There is an opinion that it is impossible to make high-quality screw piles at home due to the high complexity of the process and responsibility for their behavior in the future.
However, if you carefully study the technology of their production and perform the necessary calculations and drawings, then it is quite possible to make such products yourself.
Screw pile design
There is nothing particularly difficult in making a screw pile with your own hands, but outwardly it resembles a ship's lead propeller.
For the production of screw piles, a hollow steel pipe is suitable, in which at one end a pointed tip with spiral blades is welded. They have a cutting edge, thanks to which it is possible to screw the pile to the desired depth. After the installation is completed, when the pile is at the required depth, these blades perform a different role - they fix the pile in the ground, preventing it from being squeezed out when it freezes in the cold season.
The pile consists of:
- hollow pipes with a wall thickness of 3.5 millimeters;
- shoe (bottom of pipe);
- screw blades.
Types of screw piles
The origins of screw piles date back to the 19th century, when a lighthouse on screw rods was first built in the soil of the seabed near the Thames. Later, scientists repeatedly proved the numerous advantages of screw piles over reinforced concrete ones, and mainly due to the principle of installation. A screwed pile holds much more firmly in the ground than a driven one, as was done before.
Screw piles are:
- narrow-bladed;
- wide-bladed.
Accordingly, piles can be with a different number of blades and their width.
Wide-blade piles are both single-blade and multi-blade. The first option is almost never used, being considered obsolete. Single-blade piles are used only as a foundation for lightweight buildings.
Use of wide blade piles
More widely used in construction are broadband piles with multiple cutting blades.
The use of such piles when creating foundations makes it possible to double the compression and pull-out loads, and also makes it possible to increase the loads on the foundation in the future.
Thus, when building foundations for the most critical buildings built on slopes, for multi-storey buildings, multi-blade piles are used.
Narrow-bladed screw piles can be different:
- In the form of a pipe with a tip on which there is a blade. The tip is cast and welded to the steel pipe. This type of pile is excellent for use when creating foundations in stony soils.
- Piles used in soils with periodic freezing, or in permafrost soils. The bottom of such piles has a chamfer - straight or notched.
As in the first version of the piles, so in the second, the number of blade turns is always more than two.
Material for screw piles
When making screw piles with your own hands, in an attempt to save money, you need to remember the risks that you may encounter during their operation in case of poor-quality workmanship.
To eliminate such negative consequences for the production of a screw pile, you should choose the right material. Of great importance is the steel grade, and the future thickness and height of the pile. If in doubt, it is better to contact a specialist for calculations.
Another point that should not be ignored when making screw piles with your own hands is the protection of the pile from corrosion. Indeed, in the ground, any iron quickly rusts, and therefore, without proper processing, the future pile will soon rust and lose its properties.
In the factory, zinc coating of the metal is used as such treatment. At home, when making screw piles with your own hands, the methods used at the factory are not available. And this quality can not be achievedsucceed, or at least be very difficult. But it is quite possible to apply several anti-corrosion layers of a special composition to metal parts.
Production of screw piles
Another important point is the manufacture of a tip with a cutting blade. It must not only be properly welded, but also have the proper strength. It is recommended to entrust such work to a qualified welder.
Poor-quality welding in the manufacture of screw piles leads to deformation of the metal rod and separation of the blades from it during installation. The strength of the foundation built using such details will definitely be reduced, and accordingly, the stability of the entire building will be in big question.
Thus, homemade piles can only be used in the construction of light home buildings.
Calculation of screw piles
Before you start making screw piles with your own hands, it does not hurt to study the instructions in detail. Among other things, it is necessary to decide what length they will be. In different regions, during the cold season, the ground freezes to different depths, the terrain has a different topography, and, accordingly, the piles will have different lengths.
Of course, in the factory, the parameters of piles are calculated using special formulas. When making screw piles for the foundation with your own hands, you will have to do the calculation of the loads yourself.
For the manufacture of a rod for a pile, you can use a hollow metal pipe with a diameter of 10 centimeters or more. for bladesblades from a construction drill are suitable, and the tip is made by welding and bending the metal, giving it the shape of a cone. The places where the parts are connected to each other should be cleaned to a shine with emery. When making screw piles with your own hands, you will either have to do the drawings yourself or use existing ones.
As an anti-corrosion compound after welding, it is allowed to use bituminous mastic or a primer for metal.
After completing the manufacture of a screw pile, it is imperative to make holes for mounting in the upper edge of its rod. Scrap or metal rods will be inserted into them during installation to screw the piles into the ground.
Features of installation of screw piles
Before starting installation on the ground, it is necessary to make markings. As a rule, piles are installed at the corners of the building, and then between them after 2 meters.
When installing screw piles with your own hands in hard-to-reach places, or in the absence of special equipment, installation is carried out manually with the involvement of several people.
The manual piling technique is as follows:
- In special holes in the upper part of the pile, it is necessary to pass a device that helps to twist the piles. It can be any metal bar or pipe, or scrap. This device is held by two workers from different sides and screwed into the ground, pressing on it. Rotate the pile in the direction of the screw thread.
- When screwing a pile, it is necessary to observe its verticalityprovisions. To do this, every 25-30 centimeters of deepening, you need to stop work and use a plumb line or building level to check how vertical the pile is.
- When the last pile is twisted, it remains to set the height of the foundation using a laser level. To do this, the protruding ends of the pipes are cut off with a grinder, which are then poured inside with concrete. This will increase the strength of the entire foundation and create an obstacle for corrosion of pipes from the inside.
- Metal plates (or pads) are welded to the pile heads. Subsequently, the installation of the foundation strapping will be carried out on them. For strapping, both a steel channel and a wooden beam are used.
The process of manufacturing and installing piles without the involvement of production facilities and highly qualified specialists is quite possible, and with a competent approach it is not so complicated. Unlike the construction of a concrete foundation, a screw one does not require much time and finances, since the installation of screw piles with one's own hands takes place without the use of special equipment.
- each pile must be twisted strictly vertically, in no case should it be installed in a pre-dug hole;
- piles are installed not only at the corners of the future building, but also under all intersections of internal and external walls;
- dig the pile into the ground so that its tip is at least 60 centimeters deep;
- if piles are used to create a foundation for light construction, then you can not fill theminside with concrete, especially if the wall thickness is more than six millimeters;
- if the height of the pipe when leveling the foundation was insufficient, you can increase it with a head.
Pile foundation for fence
If it is necessary to build a protective structure, it is advisable to manufacture screw piles at home. The main thing is to follow the basic rules and instructions that explain how to make screw piles for the foundation.
Due to the annual seasonal fluctuations of the soil, any foundation is destroyed. Unlike screw piles, a conventional foundation is pushed outward by frozen soil and deformed. Almost none of the developers deepens the classic foundation for the fence as much as the screw one allows. And this, no less, more than one and a half - two meters deep!
Screw piles are securely held in the ground due to the properties of their tip with blades. The forces of the soil cannot cope with such a foundation, and the fences on the pile-screw foundation stand for a long time and do not collapse for decades.
Ordinary foundations that do not have a tip or blades, whether metal or concrete pillars, are pushed out by frost heaving of the soil, the fence warps and loses its integrity.
Advantages of the screw foundation for the fence
When installing screw piles with your own hands, you do not need to spend time and energy clearing the area and digging a trench. It is enough, using a beacon cord, to mark the places for screwing piles.
Forthe depth of penetration of piles is usually taken 70-80 centimeters lower than the ground freezes through in this particular region.
When twisting piles in soft soils, they are deepened until they come into contact with their dense layers. In the case when it is impossible to determine the required screwing depth, it is allowed to lengthen the piles, build them up with additional sections.
When tightening screw piles with thick walls, drilling rigs can be used instead of manual installation.
Screw piles for the foundation of the house
When building the foundation of a building, it is not recommended to use self-made piles, as this is unsafe for life. It is better to purchase factory-made piles, which are made in compliance with all norms and rules, and also have a much longer service life.
When deciding to make screw piles with your own hands, when choosing pipes, you should follow simple rules:
- brick houses, buildings made of stone or blocks are erected on foundations arranged using piles having a diameter of 13.5 centimeters or more;
- chopped and frame-panel buildings, hangars and similar structures are built on foundations of piles with a diameter of about 10.5 centimeters;
- light structures are allowed to be installed on pile foundations of piles with a diameter of 8.9 centimeters.
The nuances of the pile-screw foundation for the building
Although at first glance it may seem that the production of screw piles is a simple process and does not require specialskills to be aware of:
- Even a small error in the calculation of the diameter or pitch of the blade, when calculating its angle of inclination to the plane of the pile, will inevitably lead to a change in the required force to twist the pile. Sometimes this leads to the complete impossibility of installation.
- In any case, the process of making screw piles with your own hands is long and time-consuming.
- Only small diameter piles can be made independently. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to select components for large piles, as well as to perform their high-quality connection with each other.
Thus, it is important to understand that making screw piles with your own hands is quite possible, but hardly economically feasible. As a rule, manufacturers of screw piles offer the consumer comprehensive services for the development of the foundation of a building, and it is often more profitable to turn to them.
