Foundation Piling Contractors

Foundation piling is the practice of using a pile within the ground to act as a support for the structures built upon it. Foundation piling is usually used in specific situations, which is why the average person doesn’t really know about these rather specialised forms of deep foundation settings.

These situations include:

When the soil has a weak structure or when there is a layer of weak soil on the surface, since the layer can’t support the weight of the planned building, foundation piling contractors use foundation piling to transfer the loads to a layer of stronger rock or soil underneath.

Suppose the proposed structure is very heavy and concentrated in its configuration. For example, a high-rise building or a water tank would exert direct pressure on the ground that’s stabilising it. Bridges, while not exactly concentrated, can also be supported by foundation piling, especially because it supports large loads (people and cargo) daily.

For load-bearing projects, foundation piling contractors use long, slender columns made from steel, reinforced concrete, or even timber. In fact, wooden piles still play a crucial role in jetties. Concrete piles, on the other hand, are precast, made at ground level, and then driven into the ground through hammering.

Steel foundation piling is shaped like an ‘H’, and these are designed to take heavy loads, saving time during construction. There’s also no casting process. Foundation piling contractors should be studying the soil to ensure that whichever deep foundation solution they use won’t overload the ground beyond its load-bearing capacity.

End-bearing piles pass the load through the lower tip of the pile because the bottom end is embedded within or on top of a strong layer of soil or rock. Essentially, end-bearing piles are a kind of transition between a weak layer and a strong foundation layer.

Friction piles are unique — they transfer the load of the building to the soil by the frictional force between the foundation piling’s surface and the soil. These soil types include sandy clay, clay, sandy soil, and more.

For lateral support, foundation piling contractors rely on sheet piles. These help resist lateral pressure from the flow of water or loose soil. They can be used in situations like:

• The construction of retaining walls
• Shore or riverbank erosion protection
• Helping to retain loose soil around foundation trenches
• Confining soil or isolating the foundation from adjacent soils

The solution that foundation piling contractors will use depends on factors like:

• The total load from the structure
• Soil conditions
• Water level
• Available resources
• Cost
• Noise and vibration allowances within the area

It’s difficult to determine exactly how deep foundation piling should be installed because there are many factors involved including what type of foundation piling you’ll use, what type of soil you have, and how much the load is anticipated to be.

This means a foundation pile could be driven up to 100 feet or as little as 7 feet. It’s important to install foundation piling to a significant depth, however, so it can handle the load it’s designed to bear. The depth also depends on the length of the pile, and usually, it needs to go beyond 10 feet deep for it to be a truly deep foundation solution.