Micropiles

Micropiles provide reinforcement in a unique way. Most foundation structures like basic piers are not constructed without concern of shifting or failing soil, and often, the piers will then need to be repaired or touched up on. A lot of the time, soil discrepancies like this are unexpected, some unprecedented, but foundation repair companies make due with what they can and try to fix the pier, even if it will only temporarily solve the problem. However, Micropiles are able to avoid this problem many times given their versatility. A Micropile is installed in the soil of a foundation at whatever the most beneficial angle may be, and once a solidifying agent is injected, the Micropile will be able to easily support even the most immense weights. How can what is essentially a compex metal bar do all this? Well, Micropiles really act as what is essentially a bridge or a path. The weight of the load from a structure will be placed on the Micropile, but that Micropile will simply pass that weight on to a more competent soil that is actually capable of maintaining the weight unlike the more flimsy soil that rests closer to the surface. The loads on a foundation pass through the steel and grout of the Micropile and disperse among buried rock and soil enough that movement or shifting will be almost impossible. Micropiling is very low risk, and very high reward as a technique for foundation building and enhancement.

Micropiles may come in different styles (like steel casing style already mentioned). Currently, the most popular application in Micropiling consists of solid rebar threads for reinforcement. Rebar is often called Reinforcing Steel or Reinforcement Steel, and it is often coupled with concrete as a tension device. Rebar is often used in the piers when constructing a foundation, often protruding from the concrete pier itself, serving as the connection from the pier to the structure it resides beneath. In Micropiling, just the rebar is in use, which can often prove to be more useful alone in this field than it is when coupled with concrete in pier techniques. One reason why this is as such is because Micropiles can be implemented diagonally. 

Another style of Micropile is the Hollow Bar Micropile, which is designed as the name implies, with the center of the bar being void of material, its internals completely hollowed out during production. This style often uses the recycled steel method discussed earlier. Hollow Bar use has seen an exponential increase in use and implementation as of recent, most likely due to the rapid installation process and the adaptable capabilities they have that are most important in situations where the soil is collapsing or on the verge of failing the foundation.