You’ve got a problem with your slab home sliding down a hill. Or perhaps your addition is separating from the rest of your home. You’re losing sleep over this major issue and want this sliding and separating to stop, like yesterday . . .
Or maybe you’re interested in buying a home that already has buttress piers and simply want to know what the heck these things are.
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we’ve been solving slab problems for homeowners in Bryan, College Station, and surrounding Brazos Valley communities like Navasota and Brenham since 1985. Those problems sometimes include sliding and separating foundations. We can tell you what we use to fix this issue here in Central Texas.
Maybe you’ve heard of buttress piers or maybe you haven’t, but you’re about to learn a lot more about these specialized piers because they may be your solution. This article explains the buttress pier concept and scenarios when they are used. We also discuss how they are made and the associated costs.
What Is Buttress Pier and How Are They Made?
A buttress pier is a special type of drilled bell-bottom pier used in foundation repair. Buttress piers are designed to resist lateral movement, whereas regular piers are designed to provide vertical load-bearing as well as resist downward vertical movement.
In other words, buttress piers help to stop foundations from moving sideways, and the usual piers help to keep foundations from moving down aka settling.
These specialized piers are essentially two piers in one. The first pier is a typical drilled bell-bottom pier and the second pier comes off at a diagonal. The piers share the same pier cap, making it like a double pier. Both piers that make up the buttress are created at the same time from a singular concrete pour. Once cured, the reinforced concrete buttress is one solid two-pronged pier.
Diagrams should be around here somewhere showing the difference between a regular bell-bottom pier and a buttress pier.
Besides the whole *two piers in one* thing, another big difference in how buttress piers are made (compared to regular piers) is that additional concrete is included in the pier cap that extends further up the concrete perimeter beam of the foundation. This extended pier cap can terminate above or below ground level, depending on the resistance needs of the structure.
In the pictures of all the buttress piers in this article, the pier cap extends above ground to clearly show the difference. Otherwise, you actually wouldn’t be able to see any above-ground difference between a buttress pier and a typical drilled pier once installation is complete.
What Problems Can Buttress Piers Help Solve?
You might have already figured this out, but let’s cover the types of issues where buttress piers are appropriate to use. Buttress piers help to solve lateral movement problems of slab foundations. Buttresses are especially helpful when two independent slabs are moving apart, like in the case of an addition separating from the original home.
But, buttresses can also help a singular slab to stay in place that might be experiencing the effects of gravity from being built on a hill or sloping terrain.
In either case, the sole purpose of a buttress pier is to stop sideways shifting. Buttresses do not push slabs back together or back up to their original position, they only serve to stop any further undesired lateral movement.
One other unique scenario where buttresses can be used is for retaining walls. We have done this a few times here in town to keep leaning retaining walls in place.
It should be noted that buttress piers are unique to the drilled bell-bottom pier method of foundation repair. We are not aware of an equivalent “lateral movement prevention” available with other foundation repair methods. To our knowledge, helical piers and all variations of pressed pilings do not have any buttress-style components or capabilities.
How Much Do Buttress Piers Cost?
The way that we price buttress piers is pretty simple. Remember how I said that buttresses are kind of like two piers in one? Well, so is the pricing. Our cost for one buttress pier is double the cost of a regular bell-bottom pier.
For a typical bell-bottom pier, the cost is $800 to $900 depending on where you live. Therefore, the cost for a buttress pier is $1,600 to $1,800. Those price points are just for that one item. Keep in mind that we rarely do buttress piers without other foundation repair work going on at the same time. So those prices are not for a complete project, only that singular item and you will likely need more than that.
Here’s an example of a job we did using buttress piers to help support a settling and separating garage from a large custom home. The buttress piers are the ones that look like two circles put together. This project needed a total of 18 piers, and 5 of them are buttresses that count double and account for 10 of the required piers. The total cost of this repair was about $20,000.
How Do I Know If My Home Can Use Buttress Piers?
Most homes do not need buttress piers. We don’t install buttress piers that often but they are a handy tool to keep in our toolbox when the situation calls for them. They are typically installed as part of a larger foundation repair project.
Most often, we use buttress piers when large home additions need extra support and other foundation repairs are underway as well. In these cases, buttress piers ensure stability by preventing horizontal movement, and providing the additional reinforcement necessary to keep the whole structure secure.
The only way to know if buttress piers would even work for your home is to get a foundation inspection/assessment from a foundation repair contractor like Anchor. Keep in mind that buttress piers work around here, but might not work everywhere depending on your soil and terrain.
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we don’t fix things that don’t need fixin’, and we don’t try to sell you stuff you don’t need. After 40+ years in business, that’s what’s best for our Brazos Valley community and for exceptional homeowners like you. We’re here to help guide you through the foundation repair process and will let you know if buttress piers can potentially benefit you.
If you’re here in the Brazos Valley, contact us anytime with our handy dandy online contact form available 24/7 whenever you’re ready.
