Commercial Helical Pull Down Micro Pile  Commercial Micro Pull Down Pile Atlanta

Is your commercial building footing not as firm as you would like it to be — perhaps cracking and twisting, which can put a great deal of pressure on your building’s walls? Perhaps you are changing the usage of your building and need a more robust foundation to support a heavier load than the building was originally designed for. If so, you may need to retrofit your building with steel micropiles, the easiest and most secure way to repair your building’s foundation. These brackets reach deep beneath the building to anchor your fittings into a more solid surface than the shifting base.

The AB Chance Helical Pull-down Micro Pile is a system for constructing a grout column around the shaft of a standard Helical Pier Foundation Systems Pile.

What are Micropiles?

Any time that you’re building on weak soil or working on a new construction site that is for a heavy-duty commercial application, you may need to dig deep in order to properly anchor your building. Helical pulldown micropiles are a deep foundation solution that provides a cost-effective solution to your anchoring needs. While traditional foundations are workable for many building sites, non-standard buildings require additional support in order to retain their sturdy base. Micropiles are a deep foundation solution that reduces the impact of soil that is loose or aggressive — soil that could easily break down a more traditional foundation system.

To begin the process, a screw anchor is placed into the soil by applying torque to the shaft. The helical shape of the bearing plates creates a tremendous pulling force that keeps the anchor advancing downward into the soil.  After the lead section with the helical plates penetrates the soil, a Lead Displacement Plate and Extension are bolted onto the shaft.  Resuming torque on the assembled shaft advances the helical plates and pulls the displacement plate downward, forcing soil outward to create a cylindrical void around the shaft.  From a reservoir at the surface, a flow-able grout immediately fills the void, surrounding and encapsulating the shaft.  Additional extensions and displacement plates are added until the helical bearing plates reach competent load-bearing soil.  This displacement pile system does not require removing spoils from the site.

Benefits of this system include:

  • Resistance to buckling in weak surface soils
  • Stiffer pile (deflects less at a particular load)
  • Additional corrosion protection in aggressive soil

How Are Micropiles Used?

This easy-to-use solution provides additional capacity by combining skin friction along the grout column’s rougher edge with end-bearing on the spherical plates. Together, they form a pile system that is much higher capacity than it would be with one tactic alone. As your foundation is under construction, each set of piles can be extended dramatically by adding segments via a PVC grout reservoir. An excavator with a torque motor creates the initial installation, with the measured torque becoming proof of the load-bearing capacity of each segment. The soil is forced out along the reservoir, which is eventually filled with grout to cement the micropiles in place.

Why Do You Need Micropiles?

Some key uses for micropile installation include commercial high-test applications such as for a telecommunications tower or an electrical substation. The amount of steel that is used in these towering structures requires an additional level of support that would be difficult if not impossible to sustain in soil that is slightly loose or unstable. Even the most challenging locations respond well to this application as it reaches far below the active zone to reach the competent soil.

Micropiles leave behind a minimal mess to be removed from the building site, and they can be installed in areas where there is limited to no headroom. The versatility of the system makes micropiles a stellar choice for contractors of new builds and retrofit situations alike. They can also be installed in any type of weather, and are the ideal choice for retaining walls where anchors need to be nearly horizontal.

Deep Foundation Solution

Speed.  Ease.  High Capacity.

The Helical Pulldown Micropile also develops additional capacity by combining both end-bearing on the helical plates and skin friction along the rough surface of the grout column.  The result is a higher capacity pile system.

If you need commercial micro pull down pile, contact us now!