Many believe that installing screw piles is a rather complicated process. It requires special knowledge, and sometimes special equipment. Many construction lovers find it almost impossible to cope with such work on their own. However, this is not quite true.
Before starting the process, you need to familiarize yourself with the technology. It involves overcoming several stages. At the first, the foundation is calculated, then the field is marked. The third step will be the installation of piles, and the final step is the cutting of poles at one level.
Preparation before installation
If you have a question about how to screw a screw pile yourself, then first you need to get ready for work. To do this, foreign objects and debris are removed from the construction site. If you plan to install in the winter, then there is no need to get rid of snow. This is due to the fact that the immersion of piles should be carried out in soft and not deeply frozen soil. Snow is usually cleared on the day of installation.
If you plan to use a special installation for twisting piles, it is important to worry about the presence of the entrance. For a concrete mixer, it is necessary to take care of the presence of an outlet. It will also require industrial water.
About the depth of the laying of screw piles
Before starting work, it is necessary to determine the depth of immersion of the pile, while taking into account the following factors:
- soil composition;
- design parameters of soil resistance;
- soil freezing depth;
- bearing capacity requirements.
A screw pile base is commonly used for lightweight structures. Therefore, when determining the depth of laying, the key point is the freezing point.
The minimum immersion depth of the support corresponds to the freezing line of the soil. The corresponding indicator can be taken in SNiP 23-01-99. Before you screw the screw piles in the southern region, for example in Voronezh or Belgorod, you should emphasize for yourself that in these areas the freezing depth is 1000 mm. But in the northern regions, this parameter exceeds 2400 mm.
Possible obstacles
Before you screw the screw piles by hand, you should inspect the site. Sometimes conditions are created on it that impede the performance of work. This happens when there are trees nearby or there is buried construction waste in the ground, as well as inclusions from stones. The process can slow down if there are poles or a fence near the point of location of the supports.
Piles cannot be installed if there is a building nearby. Buildings should be removed 30 cm or more. If the supports are supposed to be twisted near an unrooted stump or large trees, then the roots will diverge underground, this should be taken into account. During the installation process, it may turn out that there are stones in the depths. If their diameter is up to 5 cm, then they will not have any effect. Large stones falling in the way of the pile will make screwing impossible.
If the diameter of the elements increases to 10 cm, then they can prevent twisting and cause the tip to shift, which will cause the axis to deviate from the vertical. If you wondered how to screw the screw piles correctly, you should know that sometimes you have to remove the products back. In this case, the installation site should be excavated with a shovel, and then stones removed from the soil. Then you can continue the installation.
The excavated soil is poured back into the pit and compacted around the column. If in the thickness of the soil there are concrete slabs or blocks, large obstacles or construction debris, then installation of a screw pile will be impossible. When a large stone is in the way of the structure on a line below the freezing ground, the support can be left as is. The stone below will carry the load and distribute it over the thickness of the soil.
Mandatory step when installing piles - applying anti-corrosion coating
Among private builders, the question has recently arisen about how to screw screw piles manually. This process is divided into several stages. One of them is anti-corrosion coating. In order for the foundation to serve as long as possible, it is necessary to protect from corrosion the part of the structure that will be located at the boundary of air and earth.
Such protection is necessary, which does not depend on soil conditions. You should not be afraid that the front cover and the tip of the pile will wear off when screwed in. These parts of the product will be in the ground at an impressive depth where corrosion is difficult. When erecting simple and irresponsible structures like canopies and arbors, you can use cold galvanizing or bitumen mastic.
If you have to work with slightly abrasive soil, then you can use a combined coating of double action. This applies to the case when peat or wet plastic clay is on the territory. Protection will consist of a layer of cold galvanized and bituminous mastic, which is applied on top. This coating protects the foundation for many years.
If you have a question about how to tighten screw piles with your own hands, it is important to carry out geological research. In the presence of abrasive soil in the area with inclusions of sand and gravel, as well as small stones on top of the anti-corrosion coating, it is necessary to apply a layer of heat-shrinkable film. She will tighten the pile and give the product high strength. Such a corrosion-resistant coating will protect the support from abrasion.
Screwing piles
Screw piles are installed without drilling equipment. On their lower part there are screw blades, which allow installation in the soil. The disadvantage of this method is that twisting may suggest an inaccurate installation, which distinguishes this technology from when the product is buried or poured with concrete.
Manual installation of piles is carried out when it is impossible to use a mechanized method, or a mechanized installation for piles is not economically feasible. If installation is carried out in a place where there is no entrance for equipment, then the manual method is the only true one. It is used in the construction of foundations for small buildings located on plots outside the city. It can be:
- outbuildings ;
- arbors;
- baths;
- wooden houses;
- fences.
When the manual method is used
Usually, a manual method of installing piles is resorted to when fences are installed at the border of two sections. There are also such cases when it is necessary to install a support near the cottage, which is much cheaper than using additional equipment. Before you screw the screw piles, you should enlist the help of several people.
Methodology
At a point marked in advance, it is necessary to mount the product in an upright position. A steel bar or scrap is inserted into the technological hole that is in the support. After that, the resulting lever can be lengthened using a pipe. Its length should be 2500 mm or more.
If you are faced with the problem of how to twist screw piles, then you should know that one person in the process will guide the barrel so that it plunges strictly in an upright position. Two other people, clutching the lever, will move around the barrel, screwing the structure. The support sink speed is approximately 192 mm per revolution. If the conditions are favorable, then from 5 to 15 minutes will be spent on one pile. The speed of immersion will depend on the type of soil.
What to do when an obstacle occurs
If the screw-in blades have reached dense soil, and several people are not able to turn the pile, then you should not try to plunge the support deeper. This suggests that the product has reached the ground, which has a high bearing capacity. On this basis, the foundation will be very reliable. In the process you will have a question about the depth to which screw piles should be screwed. Experts emphasize that it is necessary to deepen the support below the freezing line in your area. For a more precise installation, wells are pre-made. After that, it will be easier to enter the pile.
Finally
If you are going to build a house, you should know how to tighten screw piles. They are suitable for light buildings, as well as for fences, arbors and baths. One of the key points in this is the freezing depth, which is higher in the case of sandstone than in clay soils. But if you have to work with a peat bog, then the depth of immersion should be such that the support reaches solid soil.