What is Pier Foundation? | What are the types of Pier?

Pier Foundation helps to support the superstructure of the buildings. This large-diameter cylindrical column helps transfer the large super-imposed load of the buildings into the ground. This type of foundation stood several feet above the ground. This pier foundation can be constructed by digging a hole in the soil and filling that hole with stone or concrete. Pier foundation is also known as column foundation or post foundation.

These types of foundations are used in areas where the ground is not stable enough to support the other types of traditional foundations. Pier foundations have the ability to lift the house off the ground. These types of foundations are popular in the coastal regions in which rising tides are a great problem. In addition, in those places where the traditional foundations might be challenging such as in vast root systems or around trees, power foundation acts well in these types of places.

In which conditions we can construct Pier Foundation

Pier foundations can be used in heavy structures including flyovers in soft or sandy soils. In the case of the availability of the bearing stratum at a shallow foundation and there is no chance of erosion below the foundation, this type of foundation is suitable.

In addition, there are some other reasons for using pier foundations in the construction site which include:

➢ In the case of a home that has been built from timber or a log, this pier foundation can be used.
➢ In the case of the house needing to be built on a slope, this type of foundation can be used.
➢ In the case of soil has less water-bearing capacity, this pier foundation can be used.
➢ Pier foundation can also be used if there is a lot of stiff clay in the ground and the soil offers resistance.
➢ This type of foundation is also used if decomposed rocks are close to the ground surface and firmer soil is present below the ground surface.

Types of Pier Foundation

There are four types of pier foundations on the basis of the materials which include:

Masonry piers

This is the most popular type of pier foundation which is used in both commercial and residential buildings. This type of pier foundation can last for many years along with proper maintenance. Masonry piers can be made from stone, brick or concrete along with rebar or steel rods.

Drilled caissons or piers

This type of pier refers to the cylindrical foundation which has been subjected to an axial load at the top and reaction at the bottom.

Concrete piers

This type of foundation is made from concrete which helps to support the building structure. This concrete pier has been placed at regular intervals underneath the building structure and supports a large amount of weight.

Timber piers

This type of pier foundation has been made from pressure-treated lumber and can be reinforced with rebar or steel rods. This timber pier is used in those areas where soil has high load-bearing capacity. This can be used for both commercial and residential buildings.

Steel piers

This helps to provide support to those building structures which are built on unstable or soft ground. This type of foundation is used in large structures or bridges.

There are four types of pier foundations on the basis of the structural configuration which include:

Beam and Girder piers

This type of pier foundation is suitable for small building structures or bridges. The pier has been constructed by using a girder or beam in this type of foundation. The beam or girder of this foundation has been supported by columns which are square or round in shape.

Slab piers

The slab is used to construct this type of pier foundation. In this foundation, slabs are supported by columns which are suitable for building structures.

Column and Cap piers

This column or cap pier foundation is suitable for medium and large bridges. In this case, the piers have been constructed by using columns wish are supported by a cap.

Pile piers

In this case, the piers have been constructed with piles which are suitable for building structures and bridges.

Benefits of Constructing Pier Foundation

There are numerous benefits of using prier foundations which include:

➢ Less amount of materials and labour are required for constructing pier foundations. The materials that are required for this pier foundation are available easily and the construction procedure is also easy.
➢ There are several varieties of materials available for pier foundations. The use of these varied materials helps to achieve the aesthetic view within a budget.
➢ Extensive excavation or lots of concrete is not required in the case of pier foundations which helps to save time and money.
➢ The Pier foundation helps to lift the house from the ground. In this context, any kind of damage to the building structure cannot be done by floods due to this benefit.

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➢ There is enough space between the ground and the house for installing any kind of utilities including electrical wires or plumbing.
➢ The space between the ground and the house helps the workers solve the issues related to the electrical works or plumbings as they can easily crawl to fix the problem.

➢ The design of the pier foundation can be changed by the engineers whenever they want as per their requirements.
➢ In the case of drilling the pier foundations, the vibration of the ground is absent.
➢ The load-bearing capacity of the soil has been increased by under-reaming the bottom in the case of the pier foundation.