How to Install Crawlspace Support Beam Footings - Construction and Remodeling Tips
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2017
- www.homebuildingandrepairs.com... Click on this link for more information about crawlspace construction, building repairs and home renovation. This video will provide you with a few ways to install a concrete footing to support a crawlspace or wood framed floor support beam. Keep in mind that these are only suggested methods and that building authorities, engineers and designers in your area might require you to use different methods or materials.
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I swear if I didn't have kids and a job to go to that I would literally watch every single video you've made. Simply eat, sleep and watch your videos. They are calm and straight to the point.
Nice!!!
Thank you thank you thank you. Have been puzzling over this with our sunroom for 7 years. I feel like we can make the right choice.
Thank you. I've been searching for this video. Only one of its kind I've found. I feel better about adding footings to posts that support beams I'm using to replace load bearing walls.
You're welcome and I'm glad you found this video helpful.
Thank you - you were awesome, and made me crack up laughing the last 2 mins. when you showed us the 'unformed' footings - ha ha. I am in a 1965 A-Frame, and they have a front 'tip' that is not supported by a pier, and the joist has been weakened due to the 'drinking' crew that 'forgot to install flashing' when they replaced the front deck (birdbrains!) so this joist has water damage and weakening so that the front 5 in' deep sinks a bit, causing the 2 sliding doors to not open entirely. so I have to install 2 piers or 4 piers to get this level. Thank you so much!!
Such a good overview. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Perfect everything I was looking for and more
My footings look like the last ones you showed, home is from 1915, thank you for your insights
You're welcome and thanks for watching.
Great video... You have a new subscriber.
Thank you.
Glad you liked it and thanks for joining.
The spans in my house are long, and my floors are a bit bouncy. Am looking to add a few supports to some highly trafficked floors. Would like to do them myself, but definitely don't want to make it look janky.
Three tips for these situations. Always staple roofing felt or an asphalt shingle to the wood framing member where it touches concrete. A forming method for the pad is to make it round by splitting black plastic plant container in half vertically. Cut the bottom off. Use a ratchet strap to hold it together or rivet a few hooks on. After the concrete is set up, you can unwrap the form from around the new pad and use it again. Third, on old houses or any house that is settling, use the Simpson adjustable post base. Put some grease on the threads. Workers in the future won't have to fight with rust if they need to adjust the post.
Thanks for the fantastic advice and great tips. Keep in mind that some building plans will require square footings and that you should check with the engineer before making them round.
Yes. I would like to see a paper or an inspector's ideas on the topic. A question is: it a round pad of the same sq. area equivalent in load rating as a rectangular pad? Can a builder make this assumption? An engineering student has probably tested this question for a class project.
Some engineers require round footings and some require them to have multiple sides like a square and all I'm suggesting is that you follow their instructions. I still like your ideas and for anyone who isn't going to contact a building professional, they could save you a few dollars.
The top of the footing in the crawl space can be even with the grade. It does not have to be higher than grade. Also, if you are using a 6x6 or 4x4 post on the footing, you do not want to use to wide of a footing. Code specifies that the footing projection SHALL NOT exceed the depth of the footing. Projection means the distance from the edge of your support post to the outside edge of the footing......so is you use a 12" deep footing then a 12" projection is the max allowed by code. Also, in most cases an 8" or 10" deep footing is the most you would need in this type of situation unless the new post is supporting 2 stories which just because your home may be 2 stories does not mean your girder is supporting 2 stories because usually it is not.
Doesn't the depth of the concrete footer depend on the frost line if you're doing a pier beam foundation? You wouldn't necessarily have a crawlspace, it could just be open air.
@@MrVARhythm The exterior footings have to be at least the depth of the frost line but any interior footings do not.
Thanks
I was always told you pour a 2x2 pad 6 inches thick and lay rebar in the concrete on top of undisturbed dirt, then use solid cement blocks on top and shim as needed. Also, it 3 2x10 beams that are nailed together are seperating from the nailes, can you use structural timberlocks to draw them back together?. Does having them nailed/screwed together increase strength even though they are all close together anyway?. Thanks for a response.
the frost line is 31" deep in Maryland - footing min 12" wide
I love that drawing plan you are using. What is it/
Nice idea
Thank you! Cheers!
I’m watching some of your videos to fix my trailer. Do you have something about the value of removing the chassis underneath? We are interested in removing the chassis vs. doing floor repairs.
No, sorry.
Hey Greg, love your videos! A two part question regarding adding piers to my 105 yr old house here in SoCal...your thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated 1. If I do not touch the existing pier foundation and add reinforcing piers where needed, would that be a code violation if the "as built" is not altered? 2. My crawl space (of limited height) has not seen water in a century, can additional piers on concrete pads be added at grade without digging into the soil? Many thanks and continued success.
Question number one is a good question and I would recommend checking with your local building department for clarification. However, most of the time they don't have a problem with you adding additional structural supports like concrete footings, because if done right they usually strengthen the building. You can sit peers on top of your soil, but they could sink into it over time.
@@gregvancom Many thanks for the reply Greg. It's greatly appreciated! As you probably know, dealing with the L.A.'s Building and Safety folks can be a bit of challenge - you may get Answer A from one person and Answer B from another. My perimeter wall + piers foundation was built over a century ago where nothing is tied to one another via strapping or gussets. There is certainly no foundation bolting. The weight of the structure is what keeps it in place, which as you can imagine is concerning as we wait for the "Big One" earthquake. That being said, I am going to move forward with adding piers in key locations. Thanks again...
@@stephensarinana-lampson9305 I've never had to deal with Los Angeles city or county personally, but have done a lot of work for people who have and they usually want more. One time we raised to single-story house, removed the damaged foundation and replaced it. It was the first time I ever installed a 15 inch wide 24 inch deep concrete footing for a single-story home.
I was wondering if you can make the crawl space 2 foot high instead of 18"? And just make the concrete pier higher out of the ground to make up the 6" difference? I also see Lowes and Home Depot selling those concrete form tubes 12" in diameter and 4 foot long. So the concrete pier would be 2 foot in the ground and two feet out of the ground with brackets set in the top of the concrete that the beams will attach to. Would that meet code?
I cannot provide you with structural engineering advice, but you are allowed to make the access holes larger. I believe 22.5" x 18" is the minimum, but you would need to check with your local building department for clarification.
Wow. Thanks this is deatil. But what about termite ants problems? I always worry about it
Maybe you can use termite shields. ua-cam.com/video/qaQ2yXVCwmU/v-deo.html
My 50+ year old house has a rotted girder beam in the crawlspace that I intend to replace. It is a moist environment in northern PA. The house has sunk down 2-3 inches in the center. I have good size support columns. My question is can I use a series of jacks and 4x4's to support the house while cutting away the beam or should I use support walls? It's a good 4 ft under there so I have some room. I need to raise it up slightly to get the new beam in correct? Then once the new beam (a series of 2x12's sistered) is in then I will get it to level. Is this the best way to do it?
You're ideas might work just fine. I would also suggest going to our website and in the repairs section, click on "crawlspace" link for more repair methods.
Any tips for securing a vertical steel post? I was thinking of making a baseplate and putting bolts into the concrete itself before pouring it. I'm also pouring on top of an existing slab. My engineer just advised me to use rebar at 4" spacing, i believe.
I don't have any videos on that, but put it on the list of videos to be made in the future. I would simply follow all of your engineers instructions.
@@gregvancom Thanks!
Super 😎👍
Thank you! Cheers!
We had a large firm with lots of fancy promo material come out to look at our sagging floors that exist over a very shallow crawl space. They wanted to dig small pits like the ones you show, insert crushed rock/breeze, compact it, place concrete piers on that, and attach to the joists with their proprietary adjustable jacks. I live in Denver, CO on an old lake bed not to far from a small river. The soil is very sandy. What are your thoughts on this???
I don't provide structural engineering advice and would suggest contacting an engineer or other contractors in your area for more information.
thats basically what I have concluded I shall need to do to a house in vermont. I don't provide structural engineering advice and would suggest contacting an engineer or other contractors in your area for more information. I think the key here is that if the piers are tapered, the can get a little crushed into the ground under the immense weight through the jack. Any settlement could be adjusted for down the road, and any room that opens up around the sides of the pier can get packed back in around it from above, its a cold joint so it works independently of the slab that way. But I have a 78" crawlspace and that may be a key difference. I think the pier footing is a good way to go, especially if you suspend it from your jack post when you sink it into a bed of grout in your hole. Good talk.
I live in Bryant AR and need crawl space support posts installed. Do you have any recommendations?
Watch more videos or contact a professional in your area. I think I answered your question, but I'm not sure I solved your problem.
Hello,is there any method where I didn't have to dig hole ? My crawl space is low and digging footing will be extremely difficult.thanks.
If you can't go under, the repairs will need to be done from above. Sometimes it's actually going to be easier to do them from above, even though you will need to remove some of the sheathing or flooring. If you find a better way, let us know.
Can I use the footing described first but instead use a piece of lumber to attach a jack post to the footing to raise a sagging floor? Any potential issues you might see with doing this?
Thank you for the videos, they're very helpful!
I think I understand what you're suggesting, but think you might find more information on our website. Click on the repairs tab and then select framing for more information.
@Michael Okamoto: I have same issue (sagging floor) in my 75 year old house. Previous owner put sender block on dirt and now its leaning and creating sagging. I am planning to add concrete footing and install jack post and lift up the floor by 1 - 1/2 inch, before I execute my plan just wanted to check what did you do for sagging floor? and does it working fine ?
Houses in NY, where there is alot of freeze thaw, sit on these posts, and there are no nails. and they have been sitting on the posts, for 150 years. I've replaced the posts.
I've seen plenty of home sitting on posts with out all this hardware also in California.
Do the big building supply stores have those post to beam connectors? I haven't been able to find them.
I probably couldn't answer your question, because it really depends on where you're located. I've talked to people in different countries who need to special order practically everything. I live in Southern California and most of the hardware I need can be found at my local lumber yards.
@@gregvancom I'm over here in Wisconsin, we have the same big box stores, I might need to look harder I haven't looked real hard yet, thanks for the reply!
can you do a video on how to jack up a beam that has clasped due to termite damage.....how do you determine it proper height how far up to jack it.... this is what I'm facing and the beam is under a load bearing wall in a crawl space. from the looks of it...the beam was sitting on a brick pillar that has partially crumbled....
Email me some pictures of your project and how see what I can do. You can get our email address at our website.
@@gregvancom okay thanks
Does the concrete go directly on the dirt or does gravel go down first?
I would check with your local builders. I've done it both ways, but freezing soil conditions might require more than gravel.
Can you tell me how would one dig a one foot square hole to pour concrete in a 18 in crawl space
I used a army shovel, garden shovels and have a small chipping or jack hammer that had a spade or shovel attachment.
This is exactly how my house foundation is framed. Except instead of concrete they used red bricks for the piers. The main beam is sitting right on top of the brick piers. Some of them have a couple shims that are all but crushed and rotted over the years. Sometimes they just took the cheap way out to get past inspection for the moment. Didn't care about longevity as by the time it failed it would not be their problem.
The truth exposed about temporary repairs.
I’m dealing with the same thing on a job now and has got me scratching my head trying to figure out the best approach for repairing it.
The other issue with it is the area under the porch is old crumbling foundation in both front corners. Used to be an old coal room back in the day that has been since closed off from the rest of the house and is pretty much just a big hole under the porch.
I decided not to try to build the new framing on top of the foundation in that area and instead am digging holes to pour a couple footers to support the load for the front of the porch. This area of the porch is also not covered by the roof, so it’s exposed to the elements. Just nervous whether I dug down deep enough or not since the soil is pretty much a sink hole behind the holes I dug rather then the typical undisturbed soil you usually are dealing with when doing footers
Is there a prescriptive standard for footing size when no soils test has been performed?
I can't find it.
I have a question I hope someone can answer. My house moves back and forth because of weathering. Under the girder beam slate shims were used to shim the girder. The house is 30 years old and has settled some over time. On the second floor in the corner of one of the rooms I get a 1/4 inch gap about a 1/2 inch wide in the winter. In the summer it closes up. I now have a dehumidifier in the crawlspace and it seemed to solve the problem, however I would like to bring the house back to where it should be before the shims were cracked and settled. Should I jack up the girder and replace all the slate shims with steel or just where I have a problem. How should I go about doing this ? Thanks
You don't have an easy one to answer, because there could be other variables, but if it has something to do with crawlspace ventilation, then that might be a good place to start.
Thanks
@4:15 why are you saying to nail that bracing together instead of screwing, which can be undone easily..?
You can use what ever works best. Sometimes the engineer or product manufacture has installation instructions you need to follow.
My house built in California in 1990 has posts with just a nail or two. I'm surprised such a thing would pass inspection.
Yes, I've seen plenty of them and back then they passed, today, probably not.
What is the metal post holder called?
A base connector or bottom post connector.
GREG......you seem like a job well done kinda guy.....do those post to concrete anchors with the 1" raised base ........ARE THEY STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT A HOUSE?.......thats not even solid it just folded metal......gotta 10,000 lb load max
You got a good point and I don't think I would have used them for that situation. This was a project I actually worked on and am pretty sure that the structural engineer called out for these to be used on the plans. Can you please remove the product manufacturer's name from your comment, thanks in advance, just don't want any trouble in the future.
gregvancom
Ok, sure.. thx bro
Thanks for understanding.
How deep should a pier be?
It will depend on what it's holding up. Sometimes the piers sit on top of a concrete footing that might be 12x12x12.
The advice in this video may work for arid climates, but definitely does not apply to the south.
I had to have some beams replaced and some added to our house and the methods suggested here would not work where we are located. Digging out the soil 12" and pouring concrete does not address the settlement situation. To put new footings in, the soil needs to be compressed. The way it was done on our house was to place 2 cmu's next to each other. Then a jack was used to compress the soil and alternated between the two spots shimming and supporting as the work was done. I was surprised that the soil compressed around 3 inches. If I had just dug the soil out and poured concrete, there would be settling happening now. It doesn't take much settling to cause gypsum to crack and windows to jam.
What if you have a spot that is sagging?
I have videos at our website that might help.
www.homebuildingandrepairs.com/repairs/crawl_space/index.html
If I found a discrepancy between any two pieces of stock, 8:19, First off:
Come To Your Job Site Prepared... A simple galvanized or aluminum plate/shim,
approx 1/4" thickness, (Always have different sizes and thickness on hand),
would have solved this issue, and it's only fair to the paying customer. As a laymen, I Say to you:
Nothing Worse Than A Crap Job That The Paying Homeowner Will Never See,
Unless You Are A Crap Person... Best Bet: try and pour the "reinforced" concrete pier up to the
bottom of the floor beam, or joist, using a galvanized bottom wrap on the beam/joist itself.
" Contractor: Do Your Job Right The First Time, Or GET THE HELL OUT! "
It would be nice if contractors did everything right the first time.
Man, I keep seeing WOODEN piers in all of these foundation pier tutorials. You must not have termites where you live? Here in the southeast, that just isn't smart. We have to use concrete, otherwise you're back at square one.
They used concrete piers with wood posts years ago in Southern California, but now need to use concrete footings with wood posts. The concrete needs to be a minimum of 6 inches above ground to reduce termite activity.
I was thinking the same thing!!! I am not using any wood and if I do, treated wood, but I am using only concrete!
@@stonebrookbookkeepingtax5707 Set that treated lumber aside in a dry area for about a month and then treat it with Boracare
@@mattpeneguy7812 I used boracare before doing anything to my house. Got it from domyownDOTcom. My only regret is I didn't use it with mold care. So I have to do it again.
dont you have to pack down tge ground with a packer?
If you over dig the footing, but try not to remove more dirt than necessary.
@@gregvancom what if the ground isnt compacted enough in the 1st place b4 even digging or pouring the footer? do you have a vid on all that?
@@Brandon-no3vc No video yet, but if the soil is soft or not compacted, you might need to dig deeper until you hit compacted soil. If not, then I would contact your local building department or engineer for more information. No easy answer here.
Surely if you concrete them in the next person in 40 - 60 years will hate you.
It's always a possibility.