Driving Helicals and Lifting Boise’s North Junior High

Some projects are big.

Some projects are intimidating.

And then there are projects where you’re standing next to a century-old brick school, staring down hundreds of thousands of pounds of structure, preparing to literally push it back where it belongs.

This was one of those projects.

At Boise’s historic North Junior High, foundation settlement had become a serious concern. Years of soil movement had allowed portions of the building to settle, putting stress on the structure and creating the need for a long-term stabilization solution.

The answer? Helical piers.

If you’ve never seen helical piers installed, imagine taking a giant steel screw and driving it deep into the earth until it reaches stable load-bearing soil. Now imagine doing that over and over again alongside a historic school building that has been standing for generations.

No pressure.

Working along the entire side of the structure, crews excavated the foundation and installed a series of helical piers designed to transfer the building’s weight far below the unstable surface soils. Once attached to the foundation, these piers became a new support system capable of carrying enormous loads.

The coolest part of the project wasn’t what people could see—it was what was happening underground. Every pier was engineered to reach soil strong enough to support the structure for decades to come. Hidden beneath the surface is now an entire network of steel supporting one of Boise’s historic landmarks.

Then came the lift.

There’s something both exciting and terrifying about applying hydraulic force to a massive brick building. As pressure builds, everyone becomes very interested in every creak, pop, and movement.

Fortunately, those sounds weren’t signs of failure. They were signs that the building was responding as years of settlement stress began to be relieved.

Think of it like a chiropractor appointment for a building that’s been overdue for several decades.

By the end of the project, North Junior High had gained a stable foundation support system designed to resist future settlement while helping preserve the structure for future generations.

Projects like this remind us that foundation repair isn’t just about lifting concrete or driving steel into the ground. It’s about preserving buildings, protecting history, and solving problems that most people never even realize are happening beneath their feet.

Not every day do you get the opportunity to help lift a piece of Boise history.

But when you do, it’s a project you don’t forget.

watch video of the lift and process here