Without a foundation, it is impossible to imagine a single house, not a single more or less serious building on a suburban area. The only problem is that the cost of a good foundation is very high, so there is always the temptation to find some cheaper, but better option.
One of them is the pile foundation. Reviews indicate that its characteristics are quite sufficient for the average country cottage, not to mention saunas and other personal buildings. Today we will consider not only customer reviews, but also the reasons that cause them. The latter is very important, since practical justifications are extremely important for the correct choice of the foundation for the house.
Why are pile foundations so popular?
In recent years, a growing number of developers are choosing this basis for the home. Why is this happening, why is this technology superior to the already proven and fully reliable options?
- Firstly, it’s the speed of work. Where else can you find the foundation that can be done in just one day?
- Secondly, cheapness. Given the fact that the cost of cement is constantly growing, the price of a conventional strip foundation is sky-high.
- In addition, a similar foundation of the house can be laid on unstable soils, as well as in permafrost.
- If the technology of the bookmark was performed correctly, then the foundation will not sag, and the house will stand reliably in any conditions.
Customer reviews indicate that in just a couple of weeks they built a full-fledged panel house using pile technology. Other builders notice that the low cost of piles allowed to keep within a modest budget, having built a very decent house. By the way, a pile-screw foundation, the price of which is about 13-14 thousand rubles, is available to almost every potential homeowner.
The cost of one pile (with a diameter of 76 mm) is about 1200 rubles. One average house leaves within a dozen piles.
Technology Highlights
By the way, how is the laying of this type of foundation done? As the name implies, its basis is screw piles. They are made of metal, and at the end of each structural element there is a blade (like an ice drill) designed to dig it into the ground. From this moment, numerous disputes begin.
Someone believes that the structure should be buried solely with the help of heavy equipment, someone insists that for such purposes the manual force of the work crew that will establish the pile foundation is quite suitable. It can often be provided by the same company where you hire specialists. So it turns out much cheaper, and in the calculation process you can make your own constructive proposals.
Negative sides
A digression should be made here, talking about the weaknesses of this technology. If buyers do not know them in advance, then the percentage of those who are disappointed may increase.
- If the soils are dense (we will talk more about this below), then the pile-screw foundation cannot be laid on them. The fact is that when you try to twist piles in them, the protective coating is likely to be damaged, which is fraught with rapid corrosion. Of course, you can use special equipment, but this will significantly increase the cost of work.
- In addition, if piles are poorly protected from corrosion processes, then it is better not to expect anything good.
- Twisted piles for defects can no longer be checked.
In addition, in a country house, which is installed on such a foundation, it is impossible to make a basement. This not only makes it impossible to preserve homework, but can also make staying in the house unpleasant in winter, as the floors will be cold.
Many people remain dissatisfied with their choice of foundation only due to the fact that managers of construction companies simply withhold this information. Remember, enthusiastic odes to pile foundations are most often sung by those companies that value profit exclusively. If the company is serious, then its specialists in any case should warn potential buyers about possible problems and obvious shortcomings of the technology.
And further. The service life of houses on a pile foundation rarely exceeds 100-120 years, so you will not succeed in building a "family nest". This circumstance should also be kept in mind. However, the pile-screw foundation, the price of which is very low, is rarely used for the construction of such monumental houses. As a rule, they build small country cottages intended for a summer residence of a family of two to three people.
However, there are exceptions when a very impressive-sized house is placed on piles. It is quite possible, but you will have to use the most durable materials.
To dig or not to dig?
Very often you have to read negative reviews from those people who hired workers to manually dig piles. They say that the base of the foundation "walks" within 40-50 cm! What is the matter? What is the official technology?
Note that it is quite favored by both methods. But! It is very important to keep in mind that when manually digging in, it is necessary to strictly observe certain rules, which in most cases are safely ignored. So, in all the instructions it is said that the piles should be screwed in from scratch, without any additional pits. In reality, it is necessary to straighten the area a little, to ensure the correct direction of driving. To do this, first dig a small hole (no more than 15-20 cm). A pile is inserted into it, which they begin to screw in manually.
Practical situation
And how in practice do the pile foundation? Reviews indicate that there is no talk of any observance of the technology. As a rule, at first a huge hole is dug a couple of meters deep, then a pile is inserted there, it is turned a couple of times, after which all this disgrace is sprinkled with earth. Naturally, this kind of design has no reliability. At the first rain the earth is washed away, and the piles are peddling.
In addition, very often people report that the piles constantly swing during operation, so that it is easier to twist them. In no case should you do this! Such workers need to be sent back. They will screw the piles, but only in a couple of years the pile foundation for the house can really sag - and your housing will tilt. Thus, most of the negative reviews are associated with the banal non-compliance with the technology. This is very disappointing, since these foundations around the world managed to establish themselves only on the positive side.
In addition, most consumers are obsessed with the manic idea of ​​saving: such "zealous" people sometimes choose piles of metal 2 mm thick, and then complain about the subsidence of the foundation. Remember that SNIP suggests: pile foundations are made of steel at least 4 mm thick. The metal grade is 20, since it is at least 10-15% more durable than third-grade iron, which is most often used by most construction companies.
Important!
Many buyers complain about negligent companies that do their job poorly. There are a lot of reviews with scary stories, but you should remember: if you want to call the workers to roll the piles, then a trial tightening is necessary!
Do not use the services of companies that frivolously dismiss him. Despite the results of geodesy, in more or less deep layers of the soil there may be a lot of rocky rock, as well as other obstacles that make the pile foundation impossible. The price of the work is significantly higher, but worth it.
So, if you just buy piles from the supplier, then one unit will cost about 1200 rubles, while with trial drilling and cementing the headband, its price will increase to 1300 rubles and more. However, if you do not have experience in such construction work, it is better to use the services of professionals who have already laid such foundations before.
Exposure is first and foremost!
Everyone knows that when pouring the tape base, you need to wait a while, for which the concrete hardens properly. Strange, but for some reason the same people are firmly convinced that it is possible to use a pile-screw foundation in a couple of hours after twisting.
This is far from the case! Experts say that ideally you need to give the piles at least a year, during which the final shrinkage of the soil and consolidation of the structure will occur. If you hurry, then nothing good will come of it: angry reviews arise in which people complain to each other about the lack of technology.
The need for geodetic exploration
It should be noted that the piles should not be screwed in “as it turns out”, but in accordance with practical considerations. Before starting construction, you should call specialists from the geodetic service and find out the depth of the dense layers of soil. It is up to their level that such a foundation should be laid, since otherwise the piles will eventually become loose in soft soil.
Remember that it is desirable to cement the base of the pile foundation immediately, since if you pour concrete on this structural part in time, the probability of pile deviation is greatly reduced.
The Importance of Being At Work
Oddly enough, for some reason, many of our fellow citizens completely forget about this small detail. It doesn’t matter what reputation the construction company has, but you (or your representative) must be there. We have already noted more than once that workers can resort to a lot of tricks to simplify the process, but in no case should this be done.
In addition, you must immediately check the quality of work, and if necessary, completely photograph the process, starting from the very first stages. Testimonials indicate that with such material any claims are considered quickly. Even negligent builders in this case prefer to resolve the issue amicably, because otherwise the court will still side with the consumer.
Experience in operating houses on a pile-screw foundation
Our article would be far from complete if we had not discussed the practical experience of operating houses that were put on a pile-screw foundation. So, what gives the pile foundation? The reviews are contradictory, but some common points are still present.
Firstly, almost all homeowners say that it’s cold on the floor in winter. This is especially true of those cases when the house is put in a clean field, in an area not surrounded by at least a fence. The wind freely blows the space between the piles and the house, providing stable (and significant) heat loss. You can easily notice that the pile foundation, the photo of which is in the article, can raise the house to a decent height.
Thus, I would like to advise you to do the following:
- Be sure to insulate the floor with modern materials, while not forgetting about vapor barrier.
- Protect the perimeter of the territory with a fence or stands that could reduce wind speed.
- Finally, in winter, you need to throw such a house with snow, closing the gap between the ground and the floor.
As for durability, it is too early to draw conclusions. Not a single house built on screw piles in our country has even celebrated its fiftieth birthday. However, the homeowners themselves note that so far no distortions have appeared (with the exception of cases of violation of technology).
In general, so far this technology has proved extremely good in the vastness of our country, so there is no particular reason to refuse to use it.
Technology of a monolithic pile foundation
In the first part of the article, we examined the standard pile foundation. Reviews about him are rather contradictory, but we have already found out that in almost all cases some negative aspects almost always arise through the fault of either the builders themselves or customers who did not control the workers.
It should be noted that there is simply no universal type of piles. Not in all conditions your screw variety can satisfy your needs, and therefore, now we will discuss a monolithic pile foundation, based on customer reviews.
In fact, builders call this type of foundation “a deep columnar foundation” that does not prevent us from viewing it from the standpoint of piles. Just in this case, they are not screwed separately, but are poured with concrete in place. Unlike the technology described above, digging is welcome here. First, a well of the required diameter is drilled, a powerful sand cushion is poured on its bottom, reinforced, and then poured with concrete mortar.
In the upper part, a grillage is mounted, which connects the entire structure into a single monolith, which has excellent strength characteristics. What are the benefits of this technology?
- Firstly, it’s much easier to find equipment for drilling wells than for twisting piles.
- Digging is not prohibited, so you can immediately familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the soil.
- There is no danger that the pile will be damaged or deformed, as it is poured directly on site.
- Good concrete has served for centuries, so those wishing to create their own “family nest” are shown a monolithic pile foundation. Technology suggests that the house will last a very long time.
Customer Reviews
As in the past, the immediate feelings of those who live in such houses should be discussed. Firstly, users note a slower bookmark speed (compared to screw piles). This is offset by the high quality of work: if you control the preparation of concrete, then even negligent employees will be difficult to spoil something.
Experienced builders also note that it is not necessary to dig giant wells a couple of meters deep. For an average country house, it is quite enough to drill a well up to 80 cm deep. Important! Judging by the reviews, many are trying to put a bunch of filler there (crushed stone, crushed brick). Such installation of a pile foundation is found everywhere.
This should not be done: experience shows that such piles tend to crack, while pure monolithic concrete can stand for years. Often there are stories that when dismantling old sheds (in the North, piles have been used for a long time), concrete columns (and they were 60-70 years old) were in perfect condition, while from the building itself there was only rubbish long ago.
Important! Never use welded reinforcement to fill the base! The reviews of some builders indicate that the use of such a solution leads to cracking and deformation of the pile. The thing is that the reinforcing base must be flexible (knitted) to evenly distribute the loads arising in the material.
The welded construction does not meet these requirements, and therefore cracks may occur. Some outdoor enthusiasts, who independently poured a monolithic pile foundation, often note that when cracks occur, water begins to quickly penetrate the reinforcement. The result is predetermined: active corrosion and pile failure. Do not repeat the mistakes of others when designing pile foundations!
The only option for heaving soils
Soils, which under certain conditions (cold season) can dramatically change their configuration, literally swelling on the surface, are called heaving. They are a real headache for almost all builders and those people who live in their areas of distribution.
And just the same pile foundation (its price is really low), which is located below the freezing level of such moody soils, is a real salvation. According to residents of stilt houses, they do not observe any distortions of the foundation, while the usual foundations of the tape type literally "tear" already in the second or third year of operation of the house.