Screw Piling Foundations

The history of screw piles can be traced back to the 1800s as a simple yet effective means for construction of structures of the times. Screw piles are a type of piled foundation, or retaining wall anchor. They are made of circular hollow steel sections with one or more helices welded to the shaft that provide a self-tapping mechanism during installation. As with all great technologies, screw pile foundations have now been implemented in wide variety of structures throughout the world. 

Choosing the foundation for a home is an extremely important decision. The entire building depends on a stable and solid foundation. Until a few years ago, there wasn’t a large selection of materials and equipment to service foundations. But with the advancement in civil technologies a rock-solid foundation can be laid in just a couple of days. One of the most environmentally sustainable, cost effective and fastest ways to establish a base for a building of varying sizes is screw pile foundations. In this article, we will consider in detail all the features of this structure. 

The main implementation is screw piles being used 

1. residential and commercial foundation works, 
2. earth reinforcement anchors
3. pipelines and conveyor systems
4. lightweight and entertainment structures
5. temporary building and shade structures

Screw piles foundations can be used to support structures transferring loads through weak soils to harder soils or rock, and in tension to resist uplift loads from structures and provide support to retaining structures. In most situations the installed screw pile will have both compression and tension loads.

Screw piles foundation transfer loads evenly through the shaft and spread out from the helix. 

Each project is specific. To achieve the most cost-efficient design, our engineers will design a shaft and helix system of the perfect size and thickness to handle the design load catered to the geotechnical condition of the work zone.

Application of on Screw Piles Foundation:
The pile-screw foundation is undemanding to soil characteristics and landscape features. It is ideal for terrain installations where dense bearing soil layers are well below the surface mark.

Ground conditions where screw piling shine:

– Slopes;
– Heavily watered soils;
– Peat soils;
– Areas constantly flooded with floods;
– Heaving soils;
– Moving and floating soils.

Screw Piles foundations are built even near the location of various infrastructure communications and near trees with dense root systems, since they are not an obstacle to their installation.

Dimensions and load

Screw pile safe working load

Extension of Piles

The design of the piles provides for the possibility of their extension, since the standard length is not always sufficient to ensure the required level. This is especially true when building houses on slopes, where the height differences can significantly exceed 2.5 m. The build-up is carried out by welding – 2 piles are joined together with a preliminary fitting of a piece of pipe with a slightly larger diameter, which is subsequently welded to the lower and upper support.

The upper part of the pile after pouring with concrete, as a rule, is covered with a steel head or “heel” in the common people, which is also welded to a metal pipe.

The service life of screw piles

The warranty service life of foundation piles for a house, which is provided by most contractors, is usually a minimum 50 years.
The actual service life can be much longer – it all depends on the operating conditions and the characteristics of the anti-corrosion compound used to protect them.