How we install screw piles

Before we come

We check the things that decide how the day goes:

Access: our standard rig needs about 1.8 m of clear width. For tight spots we use a smaller rig or hand-held drive heads.
Underground services: we get the service plans for the site and mark out pipes and cables before anything goes in.
The ground, and what's going on top: plans, a sketch with dimensions, or the engineer's design.

Install day in four steps: set out, screw each pile in to its target torque, cut to level and fit the heads, and record every pile.

Setting out

We mark every pile position from the plans or the engineer's layout, so the piles line up with the bearers, posts or frame that will sit on them.

Screwing them in

Each pile is screwed in with a hydraulic drive head and kept plumb as it goes. We watch the torque the whole way down, and the pile keeps going until it reaches the target torque at the right depth.

If a pile reaches the end of its length without getting there, we bolt on an extension and carry on.

An excavator with a drive head beside rows of steel piles, with two workers — Steel piles going in on a large site, with the drive head on the excavator arm.

Cutting to level

With the piles in, we cut each one to its finished height and fit the saddles, cap plates or brackets the structure needs. On a sloping site, that's how the foundation gets level without any benching.

The record

Every pile's position, depth and final torque goes into the installation record. For consented work, it goes to the engineer with our PS3, and the engineer can then provide a PS4 if council needs one.

Afterwards

There's no spoil to cart away and no concrete to cure, so your builder can start straight away. A typical deck is done in a morning, and the estimator shows the time on site for bigger jobs.

Estimate your piles and time on site