Building your project on weak foundations is kind of like starting your day with nothing but a coffee. Sure, you may feel fine at first, and you may even have an energy buzz till lunch time… but soon enough, you’ll crash!
Same goes for choosing the wrong foundation on your project. Soon enough, structural problems will start to reveal themselves, including foundation movement and wall cracks.
But that’s what we’re here to help you avoid. Techniblock, Melbourne’s star team of foundation experts, explain the best types of piling foundation for different projects and soils:
Screw piles – commercial and industrial projects
If you are building on unstable ground or collapsable soils, normally the foundations need to go deeper into the ground to find solid material, a Sustainable and cost-effective method is screw piles are a common pile foundation for all types of buildings on substandard soil profiles. They use circular hollow steel pile shafts with one or more steel helices attached to them. They get screwed into the ground to a particular torque setting and the building foundations can be constructed on top of them. They’re great for high-load bearing capacities and are ideal for commercial and industrial projects like offices and warehouses. Screw piles can be a sustainable way of building on land which has deep founding material.
Driven piles – non-cohesive soils
Driven piles are driven into the ground using vibration. They can be placed in position by using temporary or permanent steel casing, or they can also be prepared off site by using pre-cast piles, which can be made from steel, wood or concrete. Driven piles are a great solution for when the foundations are laid in non-cohesive soils or ground with a high-water table, because they don’t require a hole to be dug out before installation (unlike bored piers, for example). The draw back is, they create Vibrations in the proximity of the installation and usually are avoided because of noise and vibration damage to adjoining properties.
Bored piers – significant loads on cohesive soils
Bored piers are ideal for where a retention system is required for a basement construction, or where the founding depth are quite deep. Bored piers are created by drilling a hole in the ground, which is then filled with concrete, making a foundation pile. They’re often used in residential and city areas as there is minimal vibration compared to other forms of pile foundation. Bored piers are suitable for bridgework and infrastructure as well as industrial and residential property.
Sheet piles – retaining walls
Sheet piles are a type of driven pile which use interlocking steel sheets. They’re great for creating retaining walls on construction sites when large excavations take place. On sites where temporary soil retention is necessary, sheet piles are a very cost-effective solution as they can simply be removed when necessary.
Mini piles – limited access
Mini piles, or micro piles, are much smaller than regular piles – they range from being 100-400mm in diameter. Mini piles are specially used for areas with limited access, where traditional piling rigs are too large to operate. Mini piles are much nimbler and are perfect for developments in the CBD or where a retro fit application is required.
Whatever your project, Techniblock can install the right piling foundation. We’re Melbourne’s leading team in foundation construction and repair, handling everything from residential underpinning to complex screw piles foundations. Get in touch with our team of legends today.