Questions

ADVANTAGES OF A HELICAL SCREW PILE METAL POST FOUNDATION AND QUESTIONS!

I am often asked a few questions from clients regarding this type of foundation. Most often they want to know "What is the advantage?" or " What are the limitations?" All questions are great questions and this is where you will fid the answers to these questions and more. Additionally if you have further questions regarding your specific project please do not hesitate to contact us an we will try to be of assistance to you.

When can I start to build on a GoliathTech helical screw pile?

How do I connect my project to the GoliathTech metal post?

Anchoring and connecting your project.

GoliathTech has a wide variety of standard connecting heads. We have a full selection of 4x4, 6x6, 8x8 U brackets as well as several sizes of flat plates to connect to your project. If you have a unique connection requirement, we are able to quikcly manufacture and galvanize any head connection design that you may have for your unique project.

GoliathTech simply has a superior anchoring system! Once you have chosen the connecting head for your project, rest assured that with the GoliathTech exclusive anchoring system your project will be properly fastened to the metal post foundation. As demonstrated in the drawings below, the competition simply rests their head onto the metal post. They do not have a positive connection to the metal post of the helical screw pile. GoliathTech Connecting heads are securely bolted to the metal post of the helical screw pile therefore meeting and exceeding the building code for uplift (tension) resistance.

Why is thermal protection important for a helical screw pile?

How do you confirm the load capacity of a pile?

Installation Monitoring and Verification of Load Capacity During Installation.

One of the most, if not the most important factor when installing a helical screw pile, is the verification of the load capacity during installation. Your Deck Company installs all of our metal post foundations using only a certified digital torque monitoring system that allows us to provide a accurate and measurable installation of our helical piles. There is a direct relationship between installation torque and load capacity, which means that engineers can verify capacity immediately thru our digital torque readings.

By monitoring the torque we are able to ensure that if a certain load value is required we can accurately install the screw pile to a depth that provides the proper torque to obtain the required load value.

How do you measure torque during installation and is it accurate?

Digital Torque Monitoring and Recording!

Your Deck Company installs all of our metal post foundations using a calibrated and certified digital torque monitoring system. This system allows us to provide accurate torque installation recordings for our helical pile installations. The majority of our competitors use a differential pressure guage to then convert the pressure into an approximate torque amount. This method of installation leaves a certain margin of error during installation, therefore not accurately providing true load capacities for each pile. Additionally pressure guages are recorded manually by the installer and also leave room for error. Where as our digital monitoring system allows us to digitally record and save all of our installation data. Our installer simply ends the pile installation and the data is already recorded. We then have accurate torque installation values down to the single foot pound of torque. Additionally our digital system provides us with the overall depth of the pile and the angle of inclination the pile was installed at.

Why should I use a helical screw pile instead of concrete?

Will there be soil to get rid of after installation is complete?

Minimal Site Disturbance

When installing a GoliathTech helical screw pile, there is little to no disturbance of the soil or grading. Unlike augering or digging a concrete foundation hole, screw piles do not generate loose soil and in turn keep the site clean. There is minimal to no cleanup necessary after installation and this leads to lower labour, disposal and project costs. No need to spend hours cleaning up loose soil or re-grading. As you can see from the photo below, there is virtually no damage to the grounds.

What if my site has contaminated soil?

What if I have high groundwater?

What type of project can I use GoliathTech helical screw pile on?

Applications

There are an endless amount of possibilities for using a helical screw pile. These metal post foundations offer support for residential, commercial, agricultural and marine applications.

GoliathTech specifically has an exclusive head connection system that also provides uplift resistance for your projects. This exclusive head connection further increased the areas in which a screw pile can be used.

A few examples would be: Signs, Boardwalks, Bridges, Decks, Fences, Additions, Mobile Homes, Bollards, Cell Tower support, Underpinning Homes and buildings, Solar, Lamp Posts, Soil Retention, Flags, Cottages, Solariums, Garages and much more

Additionally in Marine application for projects such as Docks, Boat Houses and buildings close to the shore line.

What if my project is in a remote location?

Are helical screw piles expensive?

Budgeting your projects

This is a tough question to answer due to a wide variety of factors. Generally speaking in most instances a GoliathTech screw pile will work out to be less expensive than installing concrete foundations.

There is no soil to have to dispose of after installations. there is no need for any concrete form work to be done. Work can start immediately after installation leading to faster job completion times. No waiting for a building inspector or concrete truck to show up.

What happens if you hit a rock?

What are helical screw pile extensions and why would I need them?

Helical Pile Extensions.

Extensions are additional lengths of pipe that we add to the lead section of the helical pile. The main initial pile is 7ft long. Some foundations need to go down deeper than 7 ft so in those cases we would add on an extension.

Why would it need to go deeper than 7ft?

In certain pile installations we have a specific load criteria that must be met. So if for example we have a pile that needs to generate 2500 ftlbs of torque and at 7 ft of depth we only have 1800 ftlbs of torque. At that point we need add an extension on so that we can contiure going deeper until we reach a minimum of 2500 ftlbs of torque. It is impossible to tell prior to installation if extensions will be required unless soil testing is done first.