| Deep Foundations and Helix Piers
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What makes a good foundation?
A foundation begins with the soil beneath it. Sometimes terra firma is not near ground level. When a foundation is founded in unstable soils, differential settlement occurs.
If a house is built over soft soils, engineers typically design a deep foundation to ensure support.
Avalon Structural installs drilled pier foundations (deep holes with rebar and concrete) as well as helix foundations. Owners, engineers, and contractors are finding helix piers make sense in many construction applications.
(Note that the term 'helix pier' is equivalent to 'helical pier'.)
We install both square shaft and round shaft helical piers and tiebacks.
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This is our 5 1/2" diameter round shaft helix pier.
Our pier sizes range from 1 1/2" square shaft to 5 1/2" round shaft. Where stout columns are needed, we have installed these 5 1/2" helical piers. Larger piers are also available.
Most applications call for 2 7/8" round shaft helical piers.
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| (Picture Below) For hillside foundations, round shaft vertical helix piers with square shaft diagonal helix piers are more cost effective than drilled piers.
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| A helical pier being installed through the floor of a closet.
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| Helix piers used for road repair.
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| A set of helix piers created an instant foundation for an equipment platform: |
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| In this example of helical pier application, Avalon installed helical piers-rather than drilled piers-to minimize damage to tree roots as required by the City of Santa Cruz. |
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| Helical piers for new construction: |
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| Avalon built the buttresses for this bridge. The buttresses contain vertical and diagonal helical members. |
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