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- Will tree roots affect my pier and beam home?
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Dear Joni,thanks for the question. There are a few ways a tree may affect your Pier & Beam.
If the tree is fairly close to the foundation,say six feet or closer,the roots could push up on the perimeter beam as they grow larger and put upward pressure on the beam. This could cause the beam to crack. If the roots go under the perimeter beam and into the crawl space in search of water they could contribute to a couple of problems. The root could cause the soil around a pier or two to shrink due to loss of moisture and the pier(s) could settle away from the floor. This could cause the floor to sag or it could cause the floor to shake and vibrate as you walk across it. The other problem could be the roots breaking into your sewer drain pipes in order to get water. Then you have a plumbing problem to deal with.
Also,during the rainy season, the roots could act as paths for the outside water to follow into your crawl space and thus cause various problems.
I hope this answers your question,but feel free to let me know if you need further clarification.
Sincerely,
Alan Ardoin
President of Ace Foundation - Does your firm do work to repair upheavals in a slab foundation? If you do, is it possible to give me a very rough idea of the cost to do that type of repair?
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Great question. Sadly there really is no method to date for correcting an upheaval. The main thing we focus on is the cause of the heaval.
First check your plumbing for leaks and fix any leaks found. Once the leaks are eliminated it could take up to 6 months for the excess water under the area to dry out and sometimes the heave will go down,but not always.
Another source of water which could be causing the soil to heave is poor drainage around the foundation. The solution would be to correct the drainage problems and wait for the soil to dry out.
Other causes of heave are tree roots growing under the foundation and existing piers which have been pushed up by the expanding soil. This is most commonly true if the piers are concrete. In which case the piers can be exposed,any shims and blocks removed and the foundation allowed to come back down.
The cost to do that could range from $100.00 - $150.00 per pier. If the heave is isolated to a small area of a slab foundation,you could mark off the outer edge of the area,breakout the concrete,dig out the heaved soil and repour the concrete. The price would depend on the square footage of the area. Not to mention the emotional cost of going through it.
If your foundation is a pier and beam we could work at lowering the high area from underneath. If you want, we could come out and look at your situation for a better idea of what might be done.
Sincerely,
Alan Ardoin
President of Ace Foundation
