What Are The Disadvantages of a Helical Pile Foundation in Western New York?

Helical foundations are getting a lot of attention these days, but are they a "magic bullet" solution? Find out their disadvantages in this honest look at the technology.

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Introduction

Helical piles are a deep foundation solution that's beginning to appear on more job sites here in Western New York. From residential to commercial projects this foundation solution promises to expedite timelines, eliminate mess, and deliver immediate load-bearing capacity.
Sounds great, right? Almost like helical piles are a "magic bullet" for the construction industry.
Except that, if you've been in construction for any length of time, you know there's no such thing as a "magic bullet". Every technology has its limitations, and that's what we want to shine a light on.
In today's post, we'll be pulling the curtain back on the disadvantages of helical pile foundations. Forget sales pitches or starry-eyed descriptions of how wonderful this technology is, we're bringing some clear honesty that some people (read: other helical pile companies) may not like.
That's because we believe you deserve to have as much information as possible when choosing a foundation solution. Our job isn't just to tell you the good things about helical piles - it's being honest about their downsides as well. Then you can make an informed decision regarding the right solution for your needs.
Now, it might seem strange that a company who designs and installs helical foundations (i.e. us) would talk about the negative stuff. But we're not here to scare you off of using helical piles - we want to help you determine if they're the right fit for your specific job. 
The best way to do that? 
Understand their limitations.

How Helical Piles Work (Brief Explanation)

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Before we dive into the disadvantages of helical piles it's worth taking a brief look at how they actually work. This will give you some useful context, plus you might find it interesting!

Helical piles operate on straightforward and simple principles - at least on the surface. Beneath the surface there's a ton of science behind their functionality, and it really is cool, but that's beyond our scope here. 
Today we want to keep things simple by breaking down the design of a helical pile and how it supports structural loads.

Helical Pile Design

As you can see in the diagram above, there's not a whole lot to a helical pile. 

    You have a central shaft, either round pipe or solid square bar, that forms the pile's core. 

    Attached to that shaft is one, or more, helical-shaped bearing elements known as helix plates. These are found towards the bottom of the pile.

    At the top, there's a pile cap that transitions to whatever structure you're supporting (i.e. home addition, concrete slab, steel frame building, etc).

Each of these separate elements can be adjusted to suit your soil conditions and load requirements. Larger pile shafts, wider helix plates, different cap designs, it's a highly customisable and adaptable system. 

How Helical Piles Work

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This is going to be a highly simplified look at how a helical pile works - again because we don't want to get stuck in the weeds here. There's entire textbooks out there which are focused on helical pile design and functionality, so we had to distill the information down to the essentials for this post.

That said, if you'd like to learn more about the ins-and-outs of helical piles, we have a great introductory blog post right here.

Helical piles are installed by rotating into the ground, much like a screw goes into wood. The helix plates have a specific shape and pitch that allows the pile to "cut" through the soil and advance downwards. This makes helical piles a type of displacement foundation. There's no need to remove soil, they'll simply push it out of the way during installation.

(By the way, that means there's no spoils generated from installing a helical pile!)

As the pile advances into firmer soil layers, the ground exerts resistance on the helix plate and pile shaft. We can read this resistance in terms of the installation torque applied to a given pile. The soil pressing on the pile anchors it in-place and creates load bearing capacity.

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Roughly speaking, more soil pressure = more installation torque = higher load capacity.

This torque-to-capacity correlation allows us to verify pile performance, and ultimate load capacity, in real-time. It's one of the reasons helical piles are garnering more attention in our region - predictability is key in construction.

However, there are some inherent disadvantages to this design and functionality. And that's what we're here to talk about!

Four Disadvantages of Helical Piles

We want to keep it simple here, so we've narrowed things down into four primary disadvantages of helical piles. These represent key downsides you should be aware of when considering them for your project.

1: Soil Refusal

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Once upon a time, millennia ago, much of New York State was covered in a vast ice sheet that spread across almost the entirety of Canada and the Northern U.S.

Scientists claim this ice sheet could have been thicker than 2,000 feet - which incidentally is higher than the Empire State Building. This massive deposit of ice wasn't stationary, it inched along the landscape over time. As it did so the ice tore hulking boulders from the ground, deposited countless tons of sediment, and carved out the landscape we see today.

The result of this geological history are the lakes, waterways, bogs, and valleys, that mark our state. Beautiful? Absolutely. But, it also left behind some challenging building conditions.

Specifically, it left behind glacial deposits where the soil can be packed with dense cobbles or large boulders. Because helical piles need to anchor in firm soil layers to generate load capacity, these deposits can be a problem.

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Helical piles can run into these rocky conditions before proper depth and installation torque is achieved - meaning it won't deliver the proper load capacity. 
This is known as "spinning out" a pile, and it means the pile is simply spinning on-top of an obstruction. There's also a risk in these conditions of causing physical damage to the pile.

In some cases, our team can maneuver the piles around rocks or other blockages. Or, pile locations can be adjusted to avoid them. If neither of those workarounds are possible, then a helical pile might not be suitable for that specific area.

The easiest way to identify these types of conditions is to have a soil investigation performed to obtain a geotechnical report. This will tell you what's going on underground and if there's any obstructions that could derail a helical foundation.

2: Lateral Load Capacity

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The design of a helical pile provides a lot of unique benefits, like the aforementioned speed and elimination of excavation. And, they can deliver significant load capacities in compression and tension. That said, their design may reduce the lateral (horizontal) load capacity compared to solutions like large-diameter poured concrete piers.
Because a pile shaft is (relatively) narrow compared to the helix plate, there's less skin friction between that shaft and the soil. On one hand this is great as it makes helical piles extremely resistant to the effects of frost heave and shifting ground. On the other hand it means their lateral performance might not match other solutions.
To be clear, we're not saying a helical foundation has no lateral load capacity. They absolutely can support lateral loads - larger diameter pile shafts in particular have increased strength in this regard.
However, we're also not saying they can match a thick concrete pier in that area.
It's not all negative news here, though. There are techniques we can use to greatly increase a helical pile's lateral load resistance. This can be done by: 

    Increasing the shaft size

    Installing piles at an angle (battered piles)

    Using caps to tie multiple piles into one foundation element

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Lateral forces aren't a significant concern in all projects, and there may not even be a need for any of the above techniques depending on your loads. And, as mentioned, we have ways to handle tricky structural forces. 
That said, if your lateral loads are especially high then design considerations may need to incorporated into the foundation plan. The good news is that even significant lateral loads can be overcome with helical piles.

3: Cost vs. Concrete

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The construction industry is pretty famous for being what you might call "price sensitive." In fact one of the most common questions we hear is, "How much will a helical foundation cost me?"

And hey, we get it. Controlling budgets is a huge concern in the industry, and it's often a key driver when choosing things like the foundation solution.

So, does a helical pile foundation cost more money than poured concrete?

Yes - but also no. It depends on how you look at it.

Let's say you're working on a site that's easily accessible, has good soil conditions, and is pretty standard all-around. In this case, drilling a shaft and pouring a concrete pier is likely going to be cheaper in terms of raw material costs.

Helical piles are made entirely from steel, which is indeed more expensive than concrete on a pound-for-pound basis. If you compare them to concrete strictly on a "materials invoice" cost, helical piles can appear to be the pricier option.

But here's something to keep in mind...

If you compare helical piles from the standpoint of total project value, they actually end up costing less than concrete overall.

That's because helical piles are dramatically faster to install (days vs. weeks), minimize site prep, eliminate soil spoils, don't need dewatering, and can be built-on immediately. Not to mention their high-performance on sites that don't have good soil conditions.
Technically, one helical pile will be a little more expensive than one poured concrete pier. When you look at the overall cost of the foundation, considering factors beyond simple material costs, helical piles tend to be the more economical option.

4: Poor Installation

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This downside isn't so much related to the inherent design of a helical pile, but rather the way in which it's installed.
Even though the installation process for helical foundations is straightforward and efficient, that doesn't necessarily mean it's simple. It takes solid training, special equipment, and a great crew, to get the job done right. Helical foundations are a science, and anyone who doesn't respect that is setting things up for failure.
Heck, something as simple as the installer misinterpreting torque readings can cause no end of headaches.
Our team has seen some absolute horror stories of projects that went completely off-the-rails because the helical pile installer wasn't up to the task. They cut corners, used low-quality materials, and overall did a crummy job that resulted in a complete re-do of the foundation.
That's a nightmare scenario for any construction professional. And unfortunately, it has the potential to give helical pile technology a very bad name.
Thing is, those failures aren't the fault of helical pile technology. They're a failing of the people installing the helical pile technology. Whether it's bad training, bad equipment, or bad attitudes, you can't build a solid foundation on shoddy work.

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When assessing a helical pile foundation contractor, look for positive traits and a commitment to quality.

Thankfully, this downside is an easy one to avoid with this one simple tip:

Hire a quality helical pile installer!

Working with an installer who knows their craft, appreciates the science, has the right equipment, and actually cares, is the easiest way to ensure an excellent result. A good installer...

    Fully answers your questions

    Explain why helical piles are a strong fit

    Is honest if helical piles are not a good fit

    Has open and transparent pricing

    Provides quick and effective communication

    Works with you to find the best approach

    Proactively identifies and solves potential problems

    Respects you, your team, and the project

Soil is King: Your Conditions Dictate Success

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Ultimately, asking "Are helical piles a good/bad foundation choice?" isn't the right question. A better question is: "Are helical piles a good/bad foundation choice for my soil conditions?"

Engineering a solid foundation doesn't start with budgets or preferences - it's all about the geology. The ultimate success of any foundation hugely depends on the soil conditions present at your site. And since we can't fundamentally change the soil conditions, ya' gotta work with what ya' got.

But how do you know what your soil conditions look like, and importantly, if helical piles are a good (or bad) fit?

The Key Role of a Geotechnical Report

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If you're in commercial or industrial construction, having a soil investigation performed is pretty standard procedure. However, for homeowners or residential contractors, obtaining a geotechnical report isn't as common.
Since helical piles are a deep foundation, the lack of a geotechnical report means we're essentially flying blind. It'd be like trying to do a cross-country drive without so much as a map to follow.
Without good data we have no idea if the pile will hit shallow bedrock at 4 feet (refusal), if there's loose material down to 80 feet (increase costs), or if soil conditions are beyond excellent. That complicates foundation design, cost estimates, and can result in nasty surprises.
Having a soil investigation done and getting a geotechnical report is a cheap insurance policy that protects against these potential pitfalls. Does it add a bit of cost? Sure. Are the benefits worth it? We believe so.
That said, we also understand that the cost of a soil investigation can be prohibitive for certain projects. In these cases, there is still something that can be done:
Have a test helical pile installed.
Not all helical companies offer this, but it is something we do at Helical Pile Contractors. Our team can install a test helical pile to help judge how deep they need to go, assess general soil conditions, and identify potential problems.
While there's a cost to have a test pile installed, we refund it if you decide to bring us on as the foundation provider. It doesn't replace a geotechnical investigation, but can be an effective tactic to understand what you're dealing with in regards to the soil.

Summary: When to Use Helical Piles

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At this point, you might be wondering when and where you could (or would) use a helical pile foundation solution. While we can't definitively say if your specific project is a good fit for helical piles without assessing it, here's a good rule of thumb:
If you are not dealing with:

    Densely-packed or very large boulders/cobbles

    Large amounts of "dirty" fill (i.e. construction debris, waste)

    Extremely dense soils that prevent helical pile installation

    Shallow bedrock that's less than 5 feet below ground

Then helical piles could be a solid choice! It really comes down to whether or not we can install the piles at an appropriate depth in good stratum. If there's obstacles or obstructions that prevent this, a helical foundation may not work for your project.
With all that said, helical piles have more instances where they do work compared to where they don't. Whether they'll work for your particular project comes down (mainly) to your soil conditions and load requirements.

Conclusion: Are Helical Piles Right for Your Project?

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Helical piles are a fast, effective, and sturdy foundation solution - but that doesn't mean they're a magic wand. Like any kind of construction technology, they excel in some situations and struggle in others.
The good news is that identifying if helical piles will work for your project isn't a difficult process. All you need to do is get in touch with a quality helical foundation contractor and work with them to assess your site, soil, and structural loads.
A reputable helical foundation contractor understands the strengths and weaknesses of helical piles. By studying your needs, they can determine if helical piles are a sound approach. On the other hand, they'll also be honest if a helical foundation does not seem to be the best approach.
At the end of the day, there's no single foundation solution that will work in every single scenario. The best support for your project is the one that's most efficient for your unique requirements.
If you're curious about helical piles and are wondering if they're a good fit for your project, don't rely on guesswork! 
Our team at Helical Pile Contractors can review your soil conditions and structural loads to provide an honest, clear assessment. We'll tell you if a helical foundation is, or isn't, the right support for you.

Author Information

  • Illustration

    This blog post was written by Helical Pile Contractors. We're a team of foundation professionals who specialize in cleaner, faster, and easier foundation solutions. We serve the entire Western New York area with foundation design and installation services. Contact us today to get your free foundation quote started!

Contact Us

Have we got you curious about helical piles? Want to see how they can put your project on a faster, easier, more efficient support? Get in touch with our team and tell us about your project. We'll help you uncover whether a helical foundation solution is a good fit for your needs (and we'll be honest if it isn't). 

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Designing and installing unshakable helical pile foundations for your projects in Western New York. Relentlessly dedicated to delivering an outstanding experience.

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Akron, Alden, Amherst, Angola, Aurora, Blasdell, Boston, Brant, Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Colden, Collins, Concord, Depew, East Aurora, Eden, Elma, Evans, Gowanda, Grand Island, Hamburg, Holland, Kenmore, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lancaster, Marilla, Newstead, North Collins, Orchard Park Sardinia, Sloan, Springville, Tonawanda, Wales, West Seneca, Williamsville

© Created by Helical Pile Marketers | 2025

moc.srotcartnoceliplacileh%40selas | (716) 319-8824

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Designing and installing unshakable helical pile foundations for your projects in Western New York. Relentlessly dedicated to delivering an outstanding experience.

About Helical Piles

More Info

Areas We Serve

Akron, Alden, Amherst, Angola, Aurora, Blasdell, Boston, Brant, Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Colden, Collins, Concord, Depew, East Aurora, Eden, Elma, Evans, Gowanda, Grand Island, Hamburg, Holland, Kenmore, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lancaster, Marilla, Newstead, North Collins, Orchard Park Sardinia, Sloan, Springville, Tonawanda, Wales, West Seneca, Williamsville

© Created by Helical Pile Marketers | 2025

moc.srotcartnoceliplacileh%40selas | (716) 319-8824

All rights reserved