Repair and restoration may be necessary for any type of foundation: even tape, even columnar or pile. The tape can crack, the columnar skew sideways, and the block can fall into separate blocks. Repairing the foundation with screw piles is the only way to fix one of these problems in an emergency and save the house from destruction. In addition to the speed and ease of installation, screw piles are also distinguished by their strength and durability, which will allow to operate the repaired building for many years to come.
Definition and selection rules for screw piles
The screw pile has the form of a metal tube with a cone-shaped tip to which a blade is welded for screwing into the ground. The pile must be protected from corrosion, for which it is treated with enamel.. The best anti-corrosion coating is galvanizing. In addition to resisting corrosion, such screws are not erased when screwed into the ground.
The best choice is a screw pile with a cast tip coated with hot-dip galvanized on the outside and inside. Naturally, this type is much more expensive, however, this purchase is justified, given the durability of the building for decades.
Advantages and disadvantages of technology
The reconstruction of the foundation with screw piles is easily carried out independently without the use of special construction equipment. The total cost of the pile-screw foundation approximately corresponds to the cost of only the installation of the tape type of the base.
Screw piles can be installed on any type of soil, which cannot be said about any other type of foundation. The entire laying of the foundation takes a week on its strength, and a professional builder will cope with this task in a matter of days.
The technology also has its drawbacks, among which:
- the need for careful and thorough calculations: if you make a mistake in them, the building is highly likely to deform due to uneven settlement;
- if you use low-quality material of screws and fasteners, the result will be the same.
Thus, both shortcomings can easily be avoided if you carefully consider the design and construction.
Necessary materials and tools
The first thing that will be needed in the process of restoring the foundation of a house using screw piles is the screws themselves. What kind of screws are worth choosing, we already know, so it remains only to calculate their required number. Piles are installed every 2 meters, i.e. if the dimensions of the building are 6x6 m, then the screws, respectively, need 12. To be sure, you can use the services of specialists in the sale of construction products, and they will calculate the right amount for you.
In addition, you will need:
- I-beams;
- channels;
- trowel;
- a hammer;
- shovel;
- jack;
- tape measure, construction level and ruler;
- welding machine.
Foundation reconstruction steps
The following stages of restoration of the pile-screw foundation can be distinguished:
- The first stage - laying under the base of I-beams (on which piles are subsequently attached), cut to the size of the base, taking into account a small margin. Beams should run in parallel, coinciding with the main supporting structural elements along the edges and the center of the building.
- The next stage is the lifting of the old building with a jack and the screwing of screw piles.
- After this, the process of directly screwing the screws into the ground so that they are reliable support for the beams begins.
- The last stage is the landing of the house on an updated foundation, the dismantling of the remains of the old foundation and the binding of the pile-screw foundation.
The final step provides the strength and strength of the entire building. There are two options for foundations for strapping: without a head and with a head.
If the foundation is tied with a metal profile, welding at the ends of the pipes is necessary, and if it is tied with a bar, there are enough bolts, screws and special fixing studs.
Thermal insulation
Warming the foundation on piles is easily done with your own hands. For this, the builder needs only good materials.
There are several stages of the work on thermal insulation of the base:
- Waterproofing grillage (construction connecting all piles together). First of all, you need to lay the roofing coat at the place of joining of the grillage and the walls. All metal elements are necessarily treated with a water-repellent solution, and all wooden elements are treated with an antifungal drug.
- Installation of wooden, brick or metal oblique (partition filling the space between piles). In the future, pick-up will protect the foundation from adverse weather conditions, acting similarly to a base.
- Insulation (polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam, foamglass, etc.). The insulation material is attached to a special glue.
- Base trim and powdering the entire structure from the inside with expanded clay, crushed stone, gravel or just the remaining soil.
Repairing the foundation with screws is considered one of the most economical, but extremely effective methods for emergency replacement of an old or deformed base. Repair can be done both with your own hands (it’s best to do this if the house is wooden), and with the help of specialists (sometimes you can’t do without their services, special equipment and tools).