Push, Helical & Concrete

What each pier type suits, and where each one fails.

6 articles

• Which Pier Type — The Weight of Your House Decides

  The choice is usually made for you by the building. A heavy two-storey house suits one method; a light porch or slab addition suits the other.

• Steel Push Piers — Driven to Refusal Using the House as Reaction

  The depth is discovered rather than specified. A quote that states an exact depth for push piers is quoting an assumption.

• Helical Piers — Torque at Installation Tells You the Capacity

  A push pier proves itself by refusing to move. A helical proves itself by how hard it was to turn, and that number is recorded pier by pier.

• Underpinning or Piering — Same Goal, Different Century

  The word underpinning covers both in common use, and the two methods have almost nothing in common on site.

• Foam Injection — Fills Voids and Lifts, but Does Not Underpin

  Foam is fast, cheap and minimally disruptive, and it is not a substitute for a pier. Which one is right depends on what is under the slab.

• Helical vs Push Piers — The Choice Is About the House, Not the Price

  They cost about the same per pier. A contractor who only installs one type will always recommend that one, and that is the thing to notice.