The crew has installed a temporary LVL beam installed across the face of the gable end to prevent the roof from spreading. Toby Bonilla of Great Lake Builders begins to strip the rotted end of the rafter to expose a flitch beam that tied the A-frame-style gable together.
The installers drove the piers parallel to rafter extensions on the A-frame gable. A total of four helical piers were drilled, two on each side of the A-frame gable.
Two-by lumber extensions (nailed in an “L” shape to keep them straight and stiff) projected the line of the rafters to guide the installation of the helical piers, which were drilled at the same angle as the pitch of the roof.
Hydraulic pressure is monitored by a gauge mounted between the hydraulic pump and the drive cylinder. Each pier is driven until the gauge shows the force (in lbs) of resistance equal to the reaction weight specified by the engineer.
Here is the pier that landed exactly where a waste drain pipe ran, so a section of that pipe was removed.
Once the pier was driven, a section of the waste line was replaced. Backfilling was done by hand to avoid dislodging the repaired pipe section.
These end caps were fabricated for the ends of the helical piers. The author’s crew was then able to connect steel columns that spliced onto the existing flitch plates at the rafter ends.
After each pier had been firmly driven into place, Jorge Garcia of Garcia Welding based in Lake Villa, Ill. field-welded an end cap to the top of each helical pier.
The four high-strength-steel (HSS) diagonal columns were fabricated with slots at one end of the columns. These slots will slip over the existing flitchplates on the house.
A strong field weld requires clean surfaces free from rust and paint. Prior to installing the columns, a worker used a grinder to clean the surface of the existing flitch plates.
The bottom end of the diagonal column has been cut to length and welded to the end cap on the pier.
Jorge Garcia welded the columns to the flitch steel at the end of a rafter.
After the diagonal columns were firmly in place, the bottom ends of the columns and the end caps were coated with a rust-inhibiting paint.