Crumbling or Leaning Brick Piers in Savannah, GA

Why brick piers fail in Savannah

They are old. Brick has been made near Savannah for about two hundred years. A Savannah Gray brick in a museum collection was likely made on the Hermitage Plantation in Chatham County between 1820 and 1850. The Historic District is known for brick houses on raised basements. Ardsley Park, begun in 1909, is all wood-framed houses. A hundred years or more of weight and weather wear out any pier.

The mortar wears away. Old brick was laid in soft lime mortar. It is meant to wear before the brick does. But after many decades of damp, the joints get soft and sandy. Once the mortar goes, the bricks shift and the pier loses strength.

The ground stays wet. The Chatham County plan calls the county flat and slow to drain, with water close to the top. A pier footing sitting in soaked soil can sink a little at a time. One sinking pier is enough to make the floor dip.

Floods and big rain. Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Tropical Storm Debby in 2024 both put a lot of water on Savannah. Water running under a house can wash soil from around the base of a pier. It also soaks the brick and the wood on top.

Bad patch jobs. The National Park Service warns that new mortar must be softer than the old brick. Hard mortar on soft old brick can make the brick crack and flake. A pier that was patched the wrong way years ago can fail faster.

What the fix usually is

The inspector looks at each pier and the beam on top of it. Then the fix fits the problem.

1. Repoint. If the brick is sound, the worn mortar is cleaned out and refilled with mortar that will not harm old brick.
2. Shore the beam. Before a pier comes out, the crew sets temporary supports so the floor does not drop.
3. Rebuild the pier. A failed pier is taken down and rebuilt, often on a new footing. Some crews use new brick, some use block, some use steel posts you can adjust.
4. Fix the top. Rotted wood shims are replaced with steel shims or an adjustable cap.
5. Lift slowly. The beam is raised back into place a little at a time.
6. Fix the water. Drainage and crawl space moisture get fixed so the new pier stays dry.

In flood zones outside city limits, the Chatham County flood law counts permitted repairs over five years. If they add up to half the home's value, the whole home must meet today's flood rules. Ask how that applies before a large job.

The cost table on this page shows typical ranges from national cost guides. They are not quotes. One pier costs far less than a row of them with rotted beams on top.