Mini Piling- An innovative and highly effective foundation-building technique
The durability and the life of a superstructure depend on several factors. These include the quality of raw materials used, the skill level of the builders, the strength of the foundation, and the environment. Foundation building is as old as the world itself.
You will be surprised to know that many ancient methods of building foundations are still in use, of course with more modern materials and equipment.
One such technique is known as piling. The term refers to the historical use of timber columns as a foundation in locations where the soil quality was not adequate, where the topsoil layer suffered from the excessive settlement, or where there was a high content of moisture.
The timber pile or column served as an alternate and solid layer that enabled the superstructure to be built. Modern piling employs steel or concrete columns instead of timber as they are more resilient and long-lasting.
These piling techniques are now common across the United Kingdom, from Mini Piling Essex to London, numerous construction companies offer these services for both residential and commercial projects.
What is meant by mini piling?
Piling is a deep foundation building technique that uses columns( steel, timber, or concrete) which are either bored or driven into the ground. The purpose is to transfer the load of the superstructure to deeper and stronger layers of soil. Mini Piling is a subclass of piling and is used when:
- Surface soil does not have an adequate LBV- Load bearing value
- Surface soil has a high moisture content.
- Surface soil is highly sensitive to climatic changes resulting in sudden contraction or expansion.
- The construction site has restricted access such as low headroom or when heavy machinery or vehicles cannot be used conveniently
Mini piling methods
Various techniques are used for carrying out mini piling. From Cambridge to Piling London, the following methods are the most common.
Bottom Driven Steel Cased
- Used when construction site has restricted areas
- Ground conditions are poor
- Building deep foundations is not practical
- Often used for house extensions, mezzanine floors, etc.
Mini Piling Essex
Top Driven Steel- Precast
- Restricted site access
- Worse ground conditions,
- Often used as an alternative to the above method when higher load-bearing capacities are required.
- Applications include house extensions, mezzanine floors, machine bases, etc
Open Hole Auger
- Used when there is a possibility of heave and it is not possible to design out heave force.
- Only used if ground conditions permit to keep the pile bore open.
- Temporary casings are used for supporting unstable ground.
- This technique allows filling concrete in the piles.
SFA-Sectional Flight Auger
- Used in the presence of heave.
- Used when open hole auger cannot be used (when conditions do not permit to keep the pile bore open)
- Used when you can design out heave conditions.
- Augers retract and concrete is filled into the piles.
Contiguous Piled Wall
- Primarily used with augered piles to form retaining walls
- Applications include the construction of underground parking lots.
- Depending on the ground conditions the piles are kept at a distance of 150 mm from each other.
Ground Beams ( In-Situ)
- Once the pile is complete, ground excavation is carried out according to the required dimensions.
- Reinforcement is used according to the design.
- The pile reinforcements are then tied into the ground beams.
- The beam is concreted after relevant authorities have inspected them.
- These beams can withstand any heave force by using compressible materials or void-forming materials.
Factors influencing the selection of mini piling
What should be the depth of the piles? The answer depends on several factors such as :
- Mini piling technique: The method used for piling, whether boring or driven, as well as the material of the piles will influence the depth and the dimensions of the required pile.
- The ground or soil conditions: Soil conditions such as load-bearing values, moisture, and soil behaviour such as contraction or expansion relative to the weather, all these factors greatly influence the dimensions and design of the pile.
- Adjacent structures: The effect of and on adjacent structures also has to be taken into account when designing and using mini/micro piles.
- Type of superstructure: Last but not the least, the type of infrastructure that has to be built on these foundations will also have a bearing on the final design and dimensions of mini Piling London.
