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Pier and Beam or Slab: What East Texas Home Buyers Should Know

When you shop for a house in East Texas, you will see two main kinds of foundations: pier and beam and concrete slab. Older homes are often pier and beam. Most newer homes are built on a slab. Each one has strengths and weak spots, and knowing the difference can help you make a smarter offer. Pier and Beam A pier and beam house sits up off the ground on piers, with beams and floor joists carrying the floor. There is a crawl space underneath. You can usually spot one by the skirting around the bottom of the house or the vents along the foundation. The good: Plumbing and wiring under the house are easy to reach for repairs. If the house settles, it can often be leveled by adjusting or adding piers. Many older pier and beam homes were built with solid lumber. The watch outs: Moisture in the crawl space can rot sills and joists over time. Termites and other pests can work on the framing from below. Exposed pipes under the house can freeze in a hard cold snap. Floors can sag or feel bouncy ...
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Planning a Pole Barn on Your Land

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This year we had a pole barn built on my land. It was a much needed spot for the tractors and ATVs. If you own a few acres in East Texas, a pole barn is one of the most useful things you can add. Here is how ours went and what I would think about before building one. Start With the Pad The dirt work matters more than anything else. A dump truck brought in fill dirt for ours, and we spread it out to build up a solid, level pad. A good pad sits higher than the ground around it so water drains away instead of running under the barn. Pick a spot that stays dry after a hard rain. Walk the land after a storm if you can. A barn in a low spot will always be muddy, no matter what you do later. Size It for What You Will Put in It Measure your biggest equipment, then add room. Think about the height you need for a tractor with a loader or a trailer, and the width you need to drive in and turn. It is a lot cheaper to build a little bigger now than to add on later. Wishing it were bigger is one of ...
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Buying a Country Home on a Septic System: What to Check

Outside of town in East Texas, most homes are not on city sewer. They use a septic system, and the condition of that system can make or break a good deal. A failing septic system is expensive to replace, and it is one of the things buyers forget to ask about. Here is what to check before you buy a country home. Know What Kind of System It Is In Texas, septic systems are called on site sewage facilities, and they are regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality along with local permitting authorities, often the county. There are two main types you will see. Conventional systems: a tank and a drain field that lets treated water soak into the ground. These work well in soils that drain. Aerobic systems: these use an air pump to treat the water and usually spray it onto the yard through sprinkler heads. They are common in areas with heavy clay or poor drainage. Aerobic systems generally require a maintenance contract. Ask the seller which type it is and how old it is. Check ...
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Moving a House Instead of Building One: Lessons From Pine Mills

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Earlier this year I got a good deal on a nice little frame house about two miles from Pine Mills, Texas. Instead of tearing it down or building new, we had it moved out to my land in Pine Mills. If you have ever wondered whether moving a house makes sense, here is what that project taught me and what I would tell anyone thinking about it. Why Move a House at All? A solid older frame house can cost far less than building new, especially when lumber, labor, and finish work are added up. Many older homes were built with good lumber, and the bones are often better than people expect. If you can buy one cheap and move it a short distance, you can end up with a lot of house for the money. It is not the right move for every house. Brick homes, large homes, and houses that are falling apart are usually not good candidates. A modest frame house in sound shape, moving a short distance, is the sweet spot. The Move Is Never as Smooth as You Hope Ours was not. The house rode so low on the truck tha...
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Getting an Older East Texas House Ready for Winter

East Texas winters are usually mild, but every few years we get a hard freeze that catches people off guard. Anyone who lived through the February 2021 winter storm remembers the burst pipes, the power outages, and the plumbers who were booked for weeks. Older houses took the worst of it. In Tyler, the average first fall frost comes around November 13 . That gives you about a month to get an older house ready. Here is a simple checklist, with a focus on the problems that show up most in older East Texas homes. 1. Protect the Pipes Under the House A lot of older homes around here sit on pier and beam foundations, and the water lines run through an open crawl space. That is where pipes freeze first. Crawl under the house, or have someone do it, and look for exposed supply lines. Wrap exposed pipes with foam pipe insulation, especially near outside walls and vents. Check that the skirting around the house is intact. Gaps and missing panels let cold wind blow right across the pipes. Close ...
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Putting a Storm Shelter in a Garage Floor: What One Day of Work Looks Like

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Spring in East Texas means storm season. Most years the sirens come and go and nothing happens close to home. But anyone who has lived here a while remembers the years when it did, and that is when people start asking about storm shelters. This past May I was on hand for an in-ground storm shelter install in a garage here in East Texas. I took photos through the day, and I want to walk through what it actually looked like. The process is simpler than most people expect, and there are a few things worth knowing before you call anyone. The shelter on install morning, before any digging started. Why the garage A below-ground shelter in the garage floor has a lot going for it. You can get to it without going outside, which matters when the wind is already blowing and the rain is coming sideways. It takes up very little room once it is in, because the lid sits flush with the floor and you can park right over it. And it does not change the look of the house or the yard. The tradeoff is that ...
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Why Rural Land in East Texas Holds Value Better Than Most People Think

 Most people chasing real estate returns head straight for residential. Houses, rentals, something with a roof on it. What gets overlooked, especially in the current market, is rural land. Specifically smaller parcels in the 5 to 50 acre range in areas like East Texas. The fundamentals here are straightforward. Rural land has low carrying costs, no tenants, no maintenance calls at midnight, and no structure to depreciate. When residential markets get choppy, land tends to hold. It is not exciting. That is the point. I have seen this pattern play out across Wood County and the surrounding areas for years. Parcels that are priced right and properly cleared move. Buyers want privacy, space, and something they can actually use. That might be a weekend property, a place to hunt, or a long term hold. What drives value in this market is simple: road frontage, timber condition, flood zone status, and how the land presents from the road. None of those things are complicated to evaluate. Mos...
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