SAWA Drilling · Caissons · Piles · Shoring
Caisson & Pile Drilling Contractor in Los Angeles
Drilling is where hillside and deep-foundation projects are won or lost. SAWA owns its drill rigs and drills its own holes, from friction piles under a flat-lot addition to deep caissons on a steep slope with no street access. Because the rigs, operators, and concrete crews are all SAWA, the schedule does not wait on a drilling sub.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured · CSLB #1114721 · Pasadena, CA
What's Included
Caisson & Pile Drilling: scope of work
- ■Caisson drilling for hillside foundations and seismic retrofits
- ■Drilled piers and friction piles for foundations and additions
- ■Soldier piles for shoring, tieback walls, and basement excavation
- ■Limited-access and tight-site drilling with compact rigs
- ■Rebar cage fabrication, placement, and concrete pour in one scope
- ■Test drilling and coordination with geotechnical engineers
How It Works
Our process for caisson & pile drilling.
Read the soils
We review the geotechnical report and structural drawings to confirm depth, diameter, and embedment before mobilizing.
Mobilize the right rig
We match the rig to the site, standard rigs for open lots, compact limited-access rigs for hillsides and backyards.
Drill, inspect, pour
Each hole is drilled to competent material, inspected by the deputy inspector, then caged and poured by our own concrete crew.
Hand off to structure
Grade beams, pile caps, and retaining walls follow immediately, because the same team builds them.
Related Work
Projects that used this work.
FAQ
Caisson & Pile Drilling: common questions.
A caisson is a deep drilled shaft filled with reinforced concrete that carries a structure's load down to bedrock or competent soil. In Southern California they are required on most hillside builds, for foundation repair on slopes, for retaining walls, and wherever surface soils cannot support a conventional footing.
Yes. We run compact limited-access rigs that fit through side yards and work on steep grades where a full-size rig cannot go. This is the majority of our hillside work.
Depth is set by the geotechnical engineer, not by us. Hillside caissons in the Los Angeles area commonly run 20 to 40 feet, and we drill deeper when the soils report calls for it.
Yes. SAWA Drilling takes drilling-only scopes for general contractors, engineers, and owners, and SAWA Equipment Rentals can supply rigs with or without an operator.
Where We Do This
Related Services
Hillside Construction
Ground-up builds, drilling, and retaining systems on steep and unstable lots.
Learn more →04Structural Concrete & Foundations
Foundations, grade beams, retaining walls, shotcrete, slabs, and hardscape.
Learn more →03Basements & Excavation
New basements, underpinning, shoring, and excavation under new or existing homes.
Learn more →10Equipment Rentals
SAWA Equipment Rentals: drill rigs and site equipment, with or without operators.
Learn more →Start the Conversation
Planning caisson & pile drilling?
Send us the site and the scope. We'll tell you, honestly, what it takes to build it.