Pier & Beam Repair: Day 1 in Dallas | Why This Foundation Repair Will Last

Описание: Day one of a pier and beam repair in Dallas, Texas.

On this house, we’re installing 18 steel piers along with new structural framing, including approximately 120 linear feet of 2x6 and 50 linear feet of 6x4 beam.

Today’s focus was the exterior work. We excavated 16 access holes and installed 15 galvanized steel piers in a single day, nearly completing the entire exterior phase.

As we dug, we encountered typical Dallas soil conditions. The first couple of feet consisted of soft black clay, but at around 32 inches deep the soil transitioned into a dense, chalky layer that is significantly harder than clay.

The piers were hydraulically driven to about 8 feet, reaching roughly 8,000 PSI. Due to the small diameter of the steel pipe, the piers were able to break through the dense layer, the pressure dropped back to around 4,000 PSI, and we advanced an additional 3 to 4 feet, reaching a total depth of approximately 11 to 12 feet.

Even though the piers reached competent load-bearing strata and achieved refusal, we still considered this depth relatively shallow for long-term protection. Instead of installing one pier per location, we doubled them. Every hole received two steel piers, distributing the structural load across 36 points of support instead of 18, making it significantly harder for the structure to ever push downward again.

This is the part of the repair most homeowners never see, but it’s the part that determines whether the solution lasts a few years or decades.

Stay tuned and subscribe to follow the rest of the repair, and leave your questions in the comments.