Modern industrial construction technology has long found a way to build the heaviest and tallest buildings on problematic unstable soils. Foundations on piles have been used in house building since time immemorial, but the star of pile construction truly rose with the invention of stressed reinforced concrete - the most durable and mass-produced material for constructing foundations on reinforced concrete (RC) piles.
Unlike bored or screw pile supports, foundations on driven reinforced concrete piles have a whole bunch of very attractive characteristics:
For your information! Due to the large length and relatively smooth surface of reinforced concrete piles, they can be easily installed in the coastal zone, on steep slopes, in marshy peat bogs, in frozen conditions, in places where a screw pile and, especially, a bored pile cannot work normally.
In industrial construction, reinforced concrete supports are used to build foundations, which do not require additional preparation before installation. What does it mean? This means that for the construction of the foundation, a reinforced concrete product is used that has passed quality control, static load tests and, most importantly, high-strength concrete grades have fully achieved the calculated strength value. Whereas bored castings, cast at the installation site, are difficult to control for defects.
The shape and design of reinforced concrete piles are determined by GOST 19804.4-78. In industrial construction, pile supports ranging from three to eleven meters in length are used. For foundations of private housing construction, the most popular pile is the STs 3-30 model. This is a relatively small three-meter square pile support weighing 700 kg.
The driven support is made of high-strength cement grades and has steel reinforcement with hot-rolled reinforcement. One end has a pyramidal point, the dynamic safety factor is 1.5, which allows it to be successfully immersed in dense clay, rocky and frozen soils. The exception is rock and crushed stone embankments.
The intensive development of industrial and private construction has led to the fact that the most comfortable and convenient sites for the construction of buildings in large cities and suburbs have been successfully “eaten up” traditional forms developments. Steep slopes, ravines, and water-saturated soils with quicksand remained undeveloped. All this led to a situation where the use of foundations on piles exceeded the volume of construction on traditional strip foundations and MZLF by several times.
The main advantage of a foundation on reinforced concrete piles is its very high rigidity and stability, but before installation you need to pay attention to certain features:
For your information! To prevent heaving and possible pushing out of the pile, it is necessary to insulate the upper part of the reinforced concrete structure with expanded polystyrene, as well as the soil around it with a backfill of expanded clay and sand.
In addition to the obvious positive qualities, reinforced concrete foundation piles also have their disadvantages. After installing the pile support, the deformed and compressed masses of soil continue to put pressure on the lower part and on the side surface of the pillar. Even if the installation depth exceeds the freezing level, high lateral pressure often pushes the pile out of the ground. Most often, northern regions suffer from such a problem, which combine great depth freezing and high groundwater levels. In such conditions, it is necessary to use piles of at least six meters in length for the foundation.
Despite the obvious simplicity of driving reinforced concrete piles under the foundation, the installation of driven reinforced concrete structures requires preliminary detailed soil exploration for future construction. You can’t just come to the area and try to hammer a reinforced concrete support into the thickness of the soil with a powerful diesel hammer. Therefore, such work should be carried out by companies specializing in the construction of foundations on reinforced concrete piles.
The cost of driving one meter of pile with a cross section of 150x150 will be 500-550 rubles. If the nature of the soil requires the use of special methods of stimulating the supports, the cost of installation may double. Today, the cost of the smallest pile STs 3-30 is from five thousand rubles with delivery to the area and installation. If we compare the cost of installing a reinforced concrete pile under the foundation and a bored one, the cost of the latter will be 2-2.5 times less. If you calculate the number of reinforced concrete supports for arranging the foundation and compare it with the required number of bored ones, then they will be required approximately 2-2.5 times less.
With approximately the same labor costs, a foundation installed on reinforced concrete piles will be much stronger and more durable. The average lifespan of a building built on such a foundation, according to experts, can reach 100 years. In addition, a self-propelled hammer is capable of lifting and driving a pile within 5-10 minutes. When building a bored support, even using a drill press, it will take at least two hours of work to complete.
To build a foundation on reinforced concrete piles, you will need to build a so-called pile field. This is a certain number of supports installed in accordance with the design of the future building in the locations of load-bearing and main walls. For small pile supports, small diesel hammers and pile drivers can be used. For longer ones, six meters or more, you will need a crane and an impact machine with a guide mast and a double-action hammer.
The installation of reinforced concrete piles must be accurately calculated by a specialized specialist. With the correct selection of parameters, the installation process is quite simple. The pile is hung in a vertical position on a driving mast, installed on the ground, and driven into the soil by blows from the head of a diesel hammer.
As the depth deepens with each blow, the rate of settlement first increases and then begins to decrease. As the design depth is approached, the movement of the support slows down until failure occurs. In construction slang, this is the name for the submerged state of a reinforced concrete pillar, in which after 10 hammer blows the head of the pile support remains motionless. This means that the soil around the concrete body is so compacted that it is able to provide the bearing capacity of the support with a calculated stability margin.
In case of an error or incorrect assessment of the geology, the support element may fall to a depth exceeding the calculated one, or, conversely, stop half a meter to a meter before the calculated point. Most often this occurs due to the tip of the pile getting into deposits of fine dry sand. In this case, the construction of the foundation is stopped for ten to twelve days and work continues after the “rest” of the pile support.
If foundation construction is carried out on heavy soils or at very low temperatures, leader drilling may be used before installing supports. To facilitate the immersion of the pile, a well with a diameter of 50-60 mm less than the cross-section of the pile support is drilled at the place of its installation, to a depth of 90% of its immersion level. In addition, the well can be filled with clay emulsions, solutions that facilitate friction between concrete walls and rock layers.
When forming a pile field, special attention is paid to removing the horizontal plane from the driven supports. Most companies use laser levels and horizon level sensors for these purposes. This makes it possible to obtain a plane from the pile heads with a surface height fluctuation of 3-5 mm on a 10-meter plan. It is almost impossible to achieve such precision manually using stretched cords and threads. Further arrangement of the foundation, as a rule, involves the installation of a pile-grillage frame made of wooden beams, rolled metal, or casting into formwork.
The negative aspects of installing a foundation on piles include the operation of a pile driver or vibrator. Frequent shocks or vibrations that occur during the operation of construction equipment not only cause dissatisfaction among local residents, but also often lead to damage to the foundations of nearby buildings.
Nowadays, when building a house, many people prefer to install the foundation on. They give the building greater strength and stability, and are completely inexpensive for builders. Let's look at what this type of foundation is, and is it possible to build a concrete pile with your own hands?
Pile foundations have advantages and disadvantages. Among the positive characteristics are the following:
The disadvantages of a pile foundation include the following:
Often, when pouring a pile foundation under a house, they prefer to use heavy concrete grade m 500. The types of solutions used in this foundation also depend on what type of piles is planned:
The following types of house are distinguished:
Let's take a closer look at some types of pile foundations for a house.
This type of foundation for a house is found cast, as well as prefabricated.
Installation of reinforced concrete supports is carried out using auxiliary equipment: mobile cranes with hammers for supports, vibrators, and pile drivers.
Before installing piles, it is necessary to study the characteristics of the soil and find out whether underground flows are present here. Then the required number of supports and future load are calculated.
Next comes marking the plan and drilling the soil. If necessary, a small ball of sand is poured into the well and a frame sheet is mounted. When the reinforcing mesh has been installed, you can pour concrete mortar inside. The work will completely harden in 20 days. Only then can construction continue.
Based on all this, we can conclude that building piles with your own hands, without outside help and tips, is not an easy task. However, long efforts, practice, and the availability of the necessary equipment do their job. Watch master classes and video lessons from other builders. After all, they also studied once. And now they are masterfully able to lay any foundation with their own hands in a short time. With great desire and patience, you will also learn how to install a pile foundation with your own hands.
Reinforced concrete piles for a private house
A foundation on stilts for a private house is one of the popular ways of arranging the foundation. In some geological conditions, this type of construction is optimal and recommended. At the project development stage, pre-design surveys are analyzed. Complex engineering work allows you to get a complete picture of the development site, which in turn contributes to a detailed calculation of the future structure.
A pile-driven foundation for a private house requires some atypical work, but in the end it allows you to get an excellent result. If the calculated technical indicators are observed and the established materials are used, the foundation for the house is built quickly and is highly durable.
Reinforced concrete piles are foundations that represent one of the most durable types of foundations. It is characterized by high load-bearing capacity. The stability of the structure is ensured by the passage of moving layers and emphasis on hard rock. Basis for division pile foundations The types are determined by the material from which the supports are made. According to this, they distinguish:
To install driven piles to the point of its vertical location and subsequent immersion, it is necessary to use special construction equipment called a pile driver. are created exactly at the laying point, by pouring solution into the created well.
The main situation in which one should resort to a pile-rammed foundation is one in which there are unstable soils on the building site. , in this case, cannot provide the necessary stability of the future structure, since the soil layers do not have sufficient strength. There is a need to reach a solid foundation, which is why pile foundations are used.
The design of a pile foundation consists of supports driven into the ground, which are buried to a certain depth or until the pile fails when driven. In addition, a special tape structure called a grillage is created around each support. It encircles the contour and performs the task of linking all the supports into a single element. By equipping the grillage, additional resistance to horizontal ground movements is created, as well as uniform distribution of the load created by the building.
And the specific type is determined depending on the parameters of the structure and the type of piles. For bored supports, it is permissible to use prepared timber or rolled metal channel, as well as an I-beam. In rare cases, a monolithic grillage can be created - in a situation where the future structure has a large mass and a complex configuration. For driven piles, exclusively monolithic grillage options are used.
Pile foundations are among the universal foundations that can be used for the construction of buildings and structures of any type and complexity. For a specific object, a set of calculations is performed in order to establish exact parameters for construction. When designing, detailed data on the geological structure of the site is required.
Driven piles for a private house are a reliable and durable option for constructing a foundation. With the help of pile drivers, installation is carried out in a short time and with high quality of work.
Pile-driven foundations can have several options for project implementation:
The preparatory stage, from which the implementation of the project begins, is a complex of construction and organizational work, the ultimate goal of which is to optimize construction and strictly comply with project standards. With competent and accurate implementation of all preparatory activities, it is possible to achieve full compliance with the project.
The construction of a pile foundation includes the following steps:
A house on a pile foundation is able to withstand high loads and maintain structural integrity. Therefore, a foundation on reinforced concrete piles for a private house is used not only if it is geologically justified, but also on stable soils. Specifications This foundation ensures the reliability of the entire structure.
When constructing a pile field and driving each support, it is important to maintain strict verticality of the structure. This ensures full realization of the practical value of the piles.
After securing the pile in the mechanism of the pile driver, it rises to a nearly vertical position. After one end of the support is installed at the driving point, it is necessary to adjust the verticality of the support. If the pile hits at an angle, then there is a high risk of its destruction, and the quality of immersion will be significantly reduced. If the deviation is not large, the strength characteristics of the foundation will decrease, which is critical for massive buildings and structures.
Depending on the dimensions of the pile, there are several options for controlling verticality:
Driven piles are used throughout the world. Their practical value and efficiency have ensured widespread use for solving problems in the construction of private houses and large structures.
A pile foundation is nothing more than a complex of piles connected into a single structure that transfers the load from the building to the foundation. Due to their design, pile foundations are widely used for the construction of a wide variety of houses and buildings.
To perform specific construction tasks for the construction of pile foundations, piles of different types are selected. In this article we will look at what types of piles there are, the material they are made of and methods of immersion at a construction site.
Houses on wooden stilts
A pile is a vertical or inclined structure , immersed in the ground or made directly in the ground. The function of piles is to transfer loads from a house or building to the foundation (soil).
When designing and constructing a pile foundation, the type of piles is selected according to the following parameters:
The following types of piles exist:
Depending on the method of penetration into the ground:
Depending on interaction with the ground:
Driven reinforced concrete piles (cross section up to 0.8 m inclusive) and shell piles (diameter from 1 m) can be arranged as follows:
Concrete piles
Installation of cast-in-place piles:
Drilling piles:
Metal piles
Depending on the material of manufacture, piles are distinguished:
Metal piles
They are made from seamless steel pipes with a diameter of 25 to 100 cm (and even more). Steel tongues, I-beams, and other rolled profiles are also used in production. Box-section piles are made from them by welding.
Typically the end of the pipe is equipped with a conical tip. If the pipe is immersed without a tip, then the function of the tip in this case is performed by an earthen cone that forms under the pile during immersion as the pipe begins to fill with compacted soil.
To increase strength indicators, after immersion, hollow metal piles are filled. If after installation they experience light loads, then you don’t have to fill them with concrete.
Screw piles
– a type of metal piles, made in the form of a metal rod with a screw blade at the end. The products have fairly high strength characteristics, so they are often used in construction. The diameter of the screw blade of the pile can reach up to 2.4 m, and the depth of immersion in the ground can be more than 20 m.
Application:
the number, diameter and length of screw piles depend on the load on them and the ground conditions at the construction site. Foundations on screw piles can be installed on terrain of any complexity, without spending time and money on excavation work. Also, the advantages of screw piles include the fact that during their installation there are no dynamic effects on the ground, so they can be used for the construction of extensions to existing structures. An important fact for individual construction is that a pile field like this can be completed within one day.
Screw piles are also used for the construction of high-rise mast structures and power line supports, which are subject to significant wind influences. In addition, the tip with the blade allows the structure to withstand large pulling loads, so they can be used in heaving soils, but they will not be able to “squeeze out” screw pile to the surface.
Screw piles are also used to strengthen emergency foundations. In this case, they are mounted around the perimeter of the emergency foundation and secured to it using brackets.
To prevent corrosion and increase the service life of metal piles, they are treated with anti-corrosion agents before installation.
Wooden piles
Wooden piles
Made from spruce, pine, cedar, larch, fir, oak. To make wooden piles, logs with a diameter of 22-34 cm and a length of 6.5 and 8.5 m are taken, while maintaining the natural slope of the logs (reducing the diameter of the trunk from the butt to the top). The bark is removed from the prepared logs, and then they are trimmed in the right places.
Depending on the design of the pile foundation, wooden piles can be either solid, i.e. made from one log, or spliced along the length. Accordingly, the length of a solid product can vary from 4.5 to 16 meters, and a spliced one - from 20 to 25 meters. To splice the logs, they are joined end to end using overlays. If necessary, logs are spliced not only in length, but also in thickness. Wooden piles obtained in this way are called stack piles.
The length of the pointed part of the wooden pile is 1.5-2 times their diameter. If there are obstacles in the ground, protect the pointed part with a shoe. The upper part of the wooden pile is protected with a yoke or cap.
Wooden piles are installed in the ground by driving, pressing or vibrating.
Application:
The price of wooden piles is usually lower than the price of metal or reinforced concrete analogues, but wooden products can withstand less load. Therefore, wooden piles are not used in high-rise construction, but they are used in low-rise construction in the construction of houses and cottages. They are also used for the construction of temporary structures, small bridges, etc.
Reinforced concrete piles
They can be monolithic or prefabricated.
Reinforced concrete piles
Monolithic reinforced concrete piles often have a rectangular or square cross-section ranging in size from 20×20 to 40×40 cm. Square piles with a cylindrical cavity are also produced with a section size of 25×25 and 30×30 cm and a wall thickness at the narrowest point of at least 4 cm.
Longitudinal reinforcement of monolithic products is carried out with steel rod reinforcement (prestressed or non-prestressed). In the transverse direction, the products are reinforced with low-carbon wire or wire rod with a thickness of 5 mm.
During installation, the impact load is absorbed by the head of the pile, so it is reinforced with three reinforcing meshes arranged horizontally in increments of 5 cm. The point at the bottom is made in the shape of a tetrahedral pyramid, and when installed in hard soil it is protected with a steel shoe.
Prefabricated reinforced concrete piles of a tubular structure are made from separate sections that can be assembled in advance, after which installation (driving) can be carried out.
Installation of reinforced concrete piles is carried out using pile drivers, mobile cranes with pile hammers, etc. Vibration immersion is also used. It is less labor-intensive and costly.
Advantages:
Flaws:
Cast-in-place (concrete) piles
Reinforcement cage for bored piles
Also widely used in construction. Their distinctive feature is that they are manufactured directly on the construction site. The basic technological scheme for their production: a well is made in the ground using some method and filled with concrete, and if, before filling the wells with concrete, a steel reinforcing frame is placed in them, then reinforced concrete cast-in-place piles are obtained. After the concrete mixture has hardened, the resulting pile is trimmed.
The ease of installation makes this foundation very popular. Its advantages include the absence of the need to transport piles.
The disadvantages include the following:
What concrete should I use?
Reinforced concrete and concrete piles are made of heavy concrete. Wherein:
As can be seen from the above material, there is a wide variety different types piles, therefore it is impossible to limit ourselves to describing any one design of a pile foundation. Below are some recommendations that will help you choose the most suitable types of piles for the construction of pile foundations on specific construction sites.
House on screw stilts
When choosing, it is necessary to take into account a set of characteristics:
It is impossible to determine the exact criteria for choosing a pile foundation based on the totality of the listed parameters. Below are the factors for choosing pile foundations in relation to the values of some of these parameters.
In the case of silt and fluid loam, it is possible to construct a continuous foundation slab under the entire house or to pre-compress the silt with a load;
In the case of peat and peaty soils - partial or complete removal of peat + subsequent alluvium or backfilling and installation of a foundation on a natural foundation;
It is necessary to take into account that when installing a foundation slab on soft soil, precipitation occurs: general - up to 50-60 cm and uneven - up to 25-35 cm. After work on loading silt, precipitation decreases, but the time costs for carrying out such work do not less than a year;
With a significant peat capacity, peat extraction work also requires a lot of time, labor and material costs. Most often, a technical and economic comparison of pile and slab foundations on soft soils shows the advantage of pile foundations, which provide lower settlements (within acceptable limits) + economic benefits by reducing the volume of excavation work, as well as the consumption of concrete and reinforcement;
The video describes the features and advantages of foundations on screw piles:
In modern construction, many different reinforced concrete products are used. These are slabs, beams and panels, etc. In this article we will talk about reinforced concrete pile structures, which are now very often used in the construction of foundations.
These are proven building products that make it possible to build reliable foundations.
These products are now produced from a variety of materials: metal, asbestos, concrete, etc.
Because pile shafts are designed to withstand the loads that are placed on the base of the structure.
They must be extremely reliable, durable and able to cope with any negative factors.
The following types of support trunks are made from reinforced concrete materials:
Most of the parameters of pile shafts are determined by the grade of concrete used in their manufacture.
For example, the grade of concrete characterizes the strength of the trunk. The concrete grade numbers indicate the ultimate compressive strength.
Concrete B7.5 and higher class is used in the production of reinforced concrete piles. The lowest compressive strength is determined by this type of concrete.
Indicators of frost resistance and moisture strength of piles are determined using the same method. They appear on the identification plate after the letters “F” and “W”. For example, for concrete grade B7.5, these parameters are equal to more than 50 cyclic freezing/thawing (F50) and a pressure limit of 2 MPa of water (W2).
The mass of reinforced concrete trunks is determined primarily by their volumes. And the larger they are, the greater the weight indicators.
The positive qualities of reinforced concrete piles of any type include:
The only disadvantage of piles is the heaviness of the product. This indicator often makes delivery and installation inaccessible.
Foundations on reinforced concrete piles are made in areas where the soil is problematic and a building needs to be built. In areas with such soil, only reinforced concrete piles will ensure the stability of the building by transferring the load to stable layers.
A reinforced concrete pile foundation for a block building has many advantages over other types of foundations.
If we compare the construction columnar foundation with others, then the construction of such a foundation for a house made of blocks is much more technologically advanced.
A pile foundation involves drilling wells of a given size, installing reinforcing bars in them, and filling them with concrete.
The big advantage of this method is the ability to drill wells with a hand drill.
It is not difficult to make a foundation made of reinforced concrete piles yourself. It is only important to maintain basic calculations:
Pile foundations are often installed in aggressive environments. For this reason, they need concrete that is durable and resistant to “chemicals”. This property of concrete affects the durability of the pile.
You should consult with specialists about the brand of concrete, who, after studying the soil, will recommend appropriate additives to increase stability.
Possible concrete composition:
It would be better to order industrial concrete for the pile foundation. If it is impossible to buy or deliver concrete to a construction site, they prepare it themselves.
Before starting the installation of piles, prepare the site:
After preparing the holes for the piles, “pipes” are rolled out of roofing material, which should correspond to the wells in coverage, and the length is 20-30 cm greater than their depth.
The “pipe” at the top needs to be made stronger, from 2-3 layers of roofing material, and tied together with strong wire. This end will be the top formwork. Then the “pipe” is carefully driven into the well.
If there is a little water at the bottom, it's okay. But when water fills a quarter of the well, it needs to be pumped out.
If such a “pipe” is not made, negative consequences can't be avoided.
Concrete hardening occurs within the first day from the moment the mixture is prepared. And in order for the strength to be maximum, it is extremely important to preserve the “cement laitance” in the concrete mass. It should not flow into the ground, because then the specified strength of concrete will not be achieved.
If the ground surface freezes, heaving forces will affect the rough surface of the pile more strongly if it was formed without a “pipe”.
When the wells are prepared, a frame made of reinforcement will be needed. For this purpose, you can take 3 reinforcement rods of six millimeter diameter for each pile shaft. They are fastened with transverse bars at intervals of 50-60 cm.
Vertical rods are installed above the piles below the height of the grillage by 2-3 cm.
After the frame is formed in the well, concrete begins to be supplied in 4-centimeter layers and compacted using vibrators.
To install a grillage for a light home, it is recommended to observe the following parameters:
Cutting the grillage with pipes is unacceptable. The deviation of the pile from the vertical is determined by a plumb line. It should not be more than 5 cm.
When assembling the grillage, you need to carefully secure the elements to the pile heads. If the grillage beam is replaced with load-bearing reinforced concrete lintels, they are secured to each other by welding with reinforcing bars.
After assembling the grillage, all seams and joints are filled with cement mortar or concrete.
This type of foundation also has disadvantages, or rather restrictions, that prevent their use.
Reinforced concrete foundations should not be used in horizontally unstable soils, because the building will not be resistant to overturning.
When constructing such a foundation, problems arise with the base.
You have to fill the space between the piles, as in a columnar foundation.
This requires additional costs.
The video demonstrates the driving of reinforced concrete piles IZH-3-38-S1 (S2) S-08 without formwork molding