Floral Heights is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Wichita Falls, developed largely in the 1910s through the 1930s during the city's oil-money era. The homes are period architecture with real craftsmanship, and virtually all of them predate slab construction.
What That Means for Your Foundation
These houses sit on pier-and-beam foundations: masonry or concrete piers, wood beams, joists, and a crawl space underneath. Which is genuinely good news. The system is adjustable, the plumbing is accessible, and correcting it costs less than underpinning a slab.
The complication is age. A hundred years of North Texas crawl space conditions produces predictable results:
- Original piers settled into the clay or with shims compressed, rotted, or gone
- Rotted sill plates and beam ends where wood sits near grade
- Sagging joists, often from spans that were marginal when built
- Termite and fungal damage in persistently damp crawl spaces
- Pier spacing wider than any modern spec — supplemental piers are routine here
- Crawl space ventilation blocked by decades of landscaping and additions
Lifting an Old House Slowly
Many Floral Heights homes have plaster walls, original millwork, and windows that have been in the same openings since Coolidge. None of that tolerates a fast lift. A good crew brings these houses up over multiple passes across several days, shimming and locking in gains as they go. It costs a bit more in labor and saves a great deal in plaster repair.
Say it out loud at the inspection: if you care about preserving original material, tell the contractor before they scope it. It changes decisions about whether original piers are rebuilt or replaced, how much original beam is retained versus sistered, and how the lift is staged. Production-minded crews will do it the fast way unless you ask.
Drainage on Century-Old Lots
Grade around a hundred-year-old house has been modified many times — beds added, walks poured, additions built, trees planted and removed. Very often the original drainage no longer functions and water sits against the perimeter or gets into the crawl space. Fixing that is usually the highest-value work available on a Floral Heights home, and it costs a fraction of structural repair. See drainage correction.
Getting Started
The free inspection on a pier-and-beam home includes actually getting into the crawl space — which is where the answer is. You'll get elevation readings, a condition report on the piers and floor structure, and honest guidance on whether the movement is active or historical.
More on the wider city on our Wichita Falls page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are all Floral Heights homes pier and beam?
The great majority, given the era. A few later infill homes and additions are on slab. If you're not sure, look for crawl space vents around the base of the exterior wall or a visible line of masonry piers below the floor line.
Is it worth repairing a 100-year-old foundation?
Usually yes, and often for less than people expect. Pier-and-beam is adjustable by design, and a house standing after a century has proven a lot about its framing. The cost question is whether you need releveling only or structural carpentry as well.
Will foundation work damage my original plaster?
Some cracking is realistic on any lift, and plaster is more brittle than drywall. A staged multi-day lift minimizes it substantially. Budget for plaster repair separately — it's essentially never included in a foundation estimate.
Foundation Services Available Here
- Foundation Repair
- Slab Foundation Repair
- Pier & Beam Repair
- House Leveling
- Foundation Crack Repair
- Free Foundation Inspection
- Steel vs. Concrete Piers
- Drainage & French Drains
- Commercial Foundation Repair
- Warranties Explained
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