Foundation Shaft and Caisson Drilling Services
Deep Structural Pier Drilling for Commercial & Residential Projects
Foundation Shaft Drilling for Arizona’s Demanding Geology
Arizona's mix of expansive clay, caliche hardpan, and variable fill soils can make shallow footings unreliable — especially on sites with poor surface soil conditions. SewerTime drills deep foundation shafts and caissons that bypass those unstable upper soils and transfer structural loads to competent bearing material below, serving projects across Phoenix, Scottsdale, Cave Creek, and Maricopa County.
When Arizona Soil Conditions Require Going Deeper
The Phoenix area presents a range of challenging soil conditions. Expansive clays swell and shrink with moisture changes, putting stress on shallow foundations over time. Caliche hardpan — often found just a few feet below grade — can give a false sense of stability while concealing weaker material beneath it. On sites where a geotechnical report flags these conditions, drilled shafts are typically the required solution.
By boring through the unstable upper soils and seating the shaft into competent bearing material below, the structural load is transferred to stable ground. For many commercial projects in Maricopa County, this isn't optional — it's what the geotechnical report and structural plans specify.
Our drilling rigs are set up for Arizona ground conditions: heavy-duty rotary augers, rock-tooth cutting heads, and downhole hammer attachments for getting through dense caliche and hardpan layers that standard equipment can't handle.
Expansive Soil Mitigation
Drilled shafts extend below the active zone where clay soils swell and shrink, eliminating the heave and settlement cycles that crack conventional foundations across the Valley.
Hard Ground Capability
Our rock augers and downhole hammers are built to get through caliche, hardpan, and dense desert soils to reach the stable bearing material below.
Coordination with Structural Designers
We work directly with your structural designers and geotechnical consultants to ensure shaft diameter, depth, reinforcement, and concrete specifications meet exact load-bearing requirements.
Drilled Shafts vs. Helical Piers: Choosing the Right System
Helical piers are screwed into the ground using hydraulic torque motors and are effective for lighter residential applications—deck footings, small retaining walls, and foundation underpinning. However, when the structural load exceeds helical capacity, or when continuous caliche prevents helical advancement, drilled shafts are the only viable solution.
Drilled caissons accept massive steel reinforcement cages and are filled with high-strength structural concrete, creating monolithic columns capable of supporting concentrated loads measured in hundreds of tons. Commercial buildings, multi-story structures, heavy equipment pads, and bridge abutments across the Phoenix metro all rely on drilled shaft foundations.
- Commercial Load-Bearing Shafts — Multi-story buildings, warehouse foundations, and heavy industrial pads requiring engineered deep pier systems
- Residential Foundation Piers — Custom home foundations on expansive soils, hillside construction, and new builds where surface soil conditions require deep pier support
- Retaining Wall Foundations — Deep caissons for block walls, segmental retaining systems, and engineered slope stabilization projects
- Steel Reinforcement & Concrete Fill — Full rebar cage fabrication and high-PSI concrete placement per structural designer specifications
- Geotechnical Compliance — All shafts drilled to depths and diameters specified by the project’s geotechnical report and structural plans