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How to screw in helical piles?

 

A helical pile (screw anchor) is a pipe with a pointed end and a spiral blade that can be screwed into the ground, similar to screwing a screw into wood. While this may seem simple, this type of work is very difficult and demanding.

Screwing Methods

Pile foundation elements can be screwed into the ground in two ways:

·      Using construction equipment. For this purpose, special excavator-mounted or self-propelled drilling rigs are used, which drive anchors even into frozen ground as if they were butter. This technique is also used to test the load-bearing capacity of pile structures.

·       Manual Method. This technology is used when it is impossible to bring equipment to the site. Manually installing helical anchors is very difficult and labor-intensive. Online and in print publications, this type of work is sometimes portrayed as simple and quick, but in reality, this is far from the case. Self-tapping piles risks driving the piles into the ground at an angle rather than perpendicularly, which will cause the house built on such a foundation to collapse.

How to Screw in a Screw Pile Yourself

Before starting work, you need to decide:

  • How the foundation elements will be connected;
  • What is their load-bearing capacity;
  • Choose the distance between anchors.

Procedure

·       Place a screw anchor strictly vertically at the marked point. A rod is inserted into a specially designed hole, onto which a 2500 mm long pipe is placed;

·       One person holds the pile vertically, while the other two screw the anchor into the ground by turning it in circles. One turn will screw 192 mm into the ground. All work is carried out using a spirit level or magnetic spirit level. A trained worker will need approximately 5-15 minutes to screw in one foundation element, while a novice will need several times longer.

·       Next, the screwed-in anchors are secured with concrete or mortar and cut to a level. Heads are welded to them for attaching the timber beam. Sometimes, a channel is used instead of head caps.

The timber beam is then attached to the finished foundation. As you can see, this is quite a complex job and requires specific qualifications and the necessary tools. Therefore, it's best to entrust this work to specialists who can provide you with helical pile driver price.

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