Deep Foundation Systems That Reach Stable Soil Beneath Your Home
When the soil near the surface keeps moving, we install piers that carry your home's weight down to ground that holds, and only after a free inspection.
Get a Free Inspection
Two ways to start. Both are free, with no obligation.
Pick your own day in our calendar. You save $250 if you go ahead with the work.
Send a short form, and our office will call to book a time that suits you.
For new customers who book online through our website and then sign a contract.
What to Know About Deep Foundation Systems
A deep foundation system skips the unreliable soil near the surface and rests the home on a firmer layer deeper down. The piers pick up the weight the original footing was carrying, pass through the active or weak soil, and carry it to firmer soil or bedrock below. Two systems cover most residential underpinning in the Carolinas.
One is steel push piers pressed down hydraulically, driven in sections using the weight of the home until they reach a layer that resists further movement. They are often a strong fit for heavier homes. The other is piers with screw shaped helix plates, turned into the ground until the torque shows the soil can carry the load, which can suit lighter structures and the softer, saturated soils near the coast.
Once the piers reach capacity, brackets connect them to the footing and the load moves onto the piers. Often they can also lift a settled section back toward its original height, which can help close cracks and level floors that slope toward one side. Where soil movement or water is part of the larger picture, we explain how those factors fit in.
The symptoms that usually lead to a deep foundation system are on the foundation repair problem signs page, alongside the other signs that point to the same underlying cause.
How We Install a Deep Foundation System
- Step 01
Free Inspection and Diagnosis
We look at the home inside and out, check the crawl space where there is one, and read the pattern of cracks, sloping floors, and doors that start to stick to confirm whether the footing is settling and why. In Piedmont clay, mountain fill, or coastal sand, the soil shapes the recommendation, and we will tell you if a deep foundation system is not the right fit for your home.
- Step 02
Plan the Pier Layout
If a deep system is needed, we determine pier locations, spacing, and the depth needed to reach firmer soil or bedrock on your lot. We choose between push piers and helical piers based on the load and the soil, and we explain the plan and provide a written estimate before any work begins.
- Step 03
Expose the Footing and Set Brackets
Our crew carefully digs access points at each pier location to reach the footing. Steel brackets are set at the footing so each pier can connect to the house and pick up its load. The work is staged to keep disruption around the home to a minimum.
- Step 04
Drive or Screw the Piers to Capacity
Push piers are pressed down hydraulically using the home's weight as resistance, while helical piers are turned into the ground to a measured torque. Either way, each pier is installed until it reaches the depth and capacity that show it is bearing on firmer soil below the active layer. That shallow layer is often what let the original footing keep settling.
- Step 05
Transfer the Load and Lift Where Possible
Once the piers reach capacity, the load of the home is transferred onto them through the brackets. Where the foundation has settled, we can often lift the affected section back toward its original height in controlled steps, which can help close diagonal cracks above door frames and relevel the structure as far as the home allows.
- Step 06
Backfill, Clean up, and Review
We backfill the access points, restore the area, and walk you through the finished work, so you understand what was installed and how the home is now supported.
Care and Expertise From a Team Serving the Carolinas Since 2017
When the fix is a deep foundation system, our own crews do the work. HydroHelp911 handles foundation repair and related structural and moisture work across North and South Carolina.
An inspector looks at your home, finds the source of the problem, and explains each finding in plain language. There is no obligation.
We are headquartered in Dallas, North Carolina, with eight offices across North and South Carolina.
Foundation repair, crawl space repair and encapsulation, basement waterproofing, framing repair, and concrete leveling are the whole focus of the team.
We have 1,300+ verified Google reviews (4.9 stars) from homeowners across the Carolinas and are BBB A+ Accredited.
For example, helical and push piers carry a lifetime warranty that no additional settlement will occur in the area of installed piers, once the final invoice is paid in full. Read the warranty terms.
Ask your inspector about financing when you get your written estimate. See financing options.
Common Questions About Deep Foundation Systems
Don't see your question here? Call or fill out our quick online form, and our team will help.
A shallow foundation, like a typical footing or slab, carries a home's weight on the soil close to the surface. A deep foundation system carries that weight past the surface soil and down to firmer soil or bedrock farther below, using piers. We turn to a deep system when the shallow soil has shown it cannot hold a foundation steady, which in the Carolinas is often active Piedmont clay or soft, saturated coastal soil.
Which Foundation Repair Problem Signs Can a Deep Foundation System Help With?
A sign can trace to more than one cause. These are the foundation repair signs that can point to a cause this method addresses; the inspection shows which cause is at work in your home.
Foundation Settlement
When part of your home drops because the soil beneath it has moved or compressed, the symptoms show up as cracks, sticking doors, and uneven floors.
Learn More
Stair Step Cracks
When cracks climb diagonally along the mortar joints of a brick or block wall, the masonry may be showing you that one part of the foundation has shifted.
Learn More
Uneven Floors
Sloping, dipping, or bouncy floors are one of the clearest signs that the support beneath your home has moved.
Learn More
Sticking Doors and Windows
A door that suddenly drags or a window that won't slide is often the first thing homeowners notice when a foundation moves.
Learn MoreSinking Foundation
When part of your home is dropping because the soil beneath it can no longer hold the load, the signs show up as cracks, sticking doors, and floors that pull away from level.
Learn MoreExpansive Soil
Expansive soil changes volume as it gains and loses moisture. When that movement is uneven, it can lift, drop, and rack a foundation.
Learn MoreOther Foundation Repair Solutions We Install
Each solution fits a different cause. The inspection shows which one your home needs.
Carbon Fiber Reinforcement
When soil and water pressure starts pushing a foundation wall inward, carbon fiber straps bond to the wall and resist that load, a slim repair for minor to moderate bowing.
Learn More
Epoxy or Polyurethane Crack Injection
A targeted way to seal cracks in poured concrete foundation walls and stop water seepage, paired with a careful look at what caused the crack in the first place.
Learn More
Foundation Underpinning
When the soil near the surface can no longer carry your foundation, underpinning reaches deeper ground to stabilize the structure.
Learn More
Helical Piers
Steel piers shaped like large screws, turned down below the active surface soil to support and, where possible, lift a settling foundation.
Learn More
I-Beam Wall Bracing
When clay or saturated soil presses a foundation wall inward, steel I-beams brace it from the inside and stop further movement.
Learn MoreGrout Injection (Chemical Grouting)
A targeted way to fill voids and firm up weak or shifting soil under foundations and slabs, so settlement has less room to continue.
Learn MoreGuides and Answers
A Guide About Deep Foundation Systems
An article from our team that goes deeper on this topic.
Foundation Repair
Underpinning With Helical Piers
The cost of underpinning with helical piers depends on how many piers the home needs, their length, the soil and access.
Get the Free Foundation Repair Guide
A free guide for homes in North and South Carolina: what can move a foundation here, the signs worth writing down, and how foundation repairs work, in plain language.
- A room by room checklist to walk your home with
- Why foundations move in Piedmont clay, on hillsides and near the coast
- How piers, wall anchors and other repairs work
- Five questions worth asking any contractor, including us
1,300+ Verified Google Reviews (4.9 Stars)
Before you choose a contractor for a deep foundation system, read how homeowners across North Carolina and South Carolina rate our work.
How Do I Book a Free Inspection?
Pick your own time online, or fill out our quick online form and we will book a convenient time to assess your home, no cost, no pressure.
- A free inspection of your home
- Every finding explained in plain language
- A written estimate at no cost
- No obligation
Not Sure Which Service You Need?
A free inspection covers all of it: one visit, clear findings, and a written estimate at no cost.