DBS Deck Piering Solutions in Prior Lake, MN
Challenge
The sunroom and back deck in Prior Lake, MN were beginning to sink. The vertical support posts have shifted over time and are now insufficiently supporting the structure. The weight of these settling structures is resulting in issues with the rest of the home. The drywall is cracking the new windows and doors are sticking.
Most porches and deck structures are built by pouring a concrete footing in the ground and securing a vertical wooden support beam to the footing. The problem here is that as soil shifts throughout the seasons, so does the concrete. Sometimes the concrete footing lasts for many years without issue, but sometimes even one cycle of the soil freezing and thawing can budge these concrete footings out of place.
Solution
DBS Design Specialist James Miller visited the home and provided a thorough inspection. He measured both the foundation settlement symptoms on the interior of the home, as well as the exterior. James recommended a lift procedure for this sunroom using our helical pier system. This consists of our team first excavating the concrete footings beneath the support beams. 3 HelixPro® piers are then installed, one each beneath the wooden supports. The steel piers are hydraulically driven into the ground until they reach weight-bearing soils. From there, the weight of the structure is transferred to the competent soil. Using this process means that both the sunroom and deck will be permanently stabilized going forward, despite changes in the soil around the pier supports.
