Helical Piers
Helical Pier Design stabilizes and strengthens the foundation and structure by placing weight from weak soil onto steel piers. These soil “nails” are screwed to an engineered designed depth in conjunction with soil testing and best engineering practices. At Gore Innovations, our certified professionals are trained and experienced in commercial foundation piering.
What Are Helical Piers?
A helical pier is a foundation pin made of steel that contains helices just like screws. Installation is based upon our engineering design in conjunction with a site soil test and/or best engineering practices. Helical piers are used to support structures especially where soil conditions are challenging, making it hard to set up a traditional foundation system. Helical piers minimize time spent installing a foundation, causes little disturbance to the soil and transfers the weight of the structure, to soils deep into the earth that would bear the load.
Where are helical piers used?
Hard Rock Conditions
Swamp Like Conditions
How do helical piers work?
The screw piles are driven into the soil until the engineered load capacity is achieved, based upon site conditions and design criteria. [We use Pro-Dig Equipment and “Intellitorq” software to monitor and report the pier details and location capacities.] Brackets are attached to the base of the structure to transfer the weight to the pile. They are generally installed between ten to thirty feet below the ground level but may be extended deeper if they do not meet the required torque. They can hold any weight up to over five hundred tons or up to a ten story building.
Helical piers are made of galvanized steel to prevent rusting. They are generally estimated to last over a hundred and twenty years. However, this might be shorter or longer depending on the soil conditions. If you are facing any of the above foundation challenges, consider helical piers for deep foundation solution.
Types of Helical Piers
There are two types of helical piers, round shaft and square shaft. Round shaft helical piers are used in areas where compression is suspected. Round shafts are better at handling compression forces and maintaining lateral stability. They are also better at resisting twisting and deflection due to compression. Conventional designs include;
A hollow shaft, round with a typical O.D of 2 7/8” through 12 ¾”.
Tapered helices, circular in shape welded to the center.
A helix pitch of 3” to 6”
Square shafts are suitable for areas where tension forces are suspected. They have a greater yield and tensile strength. They are composed of;
A square solid shaft with a typical O.D of 1 ¼” thru 2”
Circular, tapered helices welded to the center of the shaft.
Helix thickness range from 3/8” to 1” and diameters of 6” to 48”.
