Understanding the Mechanics of Helical Piles

To understand why helical piles are faster than other options, you have to understand what they are. We don't want to get too into the weeds here, so we'll keep things straightforward. If you want to dig deeper into helical pile science and history, we have a great blog post about that right here.
A helical pile is a manufactured deep foundation system that offers an alternative to the usual poured concrete or driven pile solutions. Made entirely from high-strength steel, they're a tough and durable product designed to last for decades.
When comparing helical piles versus concrete foundations, the main differences lay in how the piles are installed and the ways which structural loads are transferred. You can think of helical piles kind of like very large, strong, heavy-duty screws.

Anatomy of a Helical Pile

Pile Shaft

The central structural element to a helical pile, typically made from hollow round pipe or solid square steel bar. Its job is to transfer loads from the structure down into the helix plate.

Helix Plate

These are helical-shaped, circular plates which are welded to the pile shaft. Most piles use one to three helix plates, depending on the project's requirements. The helix plate both helps the pile rotate into the ground and provides bearing capacity once installed.

Pile Cap

Once the pile is advanced to the required depth and torque, a steel cap is fitted to the top for an easy transition to the structure. Standard cap designs include saddle brackets, L-brackets, concrete adapters, and flat plates. You can also have custom caps made to suit your exact needs.

Pile Extension

Helical piles generally come in standard lengths of 7', 10', or 15'. If your piles need to go deeper, we can add extensions to increase their final depth. These extensions are essentially a pile shaft without the helix plate, connecting to the already-installed pile with heavy-duty bolts. With these, we can easily install your pile however deep it needs to go.

During the installation of a helical pile, the soil exerts increasing pressure on the helix plate(s) as they advance into firmer layers. This soil pressure serves to "lock" the pile in place, delivering significant load capacities even with a compact footprint.

Helical Pile Installation Process: Streamlined Efficiency

Installing a helical pile foundation is a straightforward and simple process. If you're used to foundations like poured concrete, you might even be surprised at how few steps it actually requires to get a helical pile in the ground.
Here's what an average installation process looks like...

As you can see, installing a helical foundation is an easy and streamlined process that lends itself to speed and efficiency. We don't need concrete trucks, pumps, water tanks, or drilling rigs. Compact machines reduce site congestion, allowing other trades to work simultaneously without getting in each other's way.

Plus, because there's a direct mathematical correlation between installation torque and pile load capacity, we know when each pile is correctly installed. No guesswork, no waiting, no concrete testing.
Alright! Now you know what helical piles are, how they work, and how they're installed. It's time to talk about why you should consider using them for your projects in 2026.

7 Reasons Helical Piles are the Fastest Foundation in 2026

Of all the resources we have in construction, time is the most valuable. Remember at the beginning of this post, we talked about the negative snowball effect that comes with delays? Well, the opposite is also true.

Expediting your foundation phase creates a positive snowball that improves all other aspects of the project. It streamlines your schedule, reduces risk, gives confidence, and ultimately allows you to finish faster. The grand result? You can get more done in less time.
With all this being said you may be thinking at this point, "This sounds great and all, but what do helical piles look like in the real world?"
Glad you asked! To help you appreciate the actual timeline benefits of a helical foundation, let's take a look at a project our team at CDP Excavating worked on.

Case Study: Saving Weeks of Time on a Foundation Install

The Challenge

A local specialty market in the Syracuse area needed to expand its commercial walk-in cooler space with a new unit on the second floor. To accommodate this, a two-storey platform was slated to be built next to the existing building to hold the new cooler. The client was under a hard deadline to have the units operational and storing food.
Their initial intention was to use poured concrete piles, a common option for this type of project. However, soil conditions at the site were weak, saturated, and generally poor-quality. This gave the client concerns about potential issues arising from extensive drilling and site work.
As it happened, the client had recently heard about helical piles and was curious to see if they could provide a quicker, more reliable support. So, in search of a solution, they got in touch with our team.

Our Solution

After reviewing the soil conditions and structural loads, we saw this tricky situation required a careful approach. The large cooler unit was heavy, with per-pile loads coming in at 15 kips (15,000 lbs). Because a 2.0 safety factor was required, each pile had to ultimately support a load of 30 kips (30,000 lbs).
Given the site and structure, we settled on using 3-1/2" OD by 7' long helical piles with two helix plates (10" and 12" diameter). To ensure we reached firm soil, we also ordered 7' long pile extensions.
The helical piles, extensions, and pile caps, were all galvanized for maximum corrosion resistance.

Result

Our team installed a total of 8 helical piles to an average depth of 24' for this structure. While we did encounter weak soils that were even worse than anticipated, our extensions made it easy to advance the piles into firm strata. By monitoring installation torque, we confirmed every pile met the required 30 kip load capacity.
Thanks to helical piles, this client saved weeks of time and painful soil headaches. Excavation would have been a messy, costly, and lengthy process that could have added serious delays to the foundation phase. Instead, their foundation was installed and ready to use in less than 2 days.

Conclusion: Maximize Your 2026 Construction Schedule

The construction industry is being increasingly challenged by tighter timelines, stricter margins, and b demands. That means it's more important than ever before to find ways to accelerate and de-risk your projects.
The foundation phase has the power to radically impact your entire project - for better or worse. And while we don't have anything against poured concrete or driven piles here at CDP Excavating, we believe there's an even better solution.
Helical piles are challenging the way we think about foundations. With their smooth installation, impressive speed, and robust performance, they have the ability to positively disrupt how you support your projects. They represent a predictable, reliable, and dependable path towards the finish line.
The only question now is... what's stopping you from considering a helical foundation for your next build in Central New York?
If you're ready to de-risk your project and expedite timelines, get in touch with our team. At CDP Excavating, we bring 20 years of experience to every site we work on. We're not just foundation contractors, we're your partners for success.
Contact us today for a free, no-obligation estimate and start saving your time in 2026.

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