, or you need ways to decrease the cost of the home, go with a slab foundation – especially if you live in a moderate climate. If you live in the north, or an area where there’s heavy rainfall or dramatic shifts in the temperature throughout the year, use a pier and beam foundation. Kevin Myers is owner of Foundation Repair Pros, serving clients in Texas and Oklahoma.
Kevin graduated with a B.
How to Determine if a Water Pipe is Broken Under a Slab. When it comes to your plumbing, most people don.
In most cases, plumbing leaks in Jacksonville FL are noticeable before they cause extensive damage by leaving water stains, soft spots, and a musty odor behind. It might be reflected in the water bill alone if the leak is in one of the cold water pipes, but you might also feel some sticker shock on the electric or gas side of the bill if the leak is in a hot water pipe.
Some of the signs of a water leak under your slab include: You see that your water meter seems to be spinning at a higher rate than normal, or you notice that the water heater runs more often. You find a warm spot in the floor. You find wet spots on the floor. You can feel a soft spot in the floor as you walk over it. You can hear water running in the pipes, even when you don. Finding a Slab Leak.
Locating a leak under the concrete slab of your house is a painstaking procedure. While feeling a soft spot or warm spot in your floor might indicate a leak, it doesn.
Water has the ability to travel quite a distance before making an obvious sign. Locating a leak under a slab is a two step process. Use an electronic leak detector to pinpoint the location of the leak. Repairing a Slab Leak. Once the leak is isolated, repairs can be made.
In most cases, the damaged pipe will need to be cut away and replaced with new pipe or pipes that have to be rerouted using a form of trenchless technology. Direct Access. While direct access to the pipes is usually the easiest way to access the under slab plumbing, it is usually not the best approach, since there is a high possibility that other structures will be damaged in the process.
However, if the other options are simply not available, direct access by cutting through the concrete, cutting away the damaged pipe, and soldering the two ends to a copper connector is in order to repair the damage. The final steps in the repair of plumbing leaks in Jacksonville FL will mean the difference between a successful repair and one that fails in a few months to a year. If everything is dry, remove the wet dirt from around the pipe, replace it with dry sand and top it off with concrete. After the concrete dries, the hole can be covered.
When rerouting pipes, it is important to locate the pipes and figure out a way to run new piping around the trouble spot. Sometimes this involves running new pipes through the walls or attic. Home insurance often pays for all or most slab leak repair work, and it is best to call in the professionals to locate and fix the plumbing leaks in your Jacksonville FL home. In addition, professional plumbers have access to tools that allow them to locate the leak and make the repairs more quickly than if you attempt to do it on your own.