Settlement that needs a screwed pile
The footing needs support, and the site is a candidate for helical installation.
Helical foundation piers
Helical piers are steel piles with helix plates. They are screwed into the soil to support a foundation.
Helical pile installation is the same type of work. It is one way to support a settling foundation.
The footing needs support, and the site is a candidate for helical installation.
Helical piers are installed by rotating into the ground rather than driving with the full weight of the house.
Helical piers are sized for the load. They are not a generic substitute for every pier job.
A helical pier is advanced into the soil until it reaches a designed torque or depth. Brackets then connect the pile to the foundation.
This is a child of foundation pier installation and settlement repair. The other common type is push piers.
Helical piers can be used on additions, porches, and areas where a screwed pile is the better install method. The house still has to match the capacity of the pile.
Shallow soil is no longer enough under that part of the house.
Screwing the pile in can suit sites where a driven pier is not the first choice.
Some additions and porches are planned around helical piles from the start. Repair work can use the same idea.
Piles are placed where settlement has occurred and bracketed to the foundation.
Not every wall needs piers. The pattern of drop decides the layout.
If the structure and soil fit a driven steel pier better, that is a different page and a different method.
These pages sit next to this one in the site structure.
Deeper soil and more settlement locations mean more work.
The install still needs room to work along the foundation.
The way the pile meets the footing depends on the foundation type.
Describe the settled area and whether it is a main wall, a porch, or an addition.
Note access along that side of the house.
We compare helical piers with push piers instead of treating them as the same product.
Helical piles are used in Northeast Ohio when the soil profile and the load fit a screwed pier. Clay and mixed fill still have to be read on site.
Tight additions behind older Akron homes are a common place to talk about helical support because equipment and access vary from house to house.
People use both names. On this site they mean the same type of screwed steel support.
They can, when they are designed for the soil and the load. Clay is common in Akron. Design still has to match the site.
Often the work is done from outside. Interior finishes matter less than outside access in many cases, but each house is different.
Call and tell us what you are seeing in the basement or around the foundation.