Each and every pier and beam foundation is distinctive. While some need only minor modification and replacement others are in far greater need of restoration. The Texas soil in the Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth area historically was used as grazing for cattle or used for farmland to support crops. When it rains the soil expands, when the soil dry's out it shrinks causing cracks everywhere. A heavy two-story home puts a lot of weight on the old cedar posts. Plumbing issues wash away the soil. You can have a small leak for years and not even know it.