HELICAL PIERS

Helical Piers are much like a wood screw, in that they are "screwed"into the ground with a hydraulic motor. Picture a wood screw being screwed into a soft pine board and behind the pine board is an oak board. The screw is easy to turn, in the pine board, however, when it gets to the oak board, it gets very hard to turn. When installing a helical pier, you are looking for the "oak board". In other words, you are looking for very hard soil. This is determined by the hydraulic pressure required to turn the hydraulic motor. The harder the soil, the higher the required pressure to turn the motor. The installer is looking for a certain pressure, before he terminates his install. Utilizing conversion tables, pressures are converted to torque and then to bearing capacity of the helical pier. With this method, the installer can install a pier to a capacity greater then what is actually required, thus, providing a "safety factor". The industry standard for this safety factor is two (2) times the required loads; i.e., If the required load was 20,000 Lbs. (or 20 KIPS), then the helical pier should be installed to 40,000 Lbs. (or 40 KIPS) capacity.

Helical piers are made in various sizes and configurations, as there i= s no "one pier fits all". Shaft sizes can be 1-1/4", 1-1/2", 1-3/4" and 2" Round Corner Square Shaft, or 2-7/8", 3-1/2", 4-1/2" and 8-5/8" diameter pipe. The "Helix" (or helices) can vary from 6" diameter to 24" in diameter and will vary from 3/8" to =C2=BE" in thickness. The proper configuration will depend on load requirements and soil conditions.

Helical piers can be used to "jack up" or "stabilize" a sinking foundation or can be used in the creation of the footings of a new foundation, consequently, the home or building would be built on top of the helical piers, preventing any future settlement