December 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Best Foundation Repair Method Dallas Steel Piers

Straight steel pier underpinning driven to rock for best foundation repair method.

Steel piers have consistently been shown to be the best foundation repair method in Dallas, Ft Worth and the Metroplex region of Texas.

Granite Foundation Repair has had consistently excellent repair results using steel piers.  Steel piers provide superior results because of prevalent clay soils in North Texas.  Clay resists the installation of pressed concrete, or hybrid steel and concrete pressed piers.

Six reasons why steel piers are the best foundation repair method:

  1. Steel piers are consistently driven to rock or shale.
  2. While concrete piers may stop after 5-15 feet, dependent upon soil moisture, steel piers penetrate thick Texas clay soils. Driven  all the way to rock.
  3. Installation of steel piers requires a 75% smaller access hole than concrete piers.
  4. Minimally invasive installation protects landscape.
  5. Installation depth is not dependent upon operator technique.  Steel piers go through Dallas Ft Worth soils like a hot knife through butter.
  6. Recommended by top professional registered foundation engineers.

We have all been bombarded with advertisements for foundation repair that lasts forever.   As owners of the Granite Foundation Repair, we didn’t want marketing hype.

When it came to repairing our own house, we chose steel piers.  Let’s face it, we could have chosen any method that we wanted.  We wanted the best because we didn’t want future cracks in brick or walls.  We knew from our own experience what was the best foundation repair method for a concrete slab foundation.

As owners, we wanted to draw upon our knowledge and fortunately, we weren’t limited by what was available to us.  Granite Foundation Repair is one of the few companies in North Texas that installs every repair method.   Quite simply, we knew that we couldn’t go wrong with our choice of steel piers.

Almost 10 years later, our choice of steel piers has been proven to be solid.

 

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March 5, 2012 By

Best Foundation Repair Method – Steel versus Concrete

Steel piers are normally the best foundation repair method over concrete piers for the Dallas Fort Worth area.  Our warranty experience is evidence of that fact.

Straight Steel piers are always driven to shale or bedrock at depths of up to 80 feet.   Concrete Piers are typically driven to a maximum depth of 10-20 feet due to the resistance of expansive clay soils.

Why such a difference in pier depth?  3 inch diameter steel piers are far easier to push into the ground than 6 inch diameter concrete.   Steel piers require ¼ the drive force to obtain the same depth as concrete piers.  For a comparison, try pressing a hammer handle and a high heel into your yard.

Both pier systems depend upon the opposing force, the weight of the foundation, to drive the piers.   The available force for most houses is in the range of 4000 to 8000 PSI.    The best that one can hope for in driving pressed concrete is shallow rock, and that all of the soil is pushed out from the base of the pressed concrete using water injection.

These statements are applicable to areas of shallow shale or bedrock. In regions where the hard surface is hundreds of feet thick, concrete piers are preferable to steel and are the only practical choice. For actual field test results, see the following article:  Comparison of Steel Piers and Pressed Concrete Piers for Residential Foundation Repair

Straight steel pier driven deep to load to rock or shale. Illustration courtesy Granite Foundation Repair

Straight steel pier driven deep to load to rock or shale. Illustration courtesy Granite Foundation Repair

For your free foundation inspection, contact Granite Foundation Repair today. When deciding on the appropriate foundation repair method, it is important to have all the information before making a decision.

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January 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Steel Pier or Pressed Concrete Piling Repair?

Steel and pressed concrete pilings/piers are the most commonly use foundation underpinning repair methods in the Dallas and Ft. Worth areas.

Except in areas of shallow rock, the goal with underpinning should always be to drive it deep enough into the earth so as not to be effected by seasonal changes in moisture. In North Texas that depth is generally recognized by engineers as around 12 feet.

Steel piers are the preferred method for most long term foundation repairs. Steel piers are driven in sections to either load bearing strata or rock. Depths may be as great as 70 feet.

Pressed concrete pilings are a lower cost alternative to steel piers.   Concrete cylinders are driven to refusal in clay soil. Refusal in the Dallas Fort Worth area typically occurs at a depth of 8 to 15 feet, dependent upon soil moisture and weight of the foundation.   If the installer does not use water injection, depth may be somewhat more limited.

If you can afford the cost differential, always choose steel.    To learn more about the two systems, click here. You will find a very detailed comparison of the systems.

Steel pier foundation repair is our preferred method at Granite Foundation Repair. There are two types of steel piers that can be used for steel pier foundation repair. Straight steel piers and helical steel piers. Straight steel piers provide exceptional support and great long  term results. Helical steel piers provide good results as well, but have a different design and are ideal for providing lift in concrete foundations that have inadequate beams.

Make sure you have all the information you need before deciding on your method of foundation repair. Steel piers may cost a little more, but they will last much longer.

 

 

 

 

Straight steel pier driven deep to load bearing strata, typically rock. Illustration courtesy Granite Foundation Repair

Straight steel pier driven deep to load bearing strata, typically rock. Illustration courtesy Granite Foundation Repair

Pressed concrete cylinders are driven to load bearing strata. Typically compressed clay. Illustration courtesy Granite Foundation Repair.

Pressed concrete cylinders are driven to load bearing strata. Typically compressed clay. Illustration courtesy Granite Foundation Repair.

 

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September 9, 2010 By

Why use concrete pilings or piers for foundation repair?

Almost half of failed house foundations in the North Texas area, including Dallas and Ft. Worth, have used pressed concrete pilings for foundation repair.

When properly installed, pressed concrete pilings provide good long term stability.  They are a practical, low cost alternative to steel piers.

Steel piers are often better than pressed concrete piers in the Dallas Ft Worth area, as they are consistently driven to rock.  Compare Steel Pier and Concrete Piling Foundation Repair Methods.

Here  are  4 reasons why pressed concrete piers are  offered by many foundation repair companies that do not offer steel piers for underpinning a foundation.

  1. The cost of steel pier installation equipment is 5 times the cost of pressed piling foundation repair equipment.  This means that the cost of getting into the repair business is much cheaper for companies that offer only pressed pilings.
  2. The cost of material for a typical steel pier underpinning is 3 times that of pressed concrete pilings.
  3. Most contractors do not have adequate facilities to manufacture steel pier brackets and cut high carbon tubular steel sections.
  4. Less scrupulous contractors can take short cuts with pressed concrete pilings, greatly reducing installation time and cost.

In areas where the distance to rock is over 100 feet, such as much of Houston, pressed concrete pilings are a good solution for foundation repair. Pressed concrete pilings seldom go deeper than 10 to 15 feet in most of the Dallas Ft Worth Metroplex due to the high density of clay soil. Pressed steel piers go through clay like a hot knife through butter, to provide a consistently reliable foundation support system.

In dry conditions Granite Foundation Repair will water inject the soil.  Water injection provides maximum pressed concrete piling depth, which equates to best long term performance.

Each foundation is unique and will be evaluated by Granite Foundation Repair for the best foundation repair method. Contact Granite Foundation Repair today for a free foundation inspection.

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August 28, 2010 By

Steel pier foundation repair in Dallas

Why are steel piers typically the preferred repair method in the Dallas and Fort Worth areas?

3 reason why steel piers are the best foundation repair for slabs that need underpinning in our area:

  1. Steel piers are almost always driven to rock or a solid load bearing strata while concrete cylinders are driven to refusal.
  2. Steel piers provide minimal stress to the foundation during the driving process.  This is because steel piers are one-fourth the surface area of pressed concrete pilings.
  3. The installation process is independent of the work crew.  Compare this with pressed concrete where the depth of the installation is sharply dependent on the skill and integrity of the installation crew. You can’t level a foundation with steel piers until the steel has gone all the way to rock.   Installation depth varies from 10 feet to 70 feet for steel piers.

Read a detailed comparison of steel and pressed concrete pier foundation repair methods.

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