For many homeowners, a concrete pier foundation can be the best option for supporting their homes. Pier foundations use pillars to support heavy loads from multiple directions, making them ideal for large buildings and multi-floor structures. However, some problems can arise with piers. For example, settlement is often an issue because of shrinkage and creep in the soil beneath the pier footing.

What is the Pier Foundation?

Pier foundation is a type of concrete pillar that provides stability to the building. It can also be used as an alternative to footings, and it may offer better wind resistance due to its lack of connection with the ground below.

It’s typically built on arched blocks or pads laid across compacted gravel; these are called “piles.” In colder climates, you might see piles made from the crushed stone areas for insulation against permafrost in the soil beneath them. Once constructed, this low profile solution offers excellent performance when groundwater levels rise during flooding events such as hurricanes or tsunamis – which makes it perfect for homes located near watercourses prone to seasonal flooding.

The Benefits of Pier Foundation

A pier foundation is a great option for homeowners who live in high water table areas or swampy ground. It’s also a good choice if the soil conditions are too solid to use an earth-sheltered house, but still require additional support since they’re not as deep below ground level. Pier foundations offer many benefits that make it worth considering.

If you live in an area where flooding and erosion can be common issues due to higher than average water tables, then using this type of foundation might be your best bet because these piers go deeper into the bedrock which makes them more stable on top of wet and unstable soil. In turn, less concrete needs to be used so there will be fewer cracks and less lime content.

There are many benefits to using a pier foundation, but some of the most popular reasons for choosing this type of construction include, it’s less expensive and takes up less space on top of the ground than an earth-sheltered house; the piers can be made from concrete that has been mixed with sand or gravel so it will drain better in wet climates. They’re more stable if you live in high water table areas because they go deeper into the bedrock where soil conditions may not be as solid. With these structures, there is also less need for concrete which means fewer cracks and lower acidity levels due to the lack of limestone.

How to Support the Pier Foundation

The pier foundation should be supported with pilings sunk into the ground or driven piles. A load of a house is transferred from the footer to the pier support which transfers it further out onto numerous concrete columns that are connected by steel beams called joists. You can use any number and configuration of piers, depending on your personal preference as long as they’re properly secured in place and adequately spaced apart to avoid transferring too much weight to one area.

Pier and Beam Foundation Problems

Pier and Beam Foundation Problems are often found in older homes where concrete slabs were poured on top of the dirt. Over time, the soil becomes dry and crumbles away, leaving behind voids that can range from inches to feet deep. This is a problem because it creates uneven floors which cause cracking or buckling (concrete slab), wood rot due to lack of drainage & water pressure (wooden posts), and foundation movement as the pier columns rock back and forth with each load put onto them. You may not even know you have this foundational issue until one day your porch collapses after sitting there for years without any problems ever before.