Water Under Pier and Beam House – Causes & Prevention

Dangers of Standing Water Under Pier and Beam House:

A few things can occur when the water has been standing under your pier & beam house. 

Mold

When water has been stagnant for some time, shorter than you may expect, mold can form, and damp/wet settings are the perfect breeding ground for mold to grow. 

Mold is a hazardous side effect of stagnant water and could cause serious harm to you and your family. 

Additionally, mold could lead to unpleasant odors in your home; when becoming severe enough, it will cause your house beams to deteriorate.

This can result in beam weakening and cracking. A horrid thought, knowing that this is the foundation of your home. 

Insect Breeding Ground

Most insects will search for standing water in order to breed, stagnant wanter under your pier & beam house can be the perfect breeding ground for them!

Not only they can carry dangerous diseases into your living space but some can even start  feeding off of your home’s foundation.

Damage to your Home

If you have noticed that stagnant water has been under your pier & beam home for a while, now would be a good time to rein in the professionals and sort the issue out immediately. 

There may have been signs that you ignored that give a clear indication of water damage to your Pier and beam house.

These can include, but are not limited to:

• Insects in your basement or home
• Visible mold growth
• Difficulty opening and closing doors
• Walls separating from the ceiling or floors
• Uneven flooring
• Horrific odor

Here’s how Serious is Water Under a Pier & Beam House…

The severity of the water damage under your house will depend on how early you have distinguished the problem and what you have done as a precautionary measure to ensure water can be adequately drained. 

If you have clay soil beneath your house, stagnant water could pose a massive issue since clay will expand and constantly shirk when wet than dry.

This will cause massivee problems in the structure of your home…

Furthermore, if water under your beam or Pier house has been left unnoticed it could cause severe damage such as rot, which could result in the collapse of the beams.

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Water Damage under your Pier & Beam House?

Call 844-488-0570 for a Risk Free estimate from a Licensed Water Damage Restoration Specialist in your area.

We Can Help Dry out your Crawlspace ,Repair any Water Damage caused & Prevent Water from pooling under your home in future.

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Dealing With Water Under Pier And Beam House

The most common causes of water under your pier & beam house include:

• The exterior water is not being redirected away from your home in the form of a slope, resulting in the water running towards your home and gathering beneath it. 
• Leaking pipes could be why there has been collecting water beneath your home since it is not a place you commonly check for leaks. 
• You do not have a drainage system established. Most houses need some sort of drainage system since water is bound to end up underneath your home if there has been heavy rain.

Apart from Repairing any Plumbing leaks & Drying them out with fans ,the main way to ensure there is no damage done by rainwater is to have a proper drainage system.

This will ensure that if there is large rainfall or flood it would not cause any damage to the beams beneath your home. 

Many people opt for a natural drainage system by having a slope from beneath their home to the exterior, naturally draining water.

But there are also systems you can install, like the “French Drainage System,” to ensure there is no buildup of water beneath your home.

You Can read more about French Drains & Grading to Prevent this here

Preventing Standing Water under Pier & Beam House:

As they say, “Prevention is better than cure.”

• Make sure that you have all the possible drainage systems in place to prevent the water from staying beneath your pier and beam home. 
• Ensure that you have a professional come and inspect the beams of your house after you have experienced a leak or a flood
• Ensure that you have a sump Pump on hand in case of emergency to pump the water away if it’s not draining itself.
• Try to get your hands-on a moisture barrier.

It would be a good idea to do additional research on underground drainage systems and what it entails.

Or contact a professional that will be able to inform you which systems should be put in place to ensure the crawlspace under your pier & beam home stays dry.

The most common underground drainage system for pier&beam houses is when water seeps through the soil into underground pipes, distributing the water elsewhere. 

Ensure that these pipes are of good quality and will be adequate for the area you live in.

Ideal Moisture Under Pier & Beam Houses

Too much water is not a good thing, but too little is also not beneficial to the soil beneath your home that holds the beams in place. 

Ideally, the moisture level in your crawl space beneath your pier and beam house should be no higher than 55%.

If, however, the humidity does reach above that level, fans can be a highly effective and quick fix to drop the humidity to a reasonable amount. 

When To Call a Professional:

You have attempted the above methods but have seen 0% improvement. It may be time to call a professional.

On the other hand, you may have tried a few techniques and see that the water has cleared up, but something still seems off, and you are unsure if your beams have been damaged. 

Here is how to know when you should call a professional:

• You have tried everything, but the water isn’t drying up. 
• You have realized there is a horrid odor starting to form beneath your home. 
• If the water damage is due to leaking pipes,
• There are uncontrollable amounts of insects beneath your home. 
• You have started to notice that your house’s doors are challenging to open and close and that the structure of your house has started to shift

 

We have Water Damage Restoration Technicians that can help Find the Source of the Water under your House & Dry it out & Prevent it from Pooling under your home.

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