Do Steel Piers Rust?

Steel piers (and their cousin, helical steel piers) are steel pipes which are driven to bedrock or a firm and stable layer of soil. The piers are then attached to your slab with steel brackets. A common question, then, is "Do steel piers rust?" After all, after all the expense of adding steel piers to fix and stabilize your foundation, you don't want the piers to rust, right?

The answer is "No." There are two reasons why.

Galvanized Metal

First, steel piers can be galvanized and, as a result, don't rust.

Galvanized metal is made via an electromechanical process by which steel (or iron, or other metal) is coated with a non-rusting metal, such as zinc. The zinc simply isn't painted on the steel but rather is deposited and bonded to the steel via electrode position. The long and short of it all is that the steel is protected by the zinc and not subject to rust.

Pipe Thickness and Grade

Galvanization is one way to protect piers, especially in areas close to the coast or where the soil has caustic elements. In North Texas, though, galvanizing the piers (which makes the piers more expensive) isn't usually necessary. Instead, the foundation repair contractor can use pipes of sufficient thickness and grade. For instance, the piers we at Ace Foundation Repair use are predicted to have 100 year lifespan in our soils.

Summary

Depending on the soil on which your home or business is located and other factors, your foundation piers can be protected by either galvanization or by the use of the appropriate pipe thickness and grade. So, rest assured: your steel piers will not rust!

Get more information by visiting www.AceFoundation.com.

Photo by Flickr user NomadicLass.