The most common question we get asked – what is the difference between screw piles and bored concrete piers? Screw piles and bored concrete piers have been used in the building industry since the 1800s to support structures and lay foundation for homes. So what’s the difference? The short answer is, it depends on what you need to use them for. The long answer will be explained in this post as we discuss the differences between screw piling and bored concrete piers.

Screw piling
Screw piles are long steel anchoring systems that are used for building deep foundation. Instead of boring a hole in the ground, inspecting the hole and then pouring in concrete (which is the process of bored concrete piers), screw piles involve drilling a ready-to-go steel screw in the ground which supports the foundation. They have a range of advantages over the traditional bored concrete method:

• No spoil removal
  One benefit of screw piles over bored piers is that there’s no left-over soil, or spoil, to remove. Boring concrete piers means you have to remove a lot of soil from the ground and then take it off the site, which is a time-consuming and costly process. With steel screws, your builder won’t have to waste time removing soil and can focus on building your structure.
• Eco-friendly
  Another advantage of screw piles, is that it’s an eco-friendlier option than bored piers. They disrupt the soil less than bored piers, so you can feel good about using them for your construction.
• Cost-effective
  Due to their easy installation and no-spoil-removal characteristics, screw piles tend to be the more cost-effective option for laying foundation too.

Bored concrete piers
Bored concrete piers, involve boring a hole installing a steel reinforcement cage and pouring concrete into it as a way of supporting the foundation of your construction. The advantages of bored concrete piers include:

• Better performance on areas with deep sand
  Bored concrete piers may be necessary if you’re laying a foundation on an area with deep sand, like a coastline. It’s found that bored piers often perform better than screw piles in these deep, sandy situations.
• Less noise, fewer vibrations
  Another benefit of concrete when talking about screw piling vs. concrete driven piles is that they cause less noise and fewer vibrations. Ideally, builders want to look after the community by being considerate and courteous when it comes to noise and vibrations.

If you don’t know which method of supporting your foundation to go with, that’s completely fine – that’s what the Techniblock team is there for! As Melbourne’s leading foundation construction and repair experts, they assess your needs and make sure the right support system is used for your building – guaranteeing that your foundation is solid and strong. For the best foundation laying service in Melbourne, contact the team at Techniblock today.