Important Things To Know About Pile Foundation And Pile Footing

Pile Foundation

A pile foundation is a slender column or long cylinder that can be made from concrete or steel. You can use these pile foundations for giving proper support to the existing structure by transferring the load of the existing structure to these piles which transfer it to the strata underneath. You need to decide the load-bearing capacity of such pile foundations by the end bearing capacity or skin friction of the soil strata on the site. Pile foundations are mostly used as additional support for large structures. If you want to build a large building on land where the groundwater table is high, you must use such pile foundations for proper transfer of load to a stratum with suitable load bearing capacity. You need to check the soil and its load-bearing capacity before you install any pile, and you can decide the pile footing material according to the geotechnical report. Various soil tests are conducted on site and a geotechnical report is prepared. Only after the report is thoroughly understood, construction work is commenced.

There are different types of pile foundations available, such as sheet piles, load-bearing piles, friction and soil compactor piles, timber piles, concrete piles, composite piles, and end bearing or friction piles. It is better to hire a contractor in this regard as they can help you to choose the best pile footing according to your project requirement and type of soil.

How would you choose the best material for pile footing?

Piles can be made from wood, concrete, or steel and you can choose the best one according to the soil available on your land. For example, you can find wooden piles in the traditional buildings since the load is low. Wood piles are still used for jetties. But you cannot join multiple trees to make a pile, thus the height constraint of 20 m. You can find such wood piles in Venice where houses are built over the seawater. But wooden piles cannot bear the heavy load and need to be replaced periodically. In this case, concrete is the best option, and you can construct the pile footing with the concrete membrane. You can pour the concrete inside these piles and make a stronger structure and support for your building.

Concrete piles can be made at elsewhere and then transferred to the construction site when the need arises. You can also install a steel H pile on the ground as these are also capable of bearing heavy loads. It will save your construction time and you do not need to spend more time on casting these piles. You can use such steel piles for your large construction projects, but you need to use concrete piles on the corrosive soil. In the absence of any coating material on the steel piles, they can get affected by moisture. So, it is better to use concrete piles in this case.

How would you install a pile foundation?

To install a pile footing, you need to hire a geotechnical engineer who will test the soil available on the site and will help you to choose the best pile footing according to the load-bearing capacity of the soil. Once you install such pile footings, the loads will be distributed evenly over the entire bulb of soil and is not concentrated at a particular area or zone. So, checking the load-bearing capacity of the entire area is necessary before you install any pile footing.

So now you can search for pile contractors online to install pile foundations on your land. Make sure to check their license, experience, and reviews before hiring.

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