Understanding Eccentric Push Piers: Engineering & Applications

Eccentric push piers have become a trusted solution in residential foundation repair—particularly in cases where installation constraints make other piering methods impractical. Engineered to be positioned offset from the centerline of a home’s load path, these systems are designed to deliver stability, while improving installation time. For contractors, engineers, and builders, understanding how and when to apply eccentric push piers can lead to more efficient project planning, safer structures, and long-lasting results.

What Are Eccentric Push Piers?

Eccentric push piers are steel foundation underpinning systems installed adjacent to a home’s foundation wall, rather than directly beneath it. This “eccentric” orientation allows for installation of longer pier sections, improving the flexural strength by less segments, while also increasing installation times. Once driven deep into load-bearing soil or bedrock, the piers are used to transfer the weight of the structure from unstable upper soil layers to more stable strata below.

Titan Products’ SP-90 and SP-110 eccentric push pier systems are prime examples of this innovation. Engineered for maximum performance and ease of installation, both systems are ICC-ES certified and built to deliver long-term reliability under demanding conditions.

When and Why to Use Eccentric Piers Instead of Concentric

In residential settings, concentric piers are ideal when vertical space is limited and alignment with the foundation is preferred. However, eccentric piers become the go-to solution when:

• There are no obstructions or low clearance on the exterior of the structure.  
• The structure has experienced “leaning” or “rotating” away from the structure.

Because eccentric piers install from the foundation’s edge, they require about five feet of unobstructed vertical clearance from the footing to the top of the tooling. Even so, they can be installed up to four times faster than concentric systems, offering a highly efficient solution.  

Often when a structure experiences differential settlement, the exterior wall will move laterally, or roll, away from the structure and the wall will be out of plumb. Eccentric brackets are offset and are designed to help correct this movement pattern.

Key Structural Engineering Considerations

Proper specification of eccentric push piers requires careful engineering analysis. Factors to evaluate include:

• Load path and eccentricity compensation – Since the piers are offset, brackets must be engineered to safely redirect loads with minimal moment transfer to the wall.
• Soil bearing capacity – Engineers must evaluate site-specific geotechnical data to ensure the pier can be driven to competent soil strata.
• Bracket strength – The pier-to-foundation interface must resist lateral and torsional forces, particularly during lifting operations.
• Pier spacing and load distribution – Proper spacing ensures uniform support and prevents overstressing the wall or floor system.

Titan’s eccentric pier brackets are designed, and verified by ICCES, with structural steel and high-tensile hardware to meet these challenges, while simplifying field installation.

Case Example: Eccentric Pier Use in a Historic Home Retrofit

In a recent project outside of Austin TX, a 2000’s brick home exhibited severe cracking and floor settlement along the front of the structure. The repair plan required the installation of twenty piers to lift and stabilize the structure from future settlement.  

Utilities and exterior obstructions along a portion of one side prevented the use of Titan Products’ SP-90 eccentric pier system and concentric piers were needed at four of the twenty piers. The sixteen SP-90 pier systems were able to be installed as quickly as the four concentric pier systems, a 4:1 ratio.  

The home was successfully lifted as much as 3 inches in some areas and stabilized from future movement.

Installation Benefits

Titan’s eccentric push pier systems offer numerous on-site advantages:

• Minimal excavation compared to concentric systems.  
• Fast setup – Pre-assembled brackets and pier sections reduce labor hours.
• Longer pier sections – reduce the amount of joints in the pier system, increasing flexural strength and reducing labor hours.
• Precision lift – Hydraulic and all thread lifting systems allow fine-tuned elevation control – no need for metal shims.

These attributes make eccentric push piers a practical, high-performance solution for residential engineers and contractors tackling complex foundation challenges.

Why Titan Products?

With over a decade of experience and a deep connection to on-the-ground installation teams through our work with United Structural Systems, Titan Products designs eccentric push pier systems that combine field-proven durability with installer-focused simplicity. Our products are ICC-ES certified, backed by engineering support, and manufactured to exacting standards in the U.S.

Let’s Strengthen the Industry—Together

Titan’s eccentric push pier systems provide the strength, precision, and flexibility today’s foundation professionals demand. Explore our SP-90 and SP-110 systems to see which is right for your next project.

Contact Titan Products today to speak with our engineering team and request detailed specifications or training.

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