The distinction between Micropiles and Minipiles is diameter.Micropiles are 2-5 inches in diameter, minipiles are 6-12 inches. Micropiles and minipiles are particularly useful in restricted access situations while offering similar performance to conventional piles, with design loads varying between 3 to 500 tons. Micropiles and minipiles are well-adapted to dealing with structural settlement, underpinning structures or supporting new loads in congested areas, providing support for excavations in confined areas and resistance to uplift and dynamic loading.

Installation requires drilling a hole 2-12 inches in diameter that is subsequently lined to design specifications with steel members or grout. The resulting hole is than filled with high-strength cement grout. Grout may be installed by the compaction, jet, post or pressure grouting methods. Other methods for micropile installation are pushing or drilled. Important design considerations include soil characteristics at the pile shaft/soil interface, the pile to structure connection and the load the pile must support.