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Repairing prick piers for porch

BigMish | Posted in General Discussion on August 7, 2009 05:41am

I’ve got a brick pier support on my porch that has moved out of place. I’d like to get it back into place before it stops supporting the weight of the porch. See attachments (sorry, one is a bit blurry).

How would you suggest doing this?
I was thinking of jacking the porch up and then knocking the pier into pace with a sledge. Once back in pace, re-mortising as needed (or maybe it would be better to just take it out at this point and build a new one?). How’s that sound?

I don’t need a perfect job, just once that’s safe and will last.

Thanks, Mischa

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Replies

  1. Danno | Aug 07, 2009 06:02pm | #1

    You do know you have a typo in your title--may get some ribbing about that! What are the piers bearing on? Do they just sit on the ground? Looks to me like hitting with sledge will just break them apart. Maybe if you built a cage of boards around, but that seems like a lot of trouble. I might be inclined to go whole hog and do something that will be more of a permanent fix--jack up a bit either side from the bad pier, knock out the old pier, poor footing below frost line and rebuild, probably with groute-filled block and brick veneer, but that's just me. Your plan will probably work, but when your done messing with it, you still may not have a very solid support.

    1. BigMish | Aug 07, 2009 06:23pm | #3

      Ha! That is actually a more accurate title for this post. Those piers are good-for-nothing-little pri***s!<!----><!----><!---->

       <!----><!---->

      I'm not sure what they sit on; I'll have to investigate further....<!----><!---->

       

  2. User avater
    Huck | Aug 07, 2009 06:03pm | #2

    I would jack it up safely, tear that pillar out completely, foundation and all, and rebuild a new one.  And I'd do that to all of them.  Your house is not worth risking on a faulty support.

    View Image bakersfieldremodel.com
    1. BigMish | Aug 07, 2009 06:25pm | #4

      Regarding “safe jacking”: I was just planning to use an auto jack on each side of the pier sitting on a cinder block (to get it to a proper height) with the block on some plywood (to distribute the load a bit). If I was just taking out that pier does that sound reasonable?

      1. User avater
        Huck | Aug 07, 2009 06:29pm | #5

        no.  that is not adequate.  google "house cribbing", and try searching through the archives here as well.

        View Image bakersfieldremodel.com

        Edited 8/7/2009 11:34 am by Huck

        1. Bing187 | Aug 08, 2009 12:35am | #6

          Not unless your auto jack is a 5 ton or better bottle jack.

          As Huck said....re-do em, It will be easier than trying to balance whats there and do some silly re-motaring trick til they stick.

          Crib as you go, doesn't have to be rediculously strong, but enough that if it drops, it can only drop to the last crib

          At the very least, put a 3' or so piece of LVL under the jack, as flat as can be, to spread weight. a 2x can be ok, bugt I've seen em split with a lot of weight....why chance it.

          Don't put your fingies anywhere that they can end up between the crib and the porch if the jack moves or fails.

          Good opportunity to practice your brickie skills on something that  doesn't have to be asthetically perfect, (and I'm betting since you're here, you'll do better than the guy that did what's there.)

          Bing

          1. BigMish | Aug 08, 2009 03:28am | #9

            Thanks, sounds like good advice.<!----><!----><!---->

            You've got me convinced; I'll rebuild.

      2. DanH | Aug 08, 2009 01:11am | #8

        I'm going to disagree with the posters below. (That is, below post #5.) If it's just the porch load, and a roof load above that, you hardly need a jack -- you could lever the thing up enough with a stout 4x4. A couple of stacked CMUs (cores vertical) will be plenty of support until the repairs are done. The one thing you want to be sure to do, though, is insert cribbing in place of the jack as soon as it's jacked up (and before knocking out the pier). A jack should never be trusted for long-term support.Of course, if there's a second story bearing on the piers then you need to rethink the whole thing.
        As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz

        Edited 8/7/2009 6:15 pm by DanH

  3. DanH | Aug 08, 2009 01:06am | #7

    To fix it right you should knock out the piers (after installing cribbing), install a proper footing, then rebuild with something more substantial -- eg, CMU (concrete block) or concrete in a Sonotube.

    But to be completely honest, I've seen piers that looked a lot worse support a porch for decades. You might as well take your time and consider how the pier replacement fits in with any other repairs you have in mind.

    As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
    1. BigMish | Aug 08, 2009 03:32am | #10

      DanH, I'd love to delay a bit (I've got plenty else to work on) but I've seen a noticeable difference, since we bought the place a year ago, in how far back the porch sits on the pier so I want to get it done before winter.

      1. DanH | Aug 08, 2009 03:34am | #11

        You could temporarily brace things with some pieces of wood scabbed in place to keep the top of the pier from shifting.
        As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz

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