Construction & Contractors Blog
Piles are often used for new construction; these are long posts or beams that are buried underground and which help to brace up a foundation. Their function is similar to underpinning, but they are placed before a foundation is poured. Piles can help to support a very tall or heavy building, especially in construction areas with soft and moist soil that may allow a building to shift and settle. A piling contractor uses heavy-duty equipment to drive the pile into the ground, versus digging a pit for it. Note some advantages to using a piling contractor versus an excavator for this work.
Piles are precast
When you use piles that are driven into the ground, they are precast before the work begins. An excavator will usually dig the pit and then fill it with concrete. Excavating work is not as exact as pile driving, which will include piles that are made to your specifications when it comes to durability, density, length, width and so on.
Compacted soil
When a pile is driven into the ground, the soil around it is compacted around the pile itself. This makes it stronger and allows it to support the pile more readily. When an excavator digs a pit, this softens the soil as it allows in air. It also encourages the circulation of moisture underground. In turn, the pile may not be as readily supported and it may start to shift over time. A driven pile may then stay in place longer and not need maintenance or bracing up over time.
Neater jobsite
Removing or excavating dirt means that you need to dispose of that dirt, and can also mean a jobsite that becomes very dirty because of the soil, mud, rock and other debris removed. With pile driving, the piles are just punched into the earth and there is less cost and hassle involved with cleaning up the jobsite.
Underground water considerations
In some areas, it may not be advisable to dig or excavate because underground water sources may cause the collapse of trench or pit walls, or because this may allow water to collect around piles. In turn, those piles may absorb this moisture and get soft or damaged. Some excavation in these types of areas may also cause flooding or even soil erosion, if water were to start running toward the area of the excavation. Pile driving can protect this flow of underground moisture and avoid these other complications that come from excavating.
Share22 July 2016
Hello and welcome to my construction blog. My name is David and I would like to tell you about the process of designing and building a new home from the ground up. I had always dreamed of building my own home and last year, that dream became a reality. I had been saving money for many years so I could afford to buy the materials and employ the contractors needed to construct my home. I learnt so much during the process, I decided to start this blog. It was a wonderful day when the final piece of my home was put into place and I am now very happy.