Post and Pier Repair That Starts With a Load Test, Not a Sales Pitch

Most post-and-pier repairs Epp performs run between $8,000 and $30,000 depending on how many existing piers need work. Pier inspection plus load test runs $250 to $500 per pier. Supplemental helical piers. The most common fix. Run $1,500 to $2,500 per pier installed. Full pier replacement runs higher at $1,800 to $3,000 per pier because crews have to work around finished space. Pier encasement, used when replacement isn't practical, runs $800 to $1,500 per pier. Epp writes the estimate after the load test results are in, not before.

Epp runs a torque or pressure load test on every accessible existing pier. The test measures actual load capacity against the manufacturer's rated capacity. Piers carrying 70% or more of rated load are left alone. Piers carrying 30% to 70% get supplemented with one additional pier on each side. Piers under 30% capacity or with visible bracket failure get fully replaced. Epp also runs a manometer floor-level survey to confirm whether settlement is actually still active. About 1 in 4 'failing' pier systems Epp inspects have stabilized and the homeowner's symptoms have another cause entirely.

Re-piering is the wrong answer when the existing piers are actually still working. Epp regularly inspects pier systems where load tests show the piers are carrying their rated capacity and the homeowner's new settlement is being caused by a downspout washout, a slow plumbing leak, or a new tree's root system drawing moisture from one side of the home. Replacing working piers doesn't fix any of that. Re-piering is also the wrong answer when the existing pier's original load capacity can't be verified. Epp won't warranty supplemental work in that case because the supplement might be carrying more load than expected.

Torque verification became standard practice in the helical pier industry in the late 1980s. Piers installed before that were driven to design depth, not to load. In Nebraska and Iowa loess soil, the depth reached often wasn't the same as the depth where load-bearing strata actually begins. A pier could hit design depth in a softer clay lens and stop, working at maybe 60% capacity for decades until soil moisture changes finally tip it. Epp's crews see this most often in 1970s and 1980s Lincoln, Omaha, and Des Moines basements. The fix is usually supplemental piers, not full replacement.

Yes. Epp installs a helical pier through a small crawl-space opening, transfers the floor load to a new steel bracket, and removes the rotted wooden post. The floor structure above stays in place. Epp does not remediate the surrounding wood rot if it has spread to joists or the sill plate. That's a carpentry scope a general contractor handles. Epp tells the homeowner up front what's foundation work and what's not, so there are no surprises when the carpentry estimate comes in separately.

Replacement removes the existing pier entirely and drives a new one. Encasement leaves the existing pier in place and sleeves it with new steel plus epoxy grout to stop corrosion and restore capacity. Replacement is used when the bracket has failed or the pier is fully corroded. It costs more ($1,800 to $3,000 per pier) and may require interior demolition. Encasement is used when the pier is corroded but still loaded, and demolishing finished basement space would be more expensive than the encasement itself ($800 to $1,500 per pier). Epp uses encasement to buy a pier another 20 to 30 years where replacement isn't practical.

A typical supplemental pier job. 4 to 8 new piers added to an existing system. Takes Epp's crew 2 to 4 days on site. Full pier replacement runs 3 to 6 days because access is harder. Crawl-space wood-post-to-helical conversions run 1 to 2 days per post depending on access. The 30-day follow-up manometer re-survey confirms the new piers held load and the floor stayed where Epp put it. Homeowners can stay in the house for most repairs.

No. Epp only warrants its own installations. Epp will load-test, inspect, and document the other contractor's work for the homeowner, and Epp will install supplemental or replacement piers that come with Epp's transferable warranty. But the original contractor's piers stay under their original warranty (if any). Epp delivers a Customized Repair Estimate that clearly separates which piers Epp installed and warrants versus which piers belong to the prior installer.

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