PierandBeamConstruction

TylerGentry

Advantages• Satisfyingthehigherexpectationsoftoday'shomebuyer

canpresentchallengestothedesign-buildprofessional.Meetingthesechallengesbeginswithapremiumfloorsystem.

Designersandbuilderswhooffertheraisedflooroption,framedwithstrong,durable,renewablewood,createvalueforthemselvesandtheirclients.Inregionswhereraisedfloorsarenotcommon,builderscanestablishamarketnichebyofferingadistinctiveandaffordablealternative.Clientswhoinvestinthistypeofhomeaccruelifelongbenefitssuchascurbappeal,comfort,practicality,andlastingvalue.

Sustainable• Theraisedfloorisalsotherightchoicefortheenvironment

— itisasustainableconstructionsystem.First,woodisarenewableresourcethattakesfarlessenergytoproducethanconcreteorsteel.Furthermore,futurestructuralmodifications,additions,orrepairscanbeperformedmoreeasily,extendingtheusefullifeofthestructure.Builderscancompletethesetaskswithlessenvironmentalimpact,consuminglessenergyandavoidingexpensivetechnologies.Finally,constructionofapier-and-beamfoundationinassociationwiththeraisedfloorsystemisfarlessdisruptivetothenaturalsurroundingsthanaslab-on-grade(slab-on-ground)foundation.Withapier-and-beamfoundation,lessdamageoccurstotherootsystemsofneighboringvegetation.

AddedValue• Theraisedfloorsystemgivesthebuilderandclientanopportunity

toexploreideasthatcanexpandthelivabilityandappealofthehome.Theraisedfloortakesfulladvantageofamenitiessuchasafrontporch,ascreenedbackporch,oradeckbecausetheyarenaturalextensionsofthestructure'selevatedplatform.

• Insidethehome,attractivewoodflooringisagreatupgradetooffertheclient,addingadashofsophistication.Awoodfloorinstalledoverwoodjoistsalsomakesforaverycomfortable,allergy-freewalkingsurface.

• Anothervalue-addedoptionbecomingquitepopularincoastalareasoftheUnitedStates,wheredecayandtermiteinfestationisaproblem,is"whole-house"pressure-treatedframing.Pressure-treatedlumbercanreadilybeusedthroughoutthewholehouseorinthefloorsystemalone.Today,avarietyofwoodpreservativesofferthehomeownerandbuilderevenmorechoices.

HigherExpectations• Homebuyersexpectmorefromtheirhomethaneverbefore,andmoreis

notalwaysmeasuredintotalsquarefeetoflivingarea.Afterall,ahomeisoftenaperson'slargestinvestment,sovalueisplacedonboththetangibleandintangibleelementsthatmakeahomelivable,notmerelyfunctional.

Arecentnationalsurvey1 askingconsumerstodefinetheirAmericanDreamHouserevealedmoreinterestincomfortandstylethansize.Andalmosthalftherespondents— 49%— characterizedtheirdreamhouseasasafe,comfortablehaveninsteadofadesignershowhouse.

So,homebuyersoftodaydesirealivingenvironmentthatnurturesandprotects.Thehomeshouldnurturethespiritwithamenitiesthatprovidecomfortable,specialplacesforfamilygatherings,personalretreatandself-expression.Thehomeshouldofferoccupantsprotectionfrommoistureandpests,providingahealthyindoorenvironmentandastructurallysound,long-lastinglivingspace.

PeaceofMind• Althoughnosystemisperfectforallconditions,theraisedfloor

offerssomerealadvantageswhenitcomestodesignreliability,especiallywheremoistureisanissue.Bydesign,theraisedfloorremovesastructurefromcontactwiththeground,isolatingthelivingspacefromgroundmoisture.Therefore,araisedfloorsystemislesssusceptibletofoundation-relatedmoistureproblems.

• Callbacksforfoundation-relatedproblemsaremucheasiertofix.Forexample,aplumbingleakbelowaslabisdifficultandcostlytolocate,accessandrepair.Theleakmayalsodrivemoistureintothelivingarea.Thisisnotaproblemwiththeraisedfloor.

• Theraisedfloorhelpskeepmoistureandtermitesatbay.Properlyinstalledtermiteshieldshelprepeltheseunwelcomevisitorsandthecrawlspacemakestermiteinspectionsimpleandinfestationeasiertospot.Inslabconstruction,termiteinfestationormoistureintrusionmaynotbeapparentuntilitistoolate,andcracksintheslabcanbeexpensivetorepair.

FoundationRepairinHouston• Foundationrepaircanbethemostexpensiverepairthatyouwillmaketoaproperty.OneofthesaddestthingsI’veheardintheinvestmentcommunityarethestoriesofinvestorswhohavepurchasedaproperty,rehabbedit,andputitonthemarketonlytohavethebuyer’sinspectortellthemtherewasaproblemwiththefoundation.Foundationscanbeveryexpensivetorepair,andrepairingthemafterthehousehasalreadybeenfixedupandpaintedcanmeanredoingalotofsheetrockandpaintwork.Allofthismeansmoneyoutoftheinvestor’spocket,andiftheexpensegoesdeepenough,itjustmightwipeoutyourprofit.

Function• Thefoundationofahouse,whetheritisaconcreteslab

(slabongrade)orablockandbeam(pierandbeam)foundationhasajob.Thejobistokeepthehouselevelandstabile.Whenthefoundationmovesupordownorsidetoside,thentheplatformthatthehouseissittingonentersastateoffailure.Itisfailingtoperformthefunctionforwhichitwasintended.Whatthismeansisthateverythingthatwasdependingonthefoundationforsupportisnowinjeopardy,becausethesupportisnolongerthere.Itislikeoneofyourlegssuddenlybecoming2”shorterthantheotherone…ithasconsequencesforthewayyoustandandthewayyouwalk.

Simplicity• Pierandbeamhousesarealotsimpler.Firstofall,pierandbeam

housesarehousesthatsituponblocks.PierandbeamisthenamecommonlyappliedtothistypeoffoundationinmuchthesamewayassoftdrinksarecommonlyreferredtobythenameCoke.Pierandbeammeansthatpierswereputintothegroundbeforethehousewasbuiltandmasonryblockswereplacedontopofthemtoformthefoundationtobuildthehouseon.Somehouseshavethissystem,mosthaveablockandbasesystem,whichisablockofcementabout20”squareand4”thickthathasconcreteblocksorbrocksbuiltupontopofit.Eitherway,thesills(4”X6”timbersorbeams)areputontopoftheblocks,andfloorjoistsontopofthese.Nextcomesalayerofshiplaporplywoodthatcoversallofthisstructuralmaterial,andthatformsthesub-floorofthehouse.Thissub-flooriswhatwenailwoodfloorsto,orputpaddingandcarpetorvinylover.Withtheslabfoundationwejustputflooringovertheconcrete.

Slabvs.PierandBeam• Slab-on-gradefoundationsareconstructedwithreinforcedconcreteandare

usuallyshallow,quicklybuilt,andinexpensive.Forabuilderthatdoesn'thavetoliveinthehomesthathebuilds,slabfoundationsareadream.Slabfoundationsareusedwithhomesthatdonothavebasements.Amajordisadvantagetoslab-on-gradefoundationsisthattheyarenotresistanttoseasonalmovementchangesandmoisturedisbursementduetorootgrowth.Inotherwords,slabfoundationsarenotalong-termoptionforhomesinNorthTexas.Anotherdisadvantageisthatgenerallyallpipingisplacedundertheslabfoundationcausingaverycostlyprocedureshouldawaterpipeburst.

• Pierandbeamfoundations,ontheotherhand,rateafewstepsaboveaslab-on-gradefoundation.Pierandbeamfoundationsincorporateacrawlspace(usuallyatleast18inches)beneaththehomeandfootingsfilledwithconcretetosupporttheslab.Thistypeoffoundationisnotconsideredatimesaver,butitissaferandmoreconvenient.Thecrawlspaceallowsaccesstoheatingandplumbingutilitieswithouthavingtobreakthroughtheconcreteslab.Thepiersmeanfoundationsarelesssusceptibletodamageduetogroundshifting,aproblemmanyNorthTexashomeswithslabfoundationsexperience.Ifextremegroundshiftingdoesoccur,thefoundationiseasilyadjusted,aprocessthatismuchlessexpensivethanslabfoundationrepairs,aprocessmosthomesinNorthTexaswillhavetoundergo.

99KHouseCompetition• Denver’sJGJohnsonArchitectsdescribesits

entryinthe$99KHouseCompetitionusing4terms:– MODULAR:threemodules,numerous

configurations,structuralinsulatedpanelsallowflexibleopeninginstallation,massproduction

– ADAPTABLE:responsivetodifferentsiteorientations,ratios,topographies

– INDIVIDUAL:differentusers,multifunctionalspaces,architecturalstylevariations,prideinownershipsupportsdemographicallydiverseneighborhoods

– ECOLOGICAL(ANDECONOMICAL):ductlessclimatecontrolsystem,inclusionofsurplusmaterials,highlyinsulated,wellsealedenvelope,minimalbuiltspacethroughinclusionofexteriorspaces,glazingorientation,solarshading

“ASimpleHouse”- TheOddGroup• The1,235squarefootwood-framehouseis

simpleandstraightforward– tworectangularshedsunderasingleroofplaneareattachedonapierandbeamfoundationandwrappedbyanexteriordeckandwalkway. InresponsetoHouston’shotandhumidclimate,thehouseisorientedtotakeadvantageofshadeandsummerbreezesandtoletabundantnaturallightintoitsinterior. Large,openspacesarecrossventilatedbyoperablewindowsandslidingdoorsthatallowthehouseto“breathe.” PitchedroofswithwideoverhangsprovidesolarshadingandshedrainduringHouston’sheavydownpours. Thesinglestory,budgetconscioushouserespectslocalvernaculartraditionsandengagesthestreettoencourageinteractionwithneighbors.

Resources• http://www.raisedfloorlivingpro.com/footings.shtml• http://www.houstonrealty.us/articles/foundation_and_foundation_repair.

htm• http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwddes/desbridge/assets/pdf/akbrjnt.pdf• http://info.sos.state.tx.us/fids/200705663-3.pdf• http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Choose-a-Pier-and-Beam-

Foundation?&id=1089536• http://swamplot.com/99k-house-series-adaptable-habitat/2009-03-

02/#more-6923• http://www.bestofinnerloopliving.com/images//list/res/136998/Front.jpg• http://www.theoddgroup.com/forsale-asimplehouse.php• http://www.diychatroom.com/attachments/f14/12224d1248316885t-

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