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Ram Jack Texas Installs (103) Helical Piles for Gateway Church in Southlake, TX that Experienced Significant Problems from Expansive Soils
Problem
Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, ran into major foundation problems in its children and youth building. The building which had a concrete slab-on-grade floor system, had heaved approximately 4-inches. The heave in the floor slab created unlevel floors and significant cracking in the sheetrock.
During the geotechnical forensic investigation, it was determined a utility line trench exiting the building did not have a bentonite plug. When utility lines exit beneath a foundation, bentonite plugs are critical if the foundation is constructed on expansive clay soils. Once the utility lines are placed in the trench, the soil cannot be compacted and is loose. If a bentonite plug is not placed in the trench where it exits the building, when the soil on the outside of the building becomes saturated during the wet season, the excess water fills the voids in the loose soils of the trench and is essentially piped underneath the floor slab. This is what was determined to be allowing the water to infiltrate under the building causing the floor slab to heave.
The Geotechnical engineer performed a Potential Vertical Rise (PVR) test which showed the soil to have a potential heave of up to two additional inches. Gateway Church made it clear they wanted a permanent solution to their foundation movement issue.
Proposed Solution
In order to meet the requirements of Gateway church FWN&A Structural Engineering designed a structural slab placed on 6-inch void boxes and supported by helical piles. The void boxes deteriorate soon after the wet concrete is placed leaving a void where the soil can swell and expand without impacting the foundation. Fortified Engineering Solutions acted as a delegate engineer to design the helical piles which transferred the structural loads deep into competent load-bearing strata. The helical piles will permanently support the structure above the upper expansive soils so they no longer have any impact on the foundation.
Ram Jack’s helical piles were determined to have to be the best suited system for this application. Fransen Pittman General Contractors partnered with Ram Jack Texas to install new construction helical piles. Ram Jack Texas is the premier helical pile contractor in Texas with a proven track record of quality installs of helical piles and the complicated coordination of the work with owners and contractors to ensure their construction schedule is met.
Outcome
The project, originally scheduled for five days, was completed in four, a full day ahead of schedule. Ram Jack Texas installed a total of 103 helical piles, averaging 20–25 piles per day while maintaining quality and precision.
Finishing early allowed other trades to proceed without delay, keeping the construction schedule on track. By combining the structural slab, void boxes, and helical piles with new construction brackets, Ram Jack delivered a permanent solution that fully addressed the soil and moisture challenges and ensured the foundation’s long-term performance.
Summer 2025
