Pier & Beam and Crawl Space Foundation Repair

In a pier-and-beam home, the house rests on beams that sit on piers or blocks, with a crawl space underneath. This design is common in older homes across Texas, the South and the Southeast. It is easier to repair than a slab, but it needs attention: supports settle, wood shims compress, and moisture in the crawl space can weaken beams and joists.

Signs of pier-and-beam problems

• Floors that sag, slope or feel bouncy
• Doors that swing open or closed on their own
• Cracks in interior walls and ceilings
• Gaps between baseboards and the floor
• Damp or musty crawl space, rotting wood or wood damage
• Piers that lean, crack or have sunk into the ground

Typical pier-and-beam repair costs

Repair	Typical range*
Re-shimming and minor leveling	$700 – $3,000
Adjustable steel support posts	$300 – $1,000 per post
New or replaced piers	$1,000 – $3,000 per pier
Beam or joist repair / replacement	$1,000 – $10,000
Larger leveling projects	$5,000 – $25,000

*General US ranges for orientation only, not quotes. Local contractors set their own prices after inspecting your home.

How pier-and-beam homes are repaired

The contractor measures the floors to find the low spots, then goes into the crawl space. Common fixes are replacing crushed wood shims with steel shims, adding adjustable steel posts under sagging beams, replacing rotted sills and joists, and installing new piers where the old ones have settled. Many contractors also recommend improving crawl space ventilation or moisture control, because damp crawl spaces are one of the main reasons wood supports fail.

Re-shim, add supports or replace?

The right repair depends on what failed. If piers are sound but shims have crushed or slipped, re-shimming with steel shims may be enough. If piers have settled or cracked, they are reset on new footings or replaced with adjustable steel supports. If beams or joists are undersized, sagging or rotted, they are sistered or replaced. Many projects combine all three. Because floors that have sagged for years are lifted slowly, some contractors schedule a follow-up adjustment.

Moisture is often part of the story. Damp crawl spaces rot wood and soften soil under piers. See crawl space moisture and sagging floors.

Where pier and beam homes are common

Older neighborhoods in Houston, San Antonio and Corpus Christi, historic districts in Montgomery and Mobile, and crawl space homes across Charlotte, Atlanta, Knoxville and Portland.

Cost sources: Bob Vila, This Old House and Fixr national cost guides (2025–2026). Local prices: see our cost guide.

Related guides

• Pier and Beam Leveling
• Crawl Space Moisture and Sagging Floors
• Slab, Crawl Space, Pier-and-Beam or Basement? Foundation Types Explained
• Push Piers vs. Helical Piers vs. Concrete Piers