Why Should I Use Screw Piles for My Construction Project?

Any construction project begins below ground level and goes up from there.

When it comes to important projects and high-stakes jobs on which one’s future prosperity or business reputation rests, the strength of these foundations can be a crucial factor and is not something to take half measure with.

When a building’s stability and longevity are ‘in the balance’, would you rather be on a unicycle, or a sturdy mountain bike, so to speak?

There are a number of different foundation types that are available to the modern builder, whether they are building a home for themselves, an apartment block for hundreds of future residents, a school for the children of tomorrow, or a shopping centre where we’ll all buy our groceries one day. These foundations include slab or concrete foundations, caisson foundations, shaft foundations, stem wall foundations, and pile foundations.

If you are struggling to decide on which type of building a foundation to use, read on, but please note that the information in this article is general. Every project is unique and therefore requires its own unique approach; different foundations will suit different projects.

To discuss how screw piles will work for your project, you can contact Piling Experts on 0411 693 100 or info@pilingexperts.com.au. We are an Auburn screw piling contractor, a Wolli Creek screw piling contractor, a Broadmeadow screw piling contractor, a Charmhaven screw piling contractor, a Lake Heights screw piling contractor, and a screw piling contractor for the broader Sydney region.

Screw piles are a fast solution for the busy builder

Time is of the essence with a modern building project. The longer spent on site, the more delays that are encountered. There are often many other projects in the pipeline, so we all have a natural incentive to try and move through the work at a healthy rate that still allows a rigorous approach that prioritises quality.

Also, from the perspective of the developer, having a rapid solution that doesn’t waste time unnecessarily can help to bring about their goals sooner – whether that is reopening a site, selling buildings, allowing community traffic through again, or moving in.

Screw piles are a rapid solution. Once it’s in, it’s in. The same cannot be said of all other foundation methods, such as a concrete foundation, which takes time to set.

Screw piling creates minimal mess and excavation

Piles are installed deep within the ground, but they can achieve this without all the ground around the screw pile being displaced. This is a very important consideration that truly sets screw piles apart.

Drawing upon engineering principles our team will be able to install the piles where they need to be to provide an enduring foundation, but without creating a lot of digging and mess, that can get in the way of other contractors and also slow down the process. Excavation may also increase the risk of water entering the site and accumulating there, slowing the project further.

This point also relates to the number of machines on site; a concrete truck may not be able to always access a site, such as a basement with limited head height, for example. This leads to the next point…

Screw piling can occur in areas where other types of foundations will not work

This point is multi-faceted. Let us first look at tight spaces that are hard to access.

Screw piling machinery, when a Sydney piling company has a fleet of vehicles – big and small – to choose from, is capable of accessing incredibly tight spaces. This is because the machinery is compact.

In the case of the Piling Experts, we can access sites that are 1.75 metres wide and 1.6 metres high. Many projects in crowded urban areas occur in such settings. This is especially true of heritage buildings, or of maintenance works on existing buildings. Often, you can’t afford or do not wish to tear an existing structure down, in which case screw piles may be the most ‘sustainable’ solution that allows you to maintain this heritage.

The other way in which screw piles are a highly flexible method of establishing foundations is that they can work in with a number of different soil types. It might be that, by the time you are onboarding a contractor, you are not aware of the soil type you are likely to encounter on the site.

It is also possible that you are trusting the foundation contractor to assess this. The value in having a contractor who will be most likely to advance your project whatever sort of ground type is encountered (e.g., loamy soil, sandy soil) is self-evident.

If it so happens that screw piles are not suitable for your particular site, you may also find a piling subcontractor, such as Piling Experts, who can support you with a bored piles or underpinning solution as well.