Helical Piers for Lasting Foundation Support
When soil conditions are too soft or unstable for driven steel piles, helical piers offer an equally permanent alternative — engineered steel shafts fitted with helix-shaped plates that are twisted into the ground like a giant screw until they reach load-bearing soil. Foundation Solutions uses helical piers to stabilize homes, additions, decks, and light commercial structures across California, with minimal excavation and no waiting for concrete to cure. In lighter settlement cases, they can also help bring a structure back toward level.
What Are Helical Piers?
A helical pier is a length of galvanized steel shaft fitted with one or more helical plates, installed by rotating it into the soil much the way a screw bites into wood. As the pier advances, the helix plates bear against undisturbed soil, giving the pier the holding capacity to carry a structure’s weight without further settling.
Because they’re installed with hydraulic torque motors rather than impact-driven force, helical piers work in soil conditions where driven piles can struggle — including soft clay, loose fill, and sites close to property lines or existing structures where vibration needs to stay minimal.
Signs Your Home Could Benefit From Helical Piers
Helical piers are often the right call in situations where a structure is lighter, the access is tighter, or the soil won’t reliably support a driven pile. You may be a good candidate if you’re seeing:
- Settling around a home addition or sunroom
- A sagging deck, porch, or carport
- Cracked or leaning retaining walls
- New construction planned on marginal or previously-filled soil
- Limited yard access for heavier driving equipment
If it is specifically a foundation or basement wall bowing or cracking, our wall repair system may be the better fit. See our full signs and symptoms guide for a complete list of foundation warning signs.
Why Homeowners Choose Helical Piers
Helical piers install quickly, with no concrete curing time and almost no spoil to haul away, which makes them a practical option when speed and a clean job site matter.
- Load-tested at the time of installation
- Minimal vibration and disturbance to nearby structures
- Can be installed in tight or low-access areas
- Effective in soft, wet, or previously disturbed soil
How Helical Pier Installation Works
1. Site & Soil Assessment
A project manager inspects your property and reviews soil conditions to confirm helical piers are the right fit and how deep they’ll need to go to reach load-bearing strata.
2. Engineered Pier Layout
We calculate the number, spacing, and torque rating of piers required to carry your structure’s load safely, tailored to your home’s exact footprint.
3. Pier Installation
Each pier is hydraulically rotated into the soil to the engineered depth, with installation torque monitored in real time to confirm it has reached adequate bearing capacity.
4. Load Transfer & Finalization
A bracket connects the pier to your foundation, the structure is stabilized or lifted as needed, and our team documents the finished installation for your records.
Where Helical Piers Work Best
Helical piers aren’t a one-size-fits-all fix, but for the right project they’re hard to beat. They’re commonly used for:
- Home additions and room extensions
- Decks, porches, and carports
- Light commercial and accessory structures
- New construction on soft or engineered fill soil
- Sites where excavation or vibration need to stay minimal
If your home sits on a crawl space foundation, see our crawl space supports page instead. For a sunken driveway or patio rather than the structure itself, our concrete lifting service is the right fit.
Helical Piers vs. Push Piers
Both systems reach the same goal — transferring your structure’s load down to stable soil — but they get there differently. Push piers are hydraulically driven using the weight of the structure itself, which makes them well suited to heavier homes. Helical piers are mechanically screwed into the ground and rated by installation torque, which makes them a better fit for lighter structures or soil that needs a wider bearing surface. Our project managers evaluate your home’s weight, soil conditions, and access before recommending which system is the right call.
See how push piers factor into a full underpinning plan on our foundation underpinning page.
Backed by a Warranty You Can Count On
Every helical pier we install is backed by warranty-supported protection. Our piers are engineered to hold their load, but if you ever notice movement after installation, our team will inspect the affected pier and bracket and make it right.
FAQs
About Helical Piers
How Deep Do Helical Piers Need to Go?
Depth depends entirely on where stable, load-bearing soil sits beneath your property — sometimes a few feet, sometimes considerably deeper. Our technicians confirm bearing capacity by monitoring installation torque in real time, not by guessing at a fixed depth.
Are Helical Piers as Strong as Push Piers?
Both systems are engineered to carry significant structural loads reliably. The right choice comes down to your home's weight and soil conditions rather than one system being universally stronger than the other.
Can Helical Piers Be Used to Lift a Structure, Not Just Stabilize It?
Yes. Once a pier reaches adequate bearing capacity, a bracket can be used to gradually lift the connected structure back toward its original position, not just hold it where it is.
Ready to Talk Through Your Options?
Not every foundation problem calls for the same fix. Reach out and our local team will walk your property, explain what’s happening beneath it, and recommend whether helical piers, crawl space repair, or another system is the right long-term solution for your home.
Testimonials
I don't even know where to start with this review. From the first contact to the end of the job, Ryan and his crew were amazing - professional, knowledgeable, courteous, tidy and clean and very respectful of the impact the job had on me as the homeowner. The job was major, but I felt confident with the information that Ryan and his crew shared with me each step of the project. Since they are specialists, they are very busy so it took a while from start to finish but worth the wait! I could not be more pleased. They get an A+++ from me.
We had a consultation with a very knowledgeable engineer (Collin) who's extremely patient to answer questions and concerns we had. After a thorough walkthrough and measurements, it turned out the area which we thought might be problematic with leveling is only centralized and minuscule, not foundation-related. I'd like to thank Foundation Solutions for this engineer's detailed explanations, professional knowledge and recommendations. At the end, we acquired peace of mind and would highly recommend this company to anyone that may be seeking help with foundation related issues. If we are doing any addition/expansion of our house, we would definitely get in touch again for securing our foundation.
Kyle and the team are awesome! A corner of our foundation has a horizontal crack and when we go out for a quote, many companies explained how serious it is and give us a high estimation. Kyle came onsite and did a detailed inspection, explain why it crack, and how to properly fix it. Then few days later, gave us a reasonable estimate, and we decided to go with the service, they handled the permit, came to fix it in a day and did all the final inspection and passed, we have a smooth experience on the fix. My family are super happy with their service and already recommend to friends in case they need some work in the foundation.