Foundation Piers

What are Foundation Piers?

How do I know if they are the right solution for my home?

Foundation Piers come in 2 forms.  Hydraulic Push Piers, and Helical Piers.  There are 2 main differences between the two.

1) Hydraulic Push Piers are pushed straight into the ground and use the weight of the structure as a counter weight to help push ideep into the soil.  Because of this, lighter structures are not a good fit for Hydraulic Piers.

2) Helical piers are essentially big screws that are twisted into the ground.  They typically don't go as deep, and they do not use the weight of the structure during the installation process.  Therefore Helical piers are better suited for lighter structures.  Helical piers are also better suited for sandy soil types, such as near coastlines or rivers.  

Prior to the existence of Hydrualic Push Piers and Helical Piers, underpinning was the most common method of securing a sinking foundation.  However, there is a fundamental flaw with underpinning in that the underpins are still installed on the same soil that has already proven incapable of supporting the load of the structure.  So eventually even the underpinning is likely to drop.  Hydrualic Push Piers and Helical Piers go beyond the weak soil into stronger bearing strata, or even to bedrock.