Civil Engineering Association

This design guide was originally prepared for a short course presented by the author and Kevin M. McNeill, P.E., of D&B Engineering Contractors, Inc., on August 3, 2000, in conjunction with the GeoDenver 2000 Geotechnical Engineering Conference sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers. This Fourth Edition is an update of the Third Edition published in June, 2004.
The material presented herein is the result of the author’s experience and knowledge in designing, specifying, installing, inspecting, and monitoring performance of helical piles and tension anchors since 1986. Much of the author’s experience is with helical piles and tension anchors manufactured by Hubbell/Chance. Since 2005, experience has also been with helical piles and helical tension anchors manufactured by International Marketing & Research, Inc. (I.M.R.), Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., under the brand name “HELI-PILE®.” This book is intended to be a practical design and inspection guide/reference for engineers and other foundation professionals. This design guide is the sole work of the author. No guarantee or warranty is expressed or implied by the author or I.M.R. As always, the information presented herein must be coupled with sound engineering judgment.
The author acknowledges the contribution of Mr. Robert L. Jones, Chairman of I.M.R. and D&B Engineering Contractors, Denver. Without Mr. Jones’ assistance, this book would not have been possible. Mr. Jones is one of a select group of serious pioneers of helical pile technology in the world. His foresight has led his companies to the forefront in the field. Mr. Jones was the first in the world to use helical piles for the repair of failed lightly loaded residential foundations constructed on highly expansive clay soils. He is among the first in the world to seriously use helical piles for construction of new foundations of lightly loaded residential structures on highly expansive soils. Subdivisions of homes are now being constructed on helical piles. Multiple-story commercial structures with heavy loads are now constructed on helical screw piles, thanks largely to Mr. Jones’ persistence in showing the engineering and construction community that they work, even over the long haul. It is estimated that in the last 23 years D&B Engineering Contractors has installed nearly 200,000 helical screw piles in the Front Range area of Colorado. As of this writing, no properly designed and installed helical piles installed by D&B have failed. This is a credit to Mr. Jones’ demand for high quality control and his insistence on using correct procedures and materials by knowledgeable engineers and trained installation personnel. Mr. Jones has also been involved in countless helical pile and tension anchor projects throughout the Western United States with his manufacturing and distribution company, I.M.R., Inc.
The author acknowledges the contributions of Dale Jones of D&B Engineering Contractors, Sammy Irvin of Foundation Specialists & Repair, and Jared Dalton, Richard Dalton, and Jim Dalton of Intermountain Helical Piers Corporation, all dedicated specialty helical pile installation contractors whose photographs and drawings of structures founded on helical piles and specialized helical pile installation equipment appear herein.