The ECP Steel Pier™ belongs to a family of foundation repair products that are sometimes referred to as micro piles, push piers, or resistance piers. These foundation repair products are driven hydraulically into the soil using the structural weight of the building as a reaction force.

Earth Contact Products offers two basic engineered designs of our steel push piers. The concentric pier, installs directly below the footing or load, and the eccentric pier, which installs to the side of the intended load. Due to a large amount of engineering and field trials both systems work equally well in their basic duty of supporting a foundation load. It is generally the application that distinguishes the model of steel pier versus the design of the pier itself.

The ECP Steel Pier™ like other resistance piers is an end-bearing pier that does not rely upon nor requires skin friction to produce support. Each pier is field load tested after it is installed. The piers are able to develop a factor of safety because the piers are installed and load tested individually using the maximum weight of the structure as the reaction force. The ability of the system to develop significant factors of safety comes from the different methods used between pier installation and load transfer during restoration.

The piers are driven individually and the entire structure works as the reaction. A friction reduction collar is attached to the lead section of pier pipe. The purpose of the collar is to create an opening in the soil that has a larger diameter than the pier pipe. This dramatically reduces the skin friction on the pier pipe as it is driven into the soil and allows the installer to load test and verify that the pier encountered firm bearing stratum or rock that is suitable to support the design load. During load transfer, high pressure hydraulic jacks are placed at multiple locations thus reducing the load on each pier to only the design working load. A building with substantial construction and rigidity can develop greater pier factor safeties than a lighter or weaker structure. Contact a certified installing contractor or registered foundation engineer to help you evaluate and solve your foundations needs.

Remember, not all resistance piers are equal, on your next project, make the ECP Steel Pier™ your foundation repair choice.