What to Anticipate from Helical Pier Foundation Repair?

Have you scheduled a helical pier foundation repair but have no idea what to expect? Do you have some doubts about the project’s feasibility? Concerned about fixing your helical pier foundation? Read this.

How do Helical Piers Get Installed?

Defining Helical Piers

To secure, stabilize, or lift a structure, helical piers are galvanized steel pipes that are hydraulically driven into competent, load-bearing soil and then anchored to the footing with a corrective bracket. Helical piers are anchored into the ground by spirals at the base of the pier.

In a nutshell, helical piers prevent further settlement of the foundation by acting as underground stilts. It is common practice to drive helical piers to depths of 25 or 30 feet.

Process of Digging and Setting Helical Piers

The footing of the foundation must be excavated before the helical piers can be screwed into the ground with a torque motor. The footing is the section of a building’s foundation that is sunk into the ground at a depth below the surrounding soil (called the “grade” in the building trade).

In order to secure the corrective bracket to the foundation, the footing must be exposed (the key component connecting the foundation to the new underground stilt system). To get to the foundation, we have to dig.

For each pier location, you’ll need to dig a hole that’s 3×3 feet and anywhere from 18 to 24 inches deep. Stickers or painter’s tape (an easily removable marker so as not to ruin the house siding/stucco) are used to mark off these “excavation sites” every 6 feet in accordance with the planned repair strategy.

Once the footing is located, the concrete is demo-hammered until a flat surface is achieved that can accommodate the repair bracket. Afterward, the hole will be recompacted and the bracket will be sealed.

The biggest challenge of helical pier installation is finding a suitable location to man the torque motor, which is attached to a torque bar and needs two or three crew members to keep it steady.

A simple analogy would be to think of the torque motor and torque bar as a very large screwdriver, which is used to rapidly drive piers into competent, load-bearing soil.

Lifting and stabilizing loads at helical piers.

When all the helical piers are in place, the building can be lifted to its maximum practical recovery (as high as it is safe to lift) and/or stabilized, directly reducing the foundation settlement.

Keep in mind that a complete recovery is not possible. It is possible to realign your foundation, but it will never sit at the same level as before.

The beauty of house lifting is that it does not compromise the stability of your house in any way.

Hydraulic lift cylinders are used in unison at each pier site when raising a house to its highest practical level of recovery. To manage the flow of hydraulic fluid to the cylinders, hydraulic valves are installed. Every lift is measured for height using a Zip level to guarantee a smooth takeoff.

There will be less heavy lifting to do in some rooms than in others. As each cylinder is turned off, the corresponding hydraulic cylinder stops lifting and reclaiming space.

A home may take up to two or three hours to be lifted to the point of maximum practical recovery.

What to Anticipate From a Helical Pier Foundation Repair Hoist

Doors become less difficult to open and close, cracked walls patch up, uneven floors level out, and window and door frames straighten out.

The Ultimate Tour of the Helical Pier

Once the helical piers have been lifted and stabilized, the final walkthrough can begin, which entails a quick glance at the affected areas while paying close attention to:
We have fixed the previous: -cracks in the stucco, -cracks in the drywall,
-The floors used to be slanted

Floor elevation measurements are taken again and compared to the original floor elevation measurements taken during the initial Foundation Inspection Bellflower.

You have just received a crash course in helical pier installation and should be familiar with every step of the process from digging the foundation to raising the structure. In conclusion, helical piers are a safe and reliable option for fixing your foundation.

With our help, you can gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental issues you’re facing. If you need a Foundation Inspection Bellflower or repair, don’t hesitate to contact RLM Retrofit Foundation.

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