Fearful Of Erosion? You're Not Alone-How Piers Have Saved Alaskan Homes

Your might wonder how often homes endure foundation damage and are in need of foundation repair. The truth is, it's more common than you think.

Soil movement is common after the freezing and thawing cycle, and heavily contributes to problem soils that are in constant movement—causing settlement and long-term damages to homes. 

When your home begins to succumb to settlement and begins to cause foundation damage, it shows in many ways, including: a gap between the floors/walls/ceiling, wall cracks, basement or crawl space cracks, "sticking" doors and windows, cracks extending from the corners of door frames and windows, etc. These problems can cause even more problems to the longevity, health, and safety of the home. 

How do you begin to tackle these problems? There's many ways, but today, we'll feature a couple of the most reliable solutions: helical and push piers. 

Push Piers: For Heavy Loads

Our steel push piers will help transfer the weight of the home from its concrete foundation—through the steel bracket and piers—onto a deep load-bearing soil or bedrock. In many cases, this solution can even lift homes back to level, closing cracks and improving the operations of doors and windows.

Additionally, it reaches much greater depths than other options. Because they are driven at high contact pressures all the way to bedrock—or a stable soil layer using high-capacity hydraulic pumps and cylinders—they are the least risky solution when local soil conditions are unknown. Structures such as stoops or decks also may not be heavy enough to drive push piers to a sufficient depth. In these situations, a helical pier may be a better solution. 

Helical Piers: For Heavy and Light Loads

A helical pier is named after its unique design, as the first section that advances into the ground has one or more helix-shaped blades welded into the shaft, allowing it to be mechanically screwed into the soil. These piers can be installed from the exterior or interior of your home, and possibly lift the home back to its original position. 

Regardless of the weight of the structure, helical piers are an ideal solution to permanently stabilizing a home. It provides quicker installation, and permanently solves foundation settlement issues. However, don't hire inexperienced helical pier installers—as they may not advance the pier deep enough if a stiff soil layer is encountered near the surface, which may be above a problematic soil layer. 

Luckily, our team is full of experienced helical pier and push pier installers, and we solve these kinds of foundation problems every day, transferring its weight from eroding problem soils onto stable, reliable ones. Contact us today for a FREE estimate!