MARCH 14, 2016

Before you choose wood for house pilings, consider the following:

Characteristics of the location : It’s important to first consider the conditions of your building site. Drier building sites will require wooden house pilings with a lower concentration of chemical preservatives. Wetter areas, such as those near water bodies, will need higher concentrations to protect the wood from more robust populations of pests like termites and carpenter ants.

Home design : Homes along major flood area like the Gulf Coast will require longer pilings in general to rise out of the danger zone, whereas more inland areas will be fine with being raised just a couple feet. You’ll also need to consider the needed support for the structure. Single story homes can get away with more inexpensive house pilings that have a small diameter, whereas heavier two-story homes will need to upgrade to either bigger diameters or greater quantities of small diameter pilings.

Cross section : Wood house pilings come in three types of cross sections: Round, Square, and Uniform-diameter. Round pilings have a diameter that differs according to each wood’s natural variations, and each features a gradual taper from one end to the other. They are the least expensive, but are often harder to line-up correctly. The flat sides of square pilings make them easier to work and most consider them more aesthetically pleasing. Uniform-diameter house pilings are round pilings that have been machined on a lathe to create one continuous diameter the full length. This work makes them more expensive.