Earth Contact Products is proud to introduce it newest piering system in their lineup of steel push piers. The ECP Perfect Pier is a patented concentric resistance pier for the foundation repair market. The pier is designed to be placed and installed below the footing and driven to a load bearing stratum while maintaining ECP’s stringent requirement of executing a manifold lifting system. These two features makes the Perfect Pier system the most unique foundation repair bracket since ECP introduced their patent pending Micro Pier bracket.

The ECP Perfect Pier underpinning system is specially designed to be used in crawl spaces and other limited access areas of a home or commercial building. Due to it’s compact size and lack of a drive stand the pier system can be used in limited access areas while maintaining an adjustable platform by which to lift a structure. This unique combination gives foundation repair contractors and homeowners alike a safe means to support structures without altering the structure. Do not get fooled by imitations demand the original ECP push pier system.

For more information about the ECP Perfect Pier contact Weston Opat @ 866-327-0007.

US Patent # 7,044,686

Earth Contact Products is pleased to announce the 2010 Annual Customer Appreciation Dinner in Las Vegas, NV on February 2^nd 2010. This annual event has always been a highlight for many that attend the World of Concrete Convention and this year ECP has changed venues from the VooDoo Café to the newest Rio hotspot - Café Martorano.

Café Martorano offers Italian-American food in a unique atmosphere that combines exceptional food with extraordinary music. ECP’s guests will be treated to a custom menu prepared by Steve Martorano and ECP while watching classic movies and listening to classic R&B and classic rock. “We still combine the freshest food with the best music, film and television, but we’ve taken that experience to a new level just like the menu,” said Martorano. “It’s a modern cool atmosphere that allows us to maintain our welcome-to-the-family vibe while re-inventing ourselves and raising the bar once again.”

As in the past ECP will host a cocktail party at 6:00pm followed by dinner prepared by the owner Steve Martonaro himself at 8:00pm. We have made special arrangements for Steve Martorano, the “Italian guy from the neighborhood” to help host the event and prepare his special home style Italian-American favorites in a way that only he can do. This years event will be one of those cant miss opportunities that reflects our appreciation to our customers.

The experience at Café Martorano is like no other. From his “No Whining” policy to his “Absolutely No Changes” and “Don’t Break Balls” comments on his menu, you will quickly see why ECP has chosen this place for their most important meeting of the year.

“It truly is the best meat ball in the world” says Brad Mitchell, after visiting Café Martorano’s for the first time. “We’ve got to have our customer appreciation dinner here” followed Jon-Michael Mitchell after trying the fried calamari with hot and sweet peppers.

This dinner is open to ECP customers, employees and family along with the engineering community that we work with. Make your plans to attend this event and be prepared for great food and a great atmosphere. Let us thank you for your business while networking with the best specialty foundation contractors in the world.

The National Waterproofing and Structural Repair Contractors (NAWSRC) latest regional meeting is being held in Chicago on May 22 and 23rd. Guest speakers will include Pat Donlea, VP or United Structural Systems, Barrington Il and Steve Andras, owner of Grate Products, Westport, Ma.

Waterproofing and Foundation Repair contractors throughout the Midwest will be attending this two day seminar designed to share information about the industry. The seminar is located at Metropolitan Industries located in Romeoville, Il. As a major sponsor of the event Earth Contact Products will provide information about their prodcuts to all those attending the seminar.

Earth Contact Products recently announced their latest patented product for underpinning foundations. The pier includes a pier shaft and a bracket mounted to the top of the pier shaft that supports the weight of the foundation along with a pair of braces that extend laterally from the pier shaft to the foundation.

This structural piering method and product was designed for uplift restraint as well as compressive loads of structures. The unique design was created by in house design professionals at ECP because of the growing need for uplift restraint on structures in both seismic and hurricane areas. Incorporated in the design are applications for ECP’s steel resistance and helical underpinning lineup of piers and bracket assemblies.

Jeff Tully, GM at Earth Contact Products, says “the bracket assembly fills a need in the foundation repair and underpinning industry. As the industries premier manufacturer of bracketing systems for the foundation repair and restoration industry we must always be listening to the industries needs and desires”.

US Patent number 7,195,462, dated March 27^th of 2007 is one more reason the Earth Contact Products is known as “The Very Best” steel underpinning manufacturer. The uplift restraint product complements ECP’s lineup of resistance piers, helical anchors and brackets, helical soil nails, plate anchors, slab lifting devices and micropile bracketing systems. With the most complete lineup of brackets and piering systems Earth Contact Products offer specialty contractors and engineers many options for their needs.

Is your home telling you that you have a foundation problem? Is there water in your basement or crawl space? Are your basement walls wet? Are your walls cracking?

If you can answer yes to any of the previous questions you need to contact a foundation repair expert today. These are all signs that your foundation is under stess and needs to have a foundation expert evaluate your situation before thigs get much worse. When things get worse they get more expensive so walk through your basement or go into your crawl space and take a look and see what your foundation is telling you. To find a foundation repair expert and learn more about foundation repair signs and causes visit www.myfoundationrepairs.com

Foundation engineers can be the best insurance that you can get when it comes to your homes foundation. An engineer will have your best interest in mind when he evaluates your homes foundation and he will give you tips and suggestions on what needs to be done and what you can do to help solve your current problem. The engineer then can oversee any repairs that need to be done and make sure that the work is performed correctly. To find a foundation engineer in your area visit www.foundationengineersnetwork.com today.

Your home is your largest investment, taking care of your home is money in your pocket.

Earth Contact Products’ Steel Piers^™ were selected to support and restore this office building after the owner determined that the entire structure had settled between 1/8 inch and 3-5/8 inches.  The settlement was most likely caused by consolidation of fill soil on the lot.  Merit Structures and Restoration Company from Midvale, Utah installed ninety seven ECP Model 350 Steel Pier^™ systems to recover lost elevations. The Model 350 ECP Steel Pier^™ System installed here used a 3-1/2 inch diameter tubular steel pier that was hydraulically driven to as deep as 54 feet below the footing to reach a geologic stratum that provided the suitable end bearing for supporting the structure.    

Each pier was advanced through the consolidating soil until the pier encountered firm load bearing.  Once reached, each ECP Steel Pier^™ was field load tested against this bearing stratum to a force greater what was required to support the structure.  Field load testing each pier after reaching end resistance verified that the bearing stratum was suitable for long term support.  This load testing also determined a factor of safety for each pier placement against future settlement.  In the case of this project, the field test loads were on average 155% percent above the working load requirements providing an average factor of safety over 2.5!  At each pier location a pier bracket was attached to the foundation.  Once all piers were installed to end bearing and the load capacity verified, the structural load was transferred from the failing soil under the structure to the verified bearing stratum deep below the surface.  This gentle and uniform load transfer was accomplished by banks of hydraulic jacks that were all connected through manifolds to electric hydraulic pumps.  One jack was installed on each pier bracket to accomplish the load transfer and recovery of lost elevation. 

There was minimal disturbance to the building’s occupants during the restoration process.  Because ECP Steel Piers^™ were installed using quiet, vibration free hydraulics, it was “business as usual” in the office during the underpinning installation