House on pipe clay

[acoleman]

I own a 1955 ranch-style home in Tallahassee, Florida and 1/4 of it sits on pipe clay. The expanding and contracting of the clay has caused settlement cracks in parts of the house and we fear it will get worse over time. What is the best remedy? We got an estimate from a pipe clay specialist who recommends helical piers. What's the benefit of that technique as opposed to wall anchors or jacking up the house to correct the problem?

[TJ1962]

Wall anchors also can be helicals, but are usually installed horizontally for lateral load movement. Jacking up the home would be temporary based on poor soils below. Luckily you can find alot of info online concerning soil types and types of settlement solutions.