Helical pier installation in the Birmingham area typically costs $2,000 to $4,000 per pier installed, about $3,000 on average, according to HomeGuide's February 2026 helical pier guide. A typical house needs 5 to 10 piers, which puts most repairs between $10,000 and $40,000, and depth past the standard pier length adds $20 to $25 or more per foot. Each pier is a steel shaft with helical plates turned into load bearing soil below the clay that swells and shrinks with the weather. BDry Alabama installs helical piers with its own crews, covers them for the life of the structure against further vertical settlement, and sets your exact pier count at a free inspection.
We install helical piers for homeowners in Birmingham, Hoover, and the surrounding towns. Reach out for local pricing and a free estimate.
Birmingham's housing is old by Alabama standards: Census ACS 2023 estimates put the median home at 1965, with about 42 percent of the city's 108,903 housing units built before 1960. The typical Birmingham home dates to around 1965 per Census data, roughly 61 years of Alabama weather and daily use. Call (205) 942-1976 or book a free estimate for Birmingham pricing. More on Birmingham
Hoover is a newer suburb: Census ACS 2023 estimates put its median home at 1994 across 39,090 housing units, with about 71 percent owner occupied. The typical Hoover home dates to around 1994 per Census data, roughly 32 years of Alabama weather and daily use. Call (205) 942-1976 or book a free estimate for Hoover pricing. More on Hoover
BDry Alabama handles helical piers in all 28 of these cities and the towns around them. Linked cities have their own local page. See every service area.
Helical piers are priced per pier, so the total climbs with the count. These are typical installed ranges from HomeGuide's February 2026 national guide, not quotes; the number of piers and the depth to firm soil under your house come from a free inspection.
| Helical pier scope | Typical installed range |
|---|---|
| One helical pier, foundation repair | $2,000 to $4,000 |
| Three piers, small settled corner | $6,000 to $12,000 |
| Five piers | $10,000 to $20,000 |
| Eight piers | $16,000 to $32,000 |
| Ten piers, larger settled section | $20,000 to $40,000 |
| Depth beyond the standard pier length | $20 to $25 or more per foot |
| Pier dug by hand in a tight spot | $200 to $500 more per pier |
Figures are typical ranges and vary by project. Your free estimate is exact.
BDry Alabama measures your project and gives you a clear written estimate at no cost.
We are a local foundation repair and waterproofing contractor and we stand behind every job. You are not handed off to a subcontractor. Every job follows the same disciplined process:
The soil right under a footing is the soil that moves. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Birmingham airport station put 56.62 inches of rain on the area in a typical year, with March the wettest month at 5.66 inches and October the driest at 3.34. Clay near the surface swells through the wet months and shrinks back through a hot, dry early fall, and a footing resting in that layer rides the cycle up and down until one section stops coming back. A helical pier ignores that layer. It is turned down through the active clay until the installer's torque reading shows it has reached firm, load bearing soil, and the house is then carried on that deeper soil instead of on the clay that swings with the seasons.
Helical pier installation typically costs $2,000 to $4,000 per pier for a settling or sinking foundation, and most homeowners pay about $3,000 per pier, according to HomeGuide's February 2026 helical pier guide. That per pier price usually covers the steel shaft and helix plates, the bracket that ties the pier to the footing, the hydraulic installation equipment and the crew. HomeGuide breaks it down as $1,500 to $2,000 per pier in materials and $500 to $2,000 or more in labor. Two things push a pier above the typical range: depth beyond the standard length, which HomeGuide prices at $20 to $25 or more per extra foot, and spots where the pier has to be dug by hand, which add $200 to $500. Helical piers for a new deck cost far less, $300 to $500 each, because there is no house to support or lift. BDry Alabama gives one written price per job after a free inspection.
It depends on how much of the foundation has settled and how heavy that part of the house is. HomeGuide's February 2026 guide says a typical residential foundation often needs 5 to 10 piers, while a small structure may need only 3, and it puts typical spacing at every 5 to 8 feet along the footing. Priced out, three piers run about $6,000 to $12,000 and ten run about $20,000 to $40,000. The count is not picked from a chart. It comes from where the house has dropped and how far, which is why BDry Alabama starts with a digital foundation scan that takes level readings every five feet and maps the low areas in a color coded report. The piers go under the sections that moved, plus enough on either side to carry the load securely.
Both are steel and both are meant as permanent foundation support, but they reach firm soil differently. A helical pier has helix shaped plates and is screwed into the ground with hydraulic equipment, so it relies on dense soil for support and can be installed straight or at an angle. A push pier is driven down like a nail using the weight of the house as resistance. HomeGuide's February 2026 guide lists helical piers as the better fit for lighter structures, residential homes up to two stories, while push piers suit large or heavy buildings with poured concrete footings, and it notes helical piers do not put stress on the foundation during installation. Helical piers are the system BDry Alabama installs. Because each pier is torque installed, its capacity is verified as it goes in rather than assumed afterward.
Usually a few days. HomeGuide's February 2026 guide says most residential helical pier jobs are finished by an experienced crew in 1 to 4 days once the equipment and materials are on site, with larger or more complex repairs taking a week or more. The pier count and access around the house set the pace. Because a helical pier is advanced vertically with limited digging, there is no large excavation around the foundation and most yards see only limited disturbance near the work areas. BDry Alabama notes that most residential installations are completed within a few days and that cleanup is part of the job. You generally do not need to plan a long disruption, and each pier can carry load as soon as it is attached.
Often they can bring a settled section back toward where it started, but the honest goal is to stop the movement first. Once a pier is attached to the footing, the settled area can often be lifted back toward its original position, and how far depends on how long the house has been down and what the framing and finishes above it will tolerate. Lifting too fast or too far can open new cracks in drywall or brick. HomeGuide's February 2026 guide describes the bracket that ties each pier to the footing as providing support and lift if needed. BDry Alabama measures before and after with its digital foundation scan, which records level readings every five feet, so you can see in numbers how much the house came up and confirm later that it has stayed put.
As deep as it takes to reach soil that can carry the house. HomeGuide's February 2026 guide puts typical depths at 10 to 30 feet, while noting installations can be as shallow as 3 feet or go past 100 feet with extensions. In clay country the pier has to pass through the active layer that swells in wet months and shrinks in dry ones; NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals give the Birmingham airport station 56.62 inches of rain a year, so that layer stays busy. The installer reads the torque as the pier turns, and the pier is accepted only when that reading shows it has reached load bearing soil. Depth is also the main reason quotes differ, since HomeGuide prices extra depth at $20 to $25 or more per foot. Ask whether a quote caps the price per pier if the piers go deeper than expected.
Yes, and that is one of its main advantages over poured concrete. A helical pier does not need to cure. It is turned into load bearing soil, the torque reading confirms its capacity, and it is attached to the footing, so it can support the house immediately. BDry Alabama lists immediate load bearing after installation among the reasons it uses helical pier systems. HomeGuide's February 2026 guide makes the same comparison, calling installation fast and not weather dependent, while concrete footings require several days of dry weather and more excavation. That matters in a place where NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals count 81 days a year with a tenth of an inch of rain or more at the Birmingham airport station. A rainy week is less likely to stall a pier job than a pour.
BDry Alabama covers helical piers for the life of the structure against further vertical settlement, which is the movement piers are installed to stop. If you sell the house, the company has to be notified within 60 days of the sale, and the new owner receives two years of coverage, with extended coverage possible after an inspection. The warranty can be voided if the installed system is altered without approval, if the home is foreclosed or abandoned, or if access for inspection or service is refused. It does not cover flooding, extreme weather or damage to belongings. For a repair that HomeGuide's February 2026 guide prices at $2,000 to $4,000 per pier, a written life of structure warranty, plus a scan on file showing the readings after the work, is useful paperwork when a buyer's inspector asks what was done.
Settlement tends to show up in several places at once. Look for stair step cracks along the mortar joints in brick or block, vertical or diagonal cracks at the corners of doors and windows, doors that suddenly rub or will not latch, floors that slope toward one side, and gaps opening between walls and trim, ceilings or cabinets. One of those alone can be ordinary. Several together, especially on the same side of the house, point to a section of the foundation losing support. HomeGuide's July 2025 foundation crack repair guide lists cracks wider than 1/8 inch and cracks accompanied by doors or windows that will not close among the signs that need prompt professional attention. BDry Alabama confirms it with level readings rather than guessing from one crack, because the readings show where piers belong.
Call BDry Alabama at 205 942 1976 or send the form, Monday through Friday from 7 in the morning to 6 in the evening. The inspection is free. Mention the cracks, the doors that stick or the floor that slopes, and send photos if you have them. At the visit we look at the structure inside and out, check the drainage, and run a digital foundation scan with readings every five feet so the low areas are measured rather than guessed. You get the pier count, where each one goes, and one written price, with financing options if you want them and no pressure to decide that day. For planning, HomeGuide's February 2026 guide puts most home repairs at 5 to 10 piers at $2,000 to $4,000 each.
Helical piles are designed for a service life of at least 50 years, which is the corrosion allowance built into their rated strength. Evaluation reports from the ICC Evaluation Service, such as ESR 2794, reissued in May 2026, state that strength ratings include an allowance for corrosion over a 50 year service life for galvanized steel, under the acceptance criteria known as AC358. Treat that number as a design floor rather than an expiration date. The same report places certain soils outside its scope because they attack steel faster: resistivity under 1,000 ohm cm, pH under 5.5, high organic content, sulfates over 1,000 parts per million, landfill, and soil containing mine waste. That is why the soil matters as much as the steel, and why it is worth asking about if your lot sits on old fill or former mining ground. BDry Alabama covers its helical piers for the life of the structure against further vertical settlement.
Not for a house foundation. HomeGuide's February 2026 helical pier guide says that aside from the small helical posts sold at home improvement stores, installing helical piers is not a do it yourself project, because it takes specialized training and equipment plus a structural engineer's expertise to confirm the correct depth and torque. Those store posts cost $45 to $50 or more each, claim to hold 3,500 to 5,000 pounds depending on the soil, and are suited only to small projects; HomeGuide advises checking local building rules before using them at all. A pier under a house is screwed down with hydraulic machinery until the torque reading shows it has reached load bearing soil, typically 10 to 30 feet down, and HomeGuide puts building permit fees for foundation work at $600 to $3,600. BDry Alabama installs its helical piers with its own crews and reads the torque on every pier as it goes in.
The main disadvantages of helical piers are price, the need for good soil information, and a few site conditions where they are not the best fit. HomeGuide's February 2026 helical pier guide puts them at $2,000 to $4,000 per pier and notes they may cost more up front than concrete footings. The same guide lists rocky soil and extremely heavy loads among the conditions where helical piers are not recommended, says they require a geotechnical report or solid knowledge of the local soil, and notes that some local building codes restrict them. Depth adds cost too, at $20 to $25 or more per foot past the standard length, which is why HomeGuide suggests asking for a no depth clause. Corrosive ground is another limit: ICC Evaluation Service report ESR 2794 places soil with a pH under 5.5 or soil containing mine waste outside its scope. BDry Alabama explains what the soil allows before quoting a single pier.
BDry Alabama
1490 Valley Drive, Bessemer, AL 35022
Local, and proud to do the work ourselves. Tell us about your project and we will give you a clear written estimate at no cost.
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