Skip to Content
""

Steps of Installing Segmented Pilings

Phase I - Digging of the Boxes

  1. Upon arrival at your home, the supervisor will notify the homeowner of the crews presence.

  2. Supervisor will designate location of pilings.

  3. Breakout of any concrete or paving by a jackhammer.

  4. Hand dig access hole beneath the grade beam. These holes are typically the size of a door mat.

Phase II - Installing the Piling

  1. Access to the interior is necessary because we need to utilize three to four electrical outlets that are on separate circuits. This is for our power units that will be driving the pilings.

  2. Concrete pilings are pressed down with the ram using the power units. The weight of the structure is being used to drive the pilings. As one piling is driven, another piling is placed on top of the driven piling. This process is repeated until the required depth and resistance is reached. The depth of the pilings will be determined by the soil makeup at your residence. This depth can range from 12 feet to over 24 feet. Remember, frictional resistance is the key factor in driving pilings, therefore depth is not as important as friction/resistance.

  3. After the pilings have been driven to the proper friction/resistance point, then a piling cap is placed between the driven piling and the grade beam.

Phase III - Lifting of the Slab

After all pilings have been driven and all the piling caps have been installed, then we start raising the foundation in stages. We will raise the lowest portion first and then work around the area to be repaired, and in most cases, we will then work back to the lowest area to raise some more.

Once the lifting supervisor has reached a satisfactory elevation, the tops of the piles will be shimmed under the grade beam. Then the holes will be backfilled, concrete patches will be made, and plants will be replanted. A final walkthrough with the homeowner is desired at this time.

Interior Pilings

Tunneling: (this is an option to avoid piling installations from inside the house)

  • An access hole is dug next to the structure (this will be approximately a four foot by four foot box).

  • Utilizing mechanical chipping hammers, our employees dig the tunnel under the structure. The tunnel size is about four feet by four feet.

  • After the tunnel is dug, we will place our power plant and rams under the selected grade beams and use the weight of the structure to drive the pilings.

  • This process will be a duplicate of the exterior piling procedure.

  • Once the structure is raised and the leveling/stabilization is completed, then top soil and clay are placed back in the tunnel and access hole.