St. Louis

Helical piles in St. Louis, Missouri

Missouri is one of the country's major karst states. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has identified about 16,000 sinkholes, with many more undocumented, formed where groundwater dissolves limestone and dolomite. Add clay soils that shrink and swell and winters cold enough to heave shallow footings, and many homeowners look for deeper support.

Missouri has no single statewide residential frost depth, so local codes apply. The guide says Kansas City and St. Louis area codes commonly call for 30 to 36 inches, so confirm the number with your building department. In older St. Louis neighborhoods where brick homes sit close together, helical piers help because they need little room for excavation.

Helical pile companies serving St. Louis

Two companies in the directory are based in St. Louis.

• St. Louis Foundation Repairs: offers foundation piering, basement waterproofing, concrete lifting, crack repair and bowing wall solutions in the St. Louis area; ask which foundation systems it installs before booking.
• Helical Foundation Solutions: designs, supplies and installs high-capacity helical piles, anchors and tiebacks, with a St. Louis base and projects worldwide.

Costs and what to ask

National pricing from HomeGuide places installed helical piers around $2,000 to $4,000 apiece, with about $3,000 common. Missouri costs vary with depth to bearing, pier count and access around the house. More in our helical pier cost guide.

• Has the company worked with engineers on karst sites, and what happens if a pile hits a void?
• Will you provide torque and depth logs for each pier?
• What shaft size and galvanizing are in the quote?
• Who pulls the permit with the city or county, and what does the warranty cover?

See Missouri helical pile installers for more Missouri contractors.