DRILLED PIERS

Ideal usage:
• When it is important to minimize movement of the
   foundation before lifting.
• When the soils are too hard to drive steel or concrete
  pilings through

Description:
For some structures, it is not possible to generate enough pressure to drive a steel or concrete piling. This is particularly true for small structures. In such cases, the process of driving a piling can literally lift the majority of a small structure off of the ground without generating enough pressure to drive a piling. At other times, a home may have loose and unstable brick veneer, or other problems that make minimizing pre-lift movement important.

When drilled piers are installed, it is necessary to drill a shaft deep into the ground. All of the dirt that is drilled out of the ground must be hauled off. After the shafts are drilled, steel reinforcing must be lowered into the shafts. Next concrete must be carried in and poured into the shafts. Finally, the concrete must cure for a week before it can be used to lift a foundation. What all this means is that drilled shafts are much messier and much slower to install than pilings. As a result, drilled piers are generally only used when there is a specific need.