How We Fix Sinking Foundations Using Steel Piers & Why They Are The Best Option

The science behind our steel pier solution is pretty simple: The soil your home rests on is not adept for holding it up. In order to help the soil hold your homes weight, we need to drill our piers to load-bearing strata soil, and then attach the piers to the foundational footers of your home. Here is how we do that:

We first have to excavate down to your homes foundation to create an access point for the piers to connect to the footers. We can either do this from the outside of a home, or through the inside by digging up part of your foundation floor.

We then drill our high-strength steel piers deep into stable soil under your home. We can either do this by using an excavator, or by using a portable device. We know the piers are in stable soil by using advanced mathematics based on pressure gauges.

We then attach the piers to brackets, which go underneath the footer, making sure the piers are firmly connected to the foundation. 

We can then lift the foundation back to where it was originally by using a handheld hydraulic device, (some contractors don't have access to these highly advanced hydraulics). This process can potentially close gaps in your home and fix sticky doors and windows. Afterwards, we backfill the soil surrounding the piers, concealing them completely.

Alternatively to piers, you may see or hear about other options that we don't recommend:

Refer to the associated letters from the graphic above for visual guidance:

A: Total foundation replacements are very costly and unnecessary. In most situations, the foundation itself isn't the problem, but rather the soil that the home rests upon.

B: Concrete underpinning is a cheaper process where more concrete is added under the existing footings in hopes of making the foundation stronger. However, adding lots of more weight will most likely cause your foundation to sink even further into the ground. It can also be a costly mistake if you wish to get piers to remedy this process, as most of the added concrete will need to be broken up to reach the original footers.

C: Concrete piering is also not the best option, as piers made of concrete are not the strongest material. They are also too blunt to be pushed into soil depths deeper than steel piers.

Lastly, there are other steel pier options out there that may not work as well. Our piers are designed and tested with decades of hard research, which will differentiate themselves from their copied counterparts over time. ⁠Something else that makes a huge difference is the crew installing them. Having a crew that has experience and training can potentially be the difference in having a system that protects your home from settlement. That is why we install extensive training to all of our piering crew members here at The Basement Doctor.