Method comparison / underpinning
Helical piers or push piers?
The useful answer is not “which pier is better?” It is which engineered system fits the structure, soil, access, loads, and repair goal at this property.
Side-by-side
What actually changes.
This table describes system categories. The final design still depends on the evaluated product, site investigation, loads, and connection details.
Swipe horizontally to compare both methods
| Decision point | Helical pier | Push pier |
|---|---|---|
| How the pier enters the ground | A helical shaft is rotated into the soil. | Pier sections are hydraulically advanced into the soil. |
| What provides installation reaction | The installation equipment applies rotational force to the shaft. | The existing structure provides reaction through an attached bracket. |
| What the design must establish | Required capacity, shaft and helix configuration, depth criteria, and the connection to the structure. | Required capacity, available structure reaction, pier sections, bearing criteria, and the bracket connection. |
| What records matter | Product evaluation, design documents, installation depth, and the measurements required by the project specification. | Product evaluation, design documents, installed configuration, hydraulic pressure or load records, and final bracket details. |
| Can it lift the structure? | Lifting must be separately designed and documented. The pier label alone does not promise it. | Lifting must be separately designed and documented. The pier label alone does not promise it. |
Selection framework
Five questions the proposal should answer.
A product name is not a repair plan. Ask for the load path, acceptance criteria, installation record, and target outcome in writing.
- 01
What is the repair goal?
Stabilization, controlled lift, and support for new construction are different scopes. The documents should state which result is being designed.
- 02
How were the loads established?
The pier, bracket, existing foundation, and soil all take part in the load path. Ask who determined the design loads and whether a qualified design professional is responsible for the design.
- 03
What limits the installation?
Access, equipment clearance, utilities, footing condition, and the structure available for reaction can rule out an otherwise familiar method.
- 04
Which evaluated system is specified?
ICC-ES acceptance criteria and evaluation reports document the scope and conditions of particular systems. The report number should match the product in the proposal.
- 05
What will be recorded in the field?
Ask for the required installation measurements, final pier configuration, bracket details, and any lift readings. The record should match the approved design.
Helical systems
Read the system, not just the label.
ICC-ES AC358 is the acceptance-criteria framework for helical pile systems and devices. A product evaluation report can define recognized uses, components, design conditions, and installation requirements for a specific system.
The proposal should connect that evaluated system to the site-specific design. A general statement that a contractor “uses helicals” is not enough to establish capacity or suitability.
Push-pier systems
The existing structure is part of installation.
ICC-ES evaluation report ESR-5005 provides one documented example of a push-pier system. It describes steel pier sections hydraulically advanced through a bracket attached to an existing concrete foundation, with a design professional responsible where engineered design is required.
That report applies to the named system and its stated conditions. It should not be treated as approval for every push pier or every foundation.
Regional application note / contractor-owned source
How 603 Basement Solutions frames the field decision.
603 Basement Solutions publishes both helical and push piers among its foundation-repair methods. Its current push-pier page says the existing foundation must provide enough resistance for installation and warns that finding one crack does not, by itself, establish that piers are needed.
That is useful field-selection language, but it remains a contractor’s description of its own services. It is not independent performance evidence, a property diagnosis, or a recommendation from this Guide. A proposal still needs to identify the observed movement, the system, the design responsibility, and the field records.
Primary sources / checked September 10, 2026