# new home - foundation question



## saluma (Oct 20, 2013)

I'm considering buying a small cabin/house on 10 acres. I love the land, and the house is totally sufficient for my needs. I had a home inspection done, and one of the things that was pointed out to me is that the piers are standing directly on the ground, instead of on footings, which will invite rot and pests.
I'm trying to get an idea of how serious this problem might be. Should I go ahead and hire a foundation repair company to add the footings? Should I wait it out until rot seems apparent, then replace the piers and add footings (it is 20 years old now)? Any idea of what the cost of this might be (the house is about 800sqft).
Thanks for any insights!


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## Grumpy old man (Aug 6, 2013)

There are so many variables ,How old / type of ground / what state ? weather? With ground contact it will eventually rot ,Can you do the work yourself ?


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## saluma (Oct 20, 2013)

Grumpy old man said:


> There are so many variables ,How old / type of ground / what state ? weather? With ground contact it will eventually rot ,Can you do the work yourself ?


The house is 20 years old now, in East Texas, hot humid climate. I hope to be able to do minor repairs myself, but definitely wouldn't feel comfortable tackling something like this.


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## homstdr74 (Jul 4, 2011)

I'd live in it while I was building another house.

That said, you have to get that wood off the dirt. If you don't, the bugs are going to work their way into the flooring and walls.

As far as putting actual piers under your posts, that's a hassle. Not so much the exterior piers, but under the house. If frost isn't the problem, you could slide under the house with a pre-formed piece of concrete and place it under the post after you've cut off all the rot on the bottom. 

The exterior piers would be easier in some regards, but you should work on them one by one, putting house jacks on both sides of the post to be worked on, far enough apart to dig a hole deep enough to escape frost and/or settling and wide enough to place a 12"x12" pier on (maybe 16"x16"). Put in some reinforcement, extending the rebar above ground level so the pier you will pour on top of it will have the rebar in it, also. Pour concrete into the hole, level with the ground; build a form to pour concrete into and fill it with concrete to the bottom of the wooden post....while it's wet, slip in something like a metal plate or a piece of sheet metal or aluminum pie plate or something under the wooden post.

Sound like a hassle? It is. Like I said, I'd live in it while I built another house, this time with concrete under it.


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## copperkid3 (Mar 18, 2005)

saluma said:


> I'm considering buying a small cabin/house on 10 acres. I love the land, and the house is totally sufficient for my needs. I had a home inspection done, and one of the things that was pointed out to me is that the piers are standing directly on the ground, instead of on footings, which will invite rot and pests.
> I'm trying to get an idea of how serious this problem might be. Should I go ahead and hire a foundation repair company to add the footings? Should I wait it out until rot seems apparent, then replace the piers and add footings (it is 20 years old now)? Any idea of what the cost of this might be (the house is about 800sqft).
> Thanks for any insights!


+ + + + + + +
You are "considering" buying . . . had an inspection done . . . .

problems found . . . but YOU are considering hiring the work

necessary to make it right? What are we overlooking here . . . .

the fact that it isn't yours yet and you have a powerful negotiating tool.

Make your offer contingent with having the owner take care of the problem

first OR if they don't want to be bothered with that hassle, knock off the amount

necessary to have it done right by someone you want doing it . . . even if you

do the work yourself. And it isn't that hard, just time consuming, so pay yourself well.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Usually treated is good for 40 years,but who knows for sure......


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## saluma (Oct 20, 2013)

Thanks, yes I'm considering renegotiating, however the property is already quite cheap and the Sellers already went down considerably on their price. I knew it would need some work, and all in all I was even positively surprised by the home inspection report.


copperkid3 said:


> + + + + + + +
> You are "considering" buying . . . had an inspection done . . . .
> 
> problems found . . . but YOU are considering hiring the work
> ...


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

I'm kinda wondering how this could be? Usually a post set on the ground will sink over time with a lot of weight on it...

Wondering if they were set in a hole with concrete added to the hole..


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## John_Canada (Aug 17, 2013)

You can do yourself one pier at a time (dig and place cement pier with anchor) but it is A LOT of work. Not sure of how many piers but I would be knocking thousands off that house for that work. This house had some of the original piers and they were so damaged they created a log that looked like a pencil tip. I will try to grab it later to show you what happens over time and you decide if it should be done.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I bought an old house built in the 1880s. I jacked it up to put a foundation under it. Some of the piers were just wood length oak logs set on another large oak round. Some were actual stumps that were from the trees they cut down to build the house. All were in good shape and we get lots of rain here but it was dry under the house. The soil was rocky and near the river....James


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