What do engineers ask about helical piles?

We recently spoke with Phil Brackett (Northeast Regional Manager for CHANCE Civil Construction) to answer the question:

What do engineers ask about helical piles?

What is the capacity limit for your piles?
“Capacities are soil dependent… you can expect to achieve up to 250 tons”

​What size machine do you need to use to install your piles?
“It’s a range… our piles can be installed with as little as three feet of head room using a
portable drive-head… depending on the capacity needed, anything from a mini-excavator
to a 30,000 lb. excavator is used.”

When should you use square shaft vs. round shaft piles?
“Square shaft helical piles provide the lowest cost per kip, however it’s sometime advantageous to transition to a round shaft pile to add lateral stability when weak soils are encountered in the upper-most layer.”

Do you have any installers in my area?
“Yes… we have a vast network of trained and certified CHANCE installers up and down the east coast and nationwide.”

What notable projects have you done in my area?
"We have thousands of completed projects all over the greater Northeast... mostly likely there's a project-of-note in your area."