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 New Jersey
home inspection NJ home
inspectors perform
Certified New Jersey home
inspections in NJ.
POST AND PIER OR POST AND
BEAM:
Posts and piers are placed under structures to
help support the center sections of the
structure. Some pier systems not installed
deep into virgin earth may tilt and sink causing
floors to seem tilted and/ or wavy. Excessive
moisture under a structure will almost surely
cause pier tilting or sinking. Keep moisture
light around buildings which have posts and
piers as part of their foundations. The
inspector cannot ascertain the exact status of a
pier or post but can only review and report on
the most obvious conditions. You may have wavy,
tilted floors and the inspector will not report
on them. This is a condition which is very
common in this type construction. Its easy to
slightly jack a building up above a post and
insert shim shingles to effect some extent of
leveling of the structure. Be sure to refasten
the post to the beam it sits under after
modifications. Sometimes it may be necessary to
install a new post if the settlement is so great
that a shim will not work. The condition of the
piers should be reviewed at least biannually and
preventive measures taken should adverse
conditions be noted. as wavy or springy
conditions are usually not as common as with
posts and piers. Placed atop cassions one may
note that the bottom of the grade beam is not
buried below grade giving the appearance of
improper footing construction, when in fact,
this is normal construction. No special
maintenance is required of the property owner.
The above information was provided by TWI Systems Copyright 1995-2005 1-800-553-5660 |
