What is the difference between helical piles and push piers?

Helical piles are screwed into the ground like a giant earth screw and carry their load through spiral plates that bite into deeper, denser soil. Push piers are hydraulically pushed straight down, using the weight of the house itself, until they hit a solid load-bearing layer or bedrock. Both stabilize a sinking foundation. We install both in-house, and both carry a 25-year engineered warranty. Pricing for either runs $2,700 per pier for the first three, then $2,200 per pier after that.

So which one fits your house? It depends on what’s under it.

How each one works

A helical pile looks like a steel shaft with one or more spiral plates near the bottom. We turn it into the ground with hydraulic equipment. The plates pull it down to a depth where the soil is dense enough to hold. Because they screw in, helical piles work even on a lighter structure, like a porch, a deck footing, or an addition. They don’t need much weight overhead to set properly.

A push pier is a hollow steel tube. We press it down using the weight of your home as the resistance, one section at a time, until it reaches a firm layer. That part matters. A push pier needs a heavy structure pressing back, so it works well under a full two-story house or a heavy masonry section. On a light structure it can struggle to reach refusal.

Same goal, different physics. One drives down on torque, the other on load.

What’s actually wrong under the house

Foundations settle for a reason. Around here, a lot of it traces back to disturbed backfill. When the house was built, the soil dug out for the foundation got put back loose. That fill drains slowly and holds water, and over the years it compresses or washes out. The footing loses support and the corner drops. You see it as a stair-step crack in the block, a door that won’t latch, or a floor that slopes.

Piers fix that by bypassing the bad soil. We take the load off the weak fill and transfer it down to ground that won’t move. Once a pier is set, we can often lift the foundation back toward its original height, or hold it where it is so it stops sinking.

How we pick between them

We pick based on the soil, the depth to a load-bearing layer, and how heavy the structure is. A geotechnical read of the site tells us a lot. Helical piles are usually our call for lighter loads and for sites where we want a known, tested capacity as we drive. Push piers are usually the call under a heavy home where we want to ride the house’s own weight down to a deep firm layer.

You don’t get to pick your pier off a menu, and you shouldn’t have to. That’s our job. We come look, we read what the house is telling us, and we spec the right one. If a crack is cosmetic and the footing is fine, we’ll tell you that too. Not every crack means a failing foundation. Sometimes a carbon-fiber strap or a crack injection is all you need, and that costs a lot less than piers.

What it costs

Helical piers and push piers both fall under $2,700 per pier for the first three, then $2,200 per pier after that, and the number moves with how many piers the job needs, how deep we have to go, and access around the house. A single dropped corner is a smaller job than a whole settling wall line. We give you a free inspection and a written estimate, with a quote back within 24 hours. Financing is available through Hearth, subject to approval, and we make nothing on it.

Both systems carry a 25-year engineered warranty when we install them. That warranty is transferable, and it stays valid as long as no other contractor or homeowner touches the work.

For the full picture on foundation support, see our structural and foundation repair page and the helical piers page. If you need lighter floor support instead of perimeter piers, that’s our supplemental support work. And here’s the 603 guarantee in writing.

For neutral background on soil movement and foundation performance, the DOE Building America program at basc.pnnl.gov is a solid read, and the Insurance Information Institute explains how foundation issues sit inside a homeowners policy.

Ready to find out which one your house needs?

Call us at 603-610-1770 or book your free inspection. We’ll come out, look at what’s really going on under there, and tell you plainly what it takes to fix it. No pier gets installed unless your house needs it.

Related questions

Can a sinking foundation be lifted back into place? Often, yes. Once piers reach load-bearing soil, we can sometimes lift the footing back toward its original height. How far depends on the structure and how long it’s been settling. We’ll tell you what’s realistic before we start.

Do helical piers work for a deck or porch, not just a house? Yes. Helical piles set well under lighter structures because they screw in and don’t need much weight overhead. Decks, porches, and additions are a common use.

How do I know if my foundation crack is serious? Hairline vertical cracks are often shrinkage and not structural. Stair-step cracks in block, widening cracks, or a wall that bows inward are the ones to watch. We do a free inspection and tell you whether it needs piers, a carbon-fiber strap, or nothing yet.

Is there a warranty on pier work? Yes. Helical and push piers carry a 25-year engineered warranty when 603 installs them. It transfers with the home as long as no one else alters the work.