Helical pier installation in San Diego. Engineered, torque-tested, warranted.

As deep as needed to hit competent soil. In San Diego County we see piers terminate anywhere from 8 feet (decomposed granite over bedrock in inland canyon lots) to 35 feet (deep clay or alluvial fill near coastal valleys and old creek beds). The torque reading on the drive head, not the depth, tells us when we have hit the right strata.

Helical piers carry their load on the helical plates and are torque-verified during install, so capacity is known before the bracket goes on. Push piers carry load by friction along the shaft and need the weight of the structure to advance, so they verify capacity through reaction load. Helical wins for light structures, ADUs, and decks. Push piers win for heavy two-story homes where the dead load is high enough to drive the shaft to refusal.

Sometimes, sometimes only partially. A house that has settled slowly over decades is not coming back to original elevation without breaking finishes (drywall, tile, plumbing). Our default is to stabilize and prevent further movement. Recovery lift is offered when the homeowner accepts the cosmetic risk and the structure can take it.

Almost never. Helical pier installs are exterior work in 90% of cases. Interior piers (under a slab) require a small floor cut and a few days of dust, but most residents stay in the home throughout.