Foundation Repair Shreveport, LA | Pelican Foundation Repair

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Pier & Beam Foundation Repair in Shreveport, LA

Pier and beam foundation repair restores the support system under homes built on crawl spaces: the concrete or brick piers, the wooden beams they carry, and the floor joists above. When piers settle, beams rot, or shims fail, floors sag and doors stick. Pelican Foundation Repair inspects the crawl space, replaces what’s failed, re-levels the floors, and fixes the moisture that caused the damage — expert inspection, written estimate, no pressure.

If your house was built before about 1970 in Shreveport, there’s a good chance it’s sitting on piers and beams. These foundations are actually great — they keep the house off the wet ground and make plumbing access easy. But after fifty or sixty years of Louisiana humidity, the wood down there takes a beating. The good news: pier-and-beam problems are some of the most straightforward foundation repairs there are, because everything is accessible from the crawl space.

Signs Your Pier-and-Beam Foundation Needs Repair

Crawl space trouble announces itself upstairs. Watch for:

• Sagging or bouncy floors — the classic sign; you can sometimes feel the dip when you walk across a room
• Doors that stick or won’t latch, especially interior doors
• Cracks in interior walls, often above doorways
• Gaps between the baseboard and the floor
• A musty smell coming from the floors or vents — usually crawl space moisture
• Visible sagging when you look under the house through the crawl space access
• Uneven floors where one room sits noticeably lower than the next

That musty smell deserves special attention. In Shreveport’s climate, a damp crawl space doesn’t just smell bad — it rots beams, grows mold, and attracts termites. Moisture is the root cause behind most pier-and-beam failures we see, which is why every repair plan we write addresses the water, not just the wood.

Here’s a simple test you can do before we arrive: on a dry day, peek into the crawl space access with a flashlight. If the ground looks damp, if you see standing water, or if there’s a white crusty residue on the piers (that’s efflorescence — minerals left behind by evaporating water), moisture is active under your house. Note what you see and tell our inspector. It helps us zero in on the water source faster, whether it’s groundwater, a drainage failure, or a plumbing leak.

What We Find Under Shreveport Crawl Spaces

After years of crawling under homes in South Highlands, Broadmoor, and Cedar Grove, the same handful of problems shows up again and again:

Settled or Leaning Piers

The original piers — often just stacked brick or concrete blocks — sink into Shreveport’s soft, wet clay over the decades. When a pier drops even an inch, the beam above it loses support and the floor sags. We see this constantly in mid-century homes where the piers were set shallow.

Rotted Beams and Joists

Wood plus decades of humidity equals rot. Main support beams and floor joists soften, crumble, or get eaten by termites — and once a beam loses its strength, no amount of shimming fixes it. The beam has to be replaced or sistered with new lumber.

Failed Shims and Shifting Supports

Shims are the small wedges between piers and beams that fine-tune the floor level. Over time they compress, rot, or slip out of place — especially the old wooden ones. Re-shimming is one of the simplest repairs we do, but it only works if the piers and beams underneath are still sound.

Chronic Crawl Space Moisture

This is the big one. Poor drainage around the house, missing vapor barriers, and Shreveport’s heavy rains keep crawl spaces damp year-round. Standing water under a house will destroy in years what would otherwise last decades. Fixing the structure without fixing the moisture is a repair with an expiration date — so our plans include drainage correction, crawl space encapsulation, or both when the situation calls for it.

How We Repair Pier-and-Beam Foundations

Every repair starts with a foundation inspection — we go into the crawl space, photograph everything, take elevation readings, and map out exactly which piers have settled and which beams have failed. Then:

1. Pier Replacement and Supplementation

Failed piers get rebuilt or replaced with properly footed concrete piers set below the trouble zone. Where the existing piers are sound but the spacing is too wide — common in older homes — we add supplemental piers to carry the load correctly.

2. Beam and Joist Replacement

Rotted or damaged beams get replaced with new treated lumber; weakened joists get sistered (a new joist fastened alongside the old one) to restore strength. We don’t patch rotted wood and hope — if it’s compromised, it comes out.

3. Re-Leveling the Floor System

With the supports rebuilt, hydraulic jacks raise the sagging beams back toward level, and new shims lock everything in place. This is the house leveling portion of the job — done slowly and evenly so drywall and tile upstairs don’t crack from a rushed lift.

4. Moisture and Drainage Correction

Then we fix what caused it. That might mean regrading soil away from the foundation, extending gutters, installing a French drain, adding a vapor barrier, or a full crawl space repair with encapsulation. Skip this step and you’ll be replacing beams again — we won’t sell you a repair we know won’t last.

5. Final Walkthrough and Warranty

We verify the new floor elevations with you and provide written warranty documentation. Qualifying repairs are backed by our 20-year structural warranty.

Most pier-and-beam repairs take two to four days, depending on how many piers and beams are involved. Your written estimate will include the real timeline before we start. We keep the work area tidy, protect your landscaping around the crawl space access, and do a full cleanup when the job is done — the only thing you should notice afterward is a level floor.

Pier-and-Beam Repair Costs: What to Expect

Pier-and-beam work is usually priced by the pier and by the amount of beam replacement needed. Here’s how the pieces typically break down:

Your exact price comes from the inspection — pier count, beam condition, and moisture situation all factor in. What we can promise: the estimate is written, itemized, and in your hands before any work is discussed. No verbal numbers, no surprises.

It’s also worth knowing what you’re really paying for. The piers and lumber are only part of it — the bigger value is the diagnosis. Two crawl spaces can look similar from the access hatch and need completely different repairs once you’re inside with a level and a moisture meter. A cheap quote that skips the thorough inspection usually means a repair that misses the real problem.

Why Crawl Space Moisture Can’t Be Ignored

Let’s put it bluntly: most pier-and-beam failures in Shreveport are moisture failures wearing a structural disguise. The beam didn’t just rot — it rotted because water sat under the house for years. The pier didn’t just settle — it settled because saturated clay lost its bearing strength.

That’s why our repair plans treat moisture as a structural issue. Depending on what we find, that can mean crawl space encapsulation with a sealed vapor barrier, drainage correction to move water away from the foundation, or grading work so rain stops pooling against the house. Fix the water and the wood lasts. Ignore the water and you’re on a replacement cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does pier and beam foundation repair cost in Shreveport?

It depends on the number of piers, the condition of the beams, and the extent of settlement. Smaller re-shimming jobs cost the least; full pier replacement with beam work costs more. A expert inspection gives you an exact written price.

How long does pier and beam repair take?

Most jobs take two to four days. Simple re-shimming can finish in a day; extensive beam replacement with moisture correction can take up to a week.

Can a pier and beam foundation be leveled?

Yes — it’s one of the most level-friendly foundation types because everything is accessible from the crawl space. Hydraulic jacks raise the beams, new piers or shims lock them in, and the floors come back up.

What causes piers to fail?

Usually a combination of Shreveport’s soft, wet clay and moisture. Piers sink into saturated soil, wooden shims rot, and beams decay from chronic dampness. Poor drainage around the house accelerates all of it.

Should I encapsulate my crawl space after the repair?

If moisture caused the damage — and in Shreveport it usually did — encapsulation is the best way to protect the new work. A sealed vapor barrier keeps ground moisture off the wood permanently. We’ll tell you honestly whether your crawl space needs it.

How long do the new piers and beams last?

Properly installed concrete piers on stable soil and treated lumber kept dry can last for decades — essentially the remaining life of the home. The key phrase is “kept dry.” That’s why the moisture correction is part of the job, not an add-on: dry wood doesn’t rot, and piers on stable soil don’t keep sinking.

Does homeowners insurance cover pier and beam repair?

Usually not for gradual settling or long-term moisture damage. If a sudden covered event — like a plumbing leak under the house — caused the failure, you may have a claim. Check with your agent.

Get Under Your House — Before the Damage Gets Worse

Sagging floors and musty smells don’t fix themselves, and crawl space problems compound fast once wood starts rotting. Call Pelican Foundation Repair for an expert crawl space inspection, a written report with photos, and a repair plan that fixes the cause — not just the sag. We serve Shreveport, Bossier City, Benton, Haughton, Greenwood, and surrounding communities.