Helical Piers/Helical Screw Anchors provide an innovative alternative in environmentally sensitive situations where minimal to no disturbance of the habitat or ecosystem is tolerated, yet anchorage of logs or other stream bed protection, elevate walkway or platform above sensitive wetlands, or many other environmental applications are necessary. Our hand-portable equipment is powered by EPA approved hydraulic oils for wetland environments.

The Helical Pulldown® Micropile (HPM) is a method used to form a grout column around the shaft of a standard helical anchor/pile. The installation process can employ grout only (see Uncased Helical Pulldown® Micropile) or grout in combination with either steel or PVC casing (see Cased Helical Pulldown® Micropile).

To begin the process, a helical anchor/pile is placed into the soil by applying torque to the shaft. The helical shape of the bearing plates creates a significant downward force that keeps the foundation advancing into the soil. After the Lead Section with the helical plates penetrates the soil, a Lead Displacement Plate and Extension are placed onto the shaft. Resuming torque on the assembly 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 flowable grout immediately fills this void surrounding the shaft. Additional extensions and displacement plates are added until the helical bearing plates reach the minimum depth required or competent load-bearing soil. This displacement pile system does not require removing spoils from the site.

Grouting is used to stabilize shallow soils near the surface of your residence. It is often used in the loose soil directly under your dwelling.

In some circumstances, engineers may recommend Grout Injection to stabilize the upper soils around the perimeter of the residence . Understanding that many subsurface problems create a sense of urgency, we have the resources to mobilize quickly and efficiently.  Our reputation is built on experience and a commitment to quality with over 2,000 successfully completed stabilization projects.
The Titan anchor can be used wherever a traditional ground anchor is being considered and can provide a rapid, efficient method of installing tie back anchors, in a single visit to the drill hole.
Installation allows the anchor to be drilled, installed and grouted at the same time, delivering benefits in ground improvement, type of machinery used and dramatic increases in productivity.

By using anchors, the need for props, walings, and shoring can be eliminated. Ischebeck Titan delivers a fast, economic solution that frees up space and allows sites to be cleared quickly and efficiently, facilitating smooth progress of the entire project and creating the potential to finish ahead of schedule.

The Ischebeck Titan injection piles are ideal for use as tension piles, micropiles and root piles (pali radice) in virtually every micropiling situation, with steel tendon and grout body providing exceptional strength to withstand both compression and/or tension forces.

Ischebeck Titan micropiles do not require time consuming excavations, minimise health and safety issues and do not create excessive spoil. In addition, high ground water conditions do not pose a problem, as they do with traditional underpinning.
Rapid installation rates and the ability to be implemented in confined spaces adds to the attraction of the Ischebeck Titan underpinning solution.

Soldier piles, also known as king piles or Berlin walls, are constructed of wide flange steel H sections soldier piles spaced about 2 to 3 m apart and are driven prior to excavation. As the excavation proceeds, horizontal timber sheeting (lagging) is inserted behind the H pile flanges.

The horizontal earth pressures are concentrated on the soldier piles because of their relative rigidity compared to the lagging. Soil movement and subsidence Subsidence is minimized by maintaining the lagging in firm contact with the soil.

Soldier piles are most suitable in conditions where well constructed walls will not result in subsidence such as over-consolidated clays, soils above the water table if they have some cohesion, and free draining soils which can be effectively dewatered, like sands.

Unsuitable soils include soft clays and weak running soils that allow large movements such as loose sands. It is also not possible to extend the wall beyond the bottom of the excavation and dewatering is often required.

A soil nail screw anchor acts in a bearing mode compared to grouted anchor, which relies on friction. This gives the SOIL SCREW Retention Wall System economic advantages. Bearing plates are spaced along the entire length of SOIL SCREW anchors. They are ready for immediate loading as soon as installed.

Backhoes and skid-steer loaders can quickly rotate SOIL SCREW anchors into place. Anchor size and grid spacing are designed to local soil conditions and load requirements. A reinforced-shotcrete veneer often is applied to the wall face.

Small diameter pipe piles, called "PIN PILES" or sometimes called "NEEDLE PILES", have been developed as an economical means to underpin, support, and lift existing foundations that have experienced settlement, as well as to support a wide variety of new foundation construction, from residential footings and grade beams, to porch/deck footings, stairways, and slab on grade concrete floors/patios, to name a few. They have been proven effective in the underpinning and leveling of lightly loaded structures such as residences, and one to two story apartment/office buildings, and condominiums, and are popular for use in remedial applications where access is limited or restricted as a result of landscaping or architecture, and where there is competent, bearing soil at a relatively shallow depth. This method of underpinning and supporting foundations has been in wide use throughout the Puget Sound region, and structures which have been  underpinned or supported by the "pin piles" are performing satisfactorily and have had a substantial increase in their service life and useful enjoyment, as a result.

Commonly, these piles can be installed using hand-portable equipment, creating a less invasive approach to these repairs, although in larger application for new construction, hydraulic breaker hammers attached to small rubber tired or tracked equipment, such as skidsteer loaders or mini-excavator/backhoes, can be utilized to increase production and completion schedules. Pin piles in a remedial application, are typically installed by hand-portable, 94 pound, pneumatic pavement breakers (most commonly referred to as a jack-hammer). This hammer is powered by air supplied through hose(s) from an air compressor that can be remotely staged at the street or driveway. This equipment is easily mobilized and set up, in areas with limited access and height/weight restriction.

This pile system consists of 2" diameter Extra Heavy wall, Schedule 80, steel pipe, and are driven to whatever depth is necessary to attain the specified driving resistance, or refusal, which is defined as " less than 1" penetration during a timed, one minute period of sustained hammering".  2" diameter pipe typically is manufactured in 21 lineal foot lengths, and can be cut and installed in shorter lengths as necessary to facilitate the man-handling of the hammers used to drive the pipe lengths.  Most commonly, the 21 lf pipe lengths are cut into 4 equal length pieces, and coupled together during driving using slip, non-weld couplers.  These couplers consist of a 24" length of 1.5" diameter, schedule 80 steel pipe, with a .750" long to 1.00" long x 2" diameter ring welded about the center, to hold the coupler in place.  This ring at the center of the coupler also allows the two ends of 2" diameter pipe to be butted together, to promote the transfer of hammer energy during driving.

In the remedial application of underpinning an existing structure, the piles are driven as close to the foundation as is possible.  In a perfect world, had the foundation been constructed on piles, the piles would have been located a the center of the footing, or at the center of the axial loading at the pile location.  In order to accomplish this in a remedial application, a hole must be excavated to expose the bottom of the footing, at each pile location.  In order to prevent eccentric loading of the footing, the exposed "footer" is sawcut and/or chipped off to flush with the vertical plane of the foundation stemwall.  The size and depth of the excavation is somewhat determined by the depth to the bottom of the footing.  This excavation needs to be large enough to allow a crew member to work in the excavation at footing elevation to attach the underpinning bracket to the pile with a roto-hammer.  When piles are installed at ‘on center’ spacing of less than 3'-0", it is not uncommon that this excavation becomes continuous for the full length of the section of foundation to be underpinned.  Unless the excavations are unusually deep, in excess of 36", the holes can easily be dug using hand tools.  Plantings in the vicinity of the repair, can be removed, and "healed in" at another location to preserve them for transplanting back at completion of the work. The larger the excavations necessary to perform the work, will determine the greater impact on the yard and landscaping.  If necessary to minimize impact, the excavated spoils can be wheeled to a remote location for stockpiling and reuse, although this will have additional impact on labor costs.  
 
The notch cut into the footing is generally 8” wide, allowing an underpinning bracket to be attached to the footing.  The pile is installed in lengths that are appropriate to the equipment being used to install the pipe sections, and the overhead clearance.  The pile is placed at the location as indicated in the plan of repair, and driven to grade at a slight batter of approximately 3° to 5°.  Once at grade, the hammer is removed, and a slip coupler set into the end of the driven pipe.  The 2" ring at the center of the coupler, secures the coupler in place and leaves 12" of pipe exposed to receive the next section, or joint of pipe.  The next joint is slipped over the coupler and the hammer applied, to continue driving the pipe to grade or to refusal.  This process continues until refusal is met.  The pile is then cut off at approximately 6" below the bottom of the footing, and a screw jack assembly is installed with an angle iron bracket.  The bracket is attached to the edge of the footing using wedge or epoxied anchors drilled into the footing.  Once all piles are complete and underpinning brackets attached, the screw jacks are tensioned to allow the lifting and or stabilizing of the structure.  
 
Design considerations in the use of pin pile underpinning require that the load per pile does not exceed 2 tons (4 kips (thousand pounds)) and that a suitable bearing soil layer exists at relatively shallow depth, between 20 and 40 lineal feet.  Test piles installed throughout the Puget Sound region, have demonstrated that an allowable load of 4 kips is achievable when the refusal criteria has been satisfied.  3" diameter and 4" diameter pipe piles can be driven with hand portable hammers, but are typically assigned an allowable value of 4 kips, the same as the smaller 2" diameter piles.  3" and 4" diameter piles, when driven with larger, hydraulic hammers have been demonstrated through testing to have achievable capacities of 8 kips to 12 kips for the 3" diameter piles and 12 to 20 kips for the 4" diameter piles, and up to 30 kips for 6" diameter piles.  Seattle DCD Director's Rule DR12-2001 as it relates to the Seattle Building Code Section 1808.6.3, allows for a maximum allowable capacity of 4 kips for 2" diameter, extra heavy wall, steel pipe piles, up to a maximum depth of 30', without load testing to verify capacity. The same rule specifies that 3" and 4" piles be load tested per the following schedule:

3" ASTM quick test required on minimum 3% of total piles driven - up to 5 piles maximum (1 minimum)
o Typical maximum allowable capacity - 12 kips
4" ASTM quick test required on minimum 3% of total piles driven up - to 5 piles maximum (1 minimum)
o Typical maximum allowable capacity - 20 kips
6" ASTM quick test required on minimum 3% of total piles driven - up to 5 piles maximum (1 minimum)
o Typical maximum allowable capacity - 30 kips

Furthermore the Director's Rule requires that a geotechnical report with soils analysis accompany all structural plans of repair, or structural design engineering.  This requirement is waived for 2" pin piles, for "repairs, alteration or additions <750 square feet, to a single family residence or associated structures, if an evaluation from a registered architect, engineer or per-approved contractor is submitted”.  
 
Special inspections are required in all cases for 3", 4", and 6" piles, and will be reviewed for necessity on a case by case basis, for 2" piles.