The Value of Alternative Engineered Products

In the fast-moving world of the construction and building material industry, new technologies often outpace the speed of industry adoption, particularly inclusion into standard specifications and prescriptive building codes. The inclusion of Section R104.11 Alternative Materials, Design and Methods of Construction and Equipment in the 2018 International Residential Code addresses and allows for implementation of these new technologies through the ICC-ES or other 3^rd party testing verification. 

The advantage of alternative engineered products is to provide consistent structural values that remove the field variability that will impact the strength and reliability of those structural components. The Diamond Pier® product removes the variability of field poured footings by providing exactly the same structural strength of each installation to support the imposed loads, including bearing capacity, uplift and lateral loads.

Even though the new prescriptive deck footing detail in section R507 in the 2018 IRC code removes many of the field variables of site poured footings, the strength of field poured concrete footings can vary due to temperature, proper mixing in field, water content, evaporation rate. Particular concern should be given to forces that place the deck footing in tension,  such as uplift forces.

The Diamond Pier is engineered and manufactured to eliminate these field variables and provide consistence structural values in every installation avoiding the intense labor needed to meet the new footing codes. Please reference the Diamond Pier load charts to determine structural capacities.

Diamond Pier is 100% code compliant with the latest IRC codes as an alternative footing for deck and porch applications.