Drilled Pier Foundations for Industrial Structures in the Denver Metro

Every drilled pier is a hole first, and the hole decides everything. If the sidewalls cave, the bottom is dirty or the reinforcing cage hangs off center, no amount of good concrete will fix it. We drill, reinforce and pour piers for industrial buildings, crane-supported structures, tall racking buildings, sign and light structures and heavy equipment across the Denver metro.

A drilled pier, also called a drilled shaft or caisson, is a cylinder of reinforced concrete cast in a bored hole. It carries load by end bearing on a competent layer, by skin friction along the shaft or by both. Compared with driven piles, drilled piers are quiet and nearly vibration-free, which matters on infill sites next to occupied buildings, and they can be built to large diameters and depths for column loads that spread footings cannot handle.

We manage the full cycle of rig mobilization, drilling, inspection, rebar placement, concrete pour and cap, with our superintendent on every hole. The rebar cage is fabricated to the drawing, tied with spacers and centralizers, and checked for cover before it ever goes into the hole.

Drilling to Pouring

We layout piers from survey control, set up the rig on a stabilized platform and drill to the depth and diameter shown on the plan. In caving soils, we advance temporary or permanent casing or use drilling slurry to hold the hole open. The bottom is cleaned and inspected, the rebar cage is lowered with spacers to maintain cover, and concrete is placed by tremie or pump through a drop chute to prevent segregation.

Anchor bolts are set with templates at the top of the pier, and the top elevation is finished to the engineer's tolerance. Where piers support grade beams, tilt-wall panels or steel columns, we sequence cap formwork behind drilling so the building crews are not waiting on foundations. Spoils are separated from the pier area as the rig works, so the area around the shaft stays clear for the concrete trucks and the cage crane.

Why Crews Matter More Than Rigs

The rig is a tool and the crew is the skill. A good drilling crew reads the cuttings, notices when the material changes, stops when the bottom looks wrong and makes the call to extend or recast. We maintain a single point of accountability from drilling through concrete, which prevents the usual dispute about whether the driller or the concrete supplier caused a flaw.

On projects where rock or hard bearing material is expected, we select the appropriate tooling in advance, rock augers, core barrels or casing oscillators, rather than discovering the problem after mobilization. We also coordinate with the geotechnical inspector so bearing verification happens when the hole is open and the rig is still in position. A shaft that is approved at 2 p.m. and poured at 4 p.m. is far less likely to have sloughed than one left open overnight, so we schedule concrete deliveries to match drilling, not the other way around.

What Drives Drilled Pier Cost

Depth and diameter set the volume of concrete and steel, but the hidden drivers are groundwater, caving soil and hard material. Casing and slurry add equipment and time. Rock sockets multiply drilling time per foot. Access restrictions and haul distance for spoils affect unit prices. Pier count matters too, because mobilization is spread across more holes.

We prepare unit pricing with clear assumptions about each soil layer and add a rate sheet for conditions that differ, such as extra depth, extra casing or standby due to obstruction. That makes change orders predictable, and it lets owners understand risk before the first hole is drilled.

Inspection, Testing and Local Review

Structural drawings and the geotechnical report set capacity, minimum embedment and reinforcement. The Lakewood design-load handout lists a 36 inch frost depth and a 30 psf ground snow load, which illustrates the kind of local design inputs the engineer builds into pier tops and grade beam connections. Building codes are adopted jurisdiction by jurisdiction, so we confirm the edition the engineer designed to and the one the building department enforces.

Special inspection is typical: a third-party inspector confirms depth, diameter, bearing and cage placement, and concrete is sampled and tested. We keep a log of each pier with drill depth, groundwater, casing, concrete volume and any anomalies. Where integrity testing is required, we schedule it as soon as the concrete reaches strength, and we deliver the log package to the engineer of record at the end of each week so approvals do not lag behind the field.

Heavy Structures Across the Metro

Large structural projects around the metro show the demand for deep foundations. Lockheed Martin began a $350 million, 266,000 square foot Gateway Center on its Waterton Canyon campus in Littleton in 2017, with about 1,500 construction contractors over a three-year build, and Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital opened a 226 bed building in Wheat Ridge in August 2024. We apply the same foundation discipline to industrial structures in Littleton, Wheat Ridge and the rest of the southwest metro.

Pier foundations support tilt-wall industrial buildings and high-bay crane-ready buildings, as well as elevated racking structures.

They often follow a review of deep foundation options.

Logistics and distribution developers and warehouse buildings owners call us when a site needs piers under grade beams or tall panels.

Get a Pier Price With Defined Unit Rates

Send the foundation plan and the borings. We will return a per-pier price, a rate sheet for rock, casing and extra depth, and a production schedule.

Common Questions

What diameter and depth are typical for industrial drilled piers?

Diameters commonly run from 18 inches to several feet and depths from a dozen feet to well over fifty, depending on load and soil. The structural engineer sets the final numbers based on geotechnical recommendations. We price from the drawings and confirm that the rig, casing and cage hardware match the design.

How do you deal with groundwater in a drilled shaft?

If the hole stays open and the inflow is small, we pump and pour. If the water is heavy or soils are caving, we use casing or slurry and place concrete by tremie so it displaces the water from the bottom up. Either way, the plan is developed before drilling based on the groundwater readings in the borings.

What happens if we hit rock or an obstruction?

We stop and evaluate with the geotechnical inspector. Rock may require a rock auger or core barrel, and obstructions such as old foundations or debris may require pre-drilling or removal. Our bid includes a unit rate for those events, so the price of surprises is defined in advance.

Do you do the pier caps and grade beams too?

Yes. We coordinate the concrete team to form, reinforce and pour caps, grade beams and column pedestals behind drilling. The sequence keeps the anchor bolts and embeds aligned with the structural drawings.

Can drilled piers be installed close to existing buildings?

Often. Drilled piers produce much less vibration than driven piles, which makes them suitable near occupied or sensitive structures. We review adjacent foundation depths and utilities and, if required, use casing to protect adjacent soil.

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