Precast Foundations (Piling) - Piling & Mini Piling Specialists

EXTENSIONS

This sheet is an outline of information for those considering piled foundations for dwelling house extensions and is prepared in good faith.

When any of the following occur:

> The excavation for extension foundations approaches the water table

> The excavation for extension foundations approach 2.5 metres

> The foundation trench is collapsing

> Excavations are undermining adjacent structures

Then piling will probably be a more economical method of providing foundation than trench fill or under-building. Piles can be concrete, steel, and sometimes wooden columns, which carry all the weight of a building down through poor materials onto good ground.

As can be seen from the right hand photos, all work is carried out above ground level and generally requires little or no preparation prior to the arrival of the rig on site.

Advantages of the driven piling method we use for pile installation include:

> No spoil production and hence no material to remove from the site

> We use no wet materials; hence it is a clean operation, no need for wet concrete and the associates spillages

> All our piling machines are much smaller than conventional machines, enabling us to both

1. pile very close to and inside buildings, and

2. travel over lawns and gardens with minimum disturbance. (If lawns are not to be landscaped after construction, we can work on plywood sheets)

For economy, piles are normally less than 6 metres apart. If the existing foundation of the house is suitable, conservatories or extensions can be supported between the existing walls and 2 or more piles. Often to minimise disturbance to the existing structure the extension will be wholly sitting on new piles, with some driven close to the wall rather than put extra loads on the existing foundations.

The ground beams that then span between the piles are like ordinary foundations with steel reinforcement.

If you have any questions regarding the information found on the website, please feel free to get in touch via one of the methods shown on the left.