Do-it-yourself pile foundation installation - types and device

A fairly common type of foundation in private and industrial construction is pile. With its simplicity, efficiency and speed of construction, such a foundation is one of the most reliable, capable of withstanding a fairly high load. It is used on weak or, conversely, too dense soils, as well as in areas where there is a threat of flooding. Piles not only make it possible to transfer the main load to the lower layers of the soil, which are stronger and more stable, but also to raise the building above the ground. stories, followers anonymously SmiHub.com Browse Instagram with the best experience.

Benefits of a pile foundation

If you are building a house with your own hands, the choice of a pile foundation will be optimal. Its advantages:

• speed and ease of construction;
• profitability - such a foundation is much cheaper than a strip or columnar;
• the ability to cope with construction without outside help and the use of special equipment (excavators, cranes);
• year-round operation makes this method of erecting building support the most accessible for areas with a harsh climate, on permafrost;
• a significant reduction in the volume of earthworks, which is very important when building on dense soils.

The disadvantage of the pile foundation can be considered the impossibility of arranging a basement under the house.

Types of pile foundations

Depending on the type of piles and the method of their immersion in the ground, several types of pile foundations are distinguished:

• hammered - piles are immersed in the ground using various hammers, plungers, indents, often with the effect of vibration; mainly solid piles with a square section are used;
• enveloped - the hollow structure is deepened with a vibratory pile driver and then filled with concrete;
• stuffed - a concrete solution is poured into a well created in the ground; thus, piles are created directly on site; can be both unreinforced and reinforced;
• screw - metal piles are screwed into the ground, as they have blades on the surface.

The location of the piles under the future structure can also be different:

• in the form of single elements located in important structural nodes;
• in the form of ribbons - under the walls of the building;
• bushes - if support is required for massive structures, for example, columns;
• field - to support the grillage.

The piles themselves also differ in the material of manufacture (wooden, metal, reinforced concrete, concrete), in the presence or absence of emptiness inside the structure (hollow and solid), in the shape of the section (round, square, with a more complex shape, for example, screw), in the nature of the support (supporting, hanging).

For private construction, reinforced concrete solid, concrete rammed, steel screw piles are best suited. The most affordable types of foundations for making with your own hands are bored and pile-screw.

Bored foundation device

For the construction of a bored foundation, it is not necessary to use special equipment. It is enough to have an ordinary garden drill, with the help of which wells are drilled to a depth of about a meter, with a diameter of 20 cm, in certain pre-designated places.

In order to increase the support area, and hence the bearing capacity of the pile, an expansion can be made at the bottom of the well with the help of a crowbar and a sapper shovel. The soil is taken out with the same drill. The resulting cavity with a diameter of 45 cm will increase the support area by 5 times. At the bottom of the well, gravel or crushed stone is hammered and compacted.

Further, the piles can simply be poured with concrete, but to increase their strength, it is advisable to reinforce them with metal rods. Three rods with a diameter of 12 mm can be applied to one pile, which should protrude approximately 10 cm above the level of the foundation. These protruding rod ends will subsequently fit into the beam connecting the piles in the foundation.

Then the well with reinforcement is poured with concrete. You can purchase a ready-made dry mixture or make a solution yourself, as described here, but its quality should be high, because the strength of the pile, foundation and the entire building depends on it. When pouring, concrete must be compacted in order to achieve the required structural strength.

To make a grillage on a pile foundation, a formwork is installed on the piles, inside which the reinforcing cage is fixed, they are connected reinforcement with the ends of the reinforcement of the piles, the grillage is poured with concrete mortar to a height of 30 cm and a width slightly larger than the thickness of the walls of the future houses.

DIY installation of a pile-screw foundation

It is even easier to build a screw foundation on your own than a bored one. This work can be done by two or three people, even without building skills.

The screw pile is a hollow metal tube with blades and a sharp tip. It is simply screwed into the ground, and after deepening, it is cut to the desired level. The interior of the pile can be filled with concrete to increase its strength.

As you can see, the construction of the pile foundation does not present any particular difficulties, and it is quite possible to build it yourself. The main thing is that this type of foundation really fits the type of soil and the project of the future building, so that high quality materials were used and that all work was carried out correctly, in compliance with the correct technology.