Introduction
Over the past few years, screw pile foundations have become increasingly popular. Due to their long life, their ability to be recycled and reused repeatedly, they have become the most sustainable solution for project foundations. They also bring benefits within their installation, saving enormous amount of time in comparison to their concrete alternatives.
But not all screw pile footings offered in Denmark are the same. The most common is the classic ‘conical’ design being sold in most of the companies. But that’s where GroundPlug brings the revolution. We bring you the GroundPlug ‘Twister’ piles. These piles were developed and designed by industrial engineers who created a unique, one-of-a-kind solution. The goal was to develop a solution for an even more efficient and faster installation process. But let us dive into the differences between the two types and see how they compare in design, installation process, and price.
Design
Conical Piles
This is the type of screw piles that are most common; the regular type of screw pile that is offered in the UK and all over the world.
This is the type of screw piles that are most common; the regular type of screw pile that is offered in Denmark and all over the world.
GroundPlug® TwisterTM Screw Piles
We are constantly growing and wish to offer our customers the best solution for any purpose, no matter if it’s for residential or industrial use. That is why we have the largest assortment of products in the world, consisting of more than five product series.
As opposed to the conical piles, our ‘Twisters’ come in a cylindrical shape, surrounded by a spiral which twists up almost to the top of the pile. They are produced in our own European production facilities from high-strength galvanized steel which makes them a 100% recyclable foundation material.
Our screw piles standardly include a separate ‘L’ bracket, but it is possible to get it with the ‘U’ bracket, which is the best solution when you are building, for example, a carport. As you can see in the picture, the design is much slimmer than any other screw piles on the market and there are reasons for its innovative design, which we will talk about in the following section.
Installation Proccess
Conical Piles
To install a conical pile, there is some preparation needed. First, you need to make sure you get your measurements right. As they come with a ‘U’ bracket, each single screw pile must be installed and levelled very precisely to align to the beam. So as the saying goes: “Measure twice, drill in once”.
Secondly, due to its design, you cannot simply ‘screw’ it into the ground. You need to create space in that ground, which takes some pre-drilling with a spike hammer. Afterwards, you take the pile and try to screw it in first using only your hands, after which you use first one lever and then a lever extension.
Finally, you need a large-scale impact driver or specialized drilling machine with a stabilizing arm to complete the installation of the screw pile. This process must be repeated for every single screw pile. It can take roughly 15 to 20 minutes to install one, from beginning to end.
How many piles you need, and which kind, depends on you project design, and your vertical and horizontal weight load put on your project. These piles are suitable for most constructions.
GroundPlug® TwisterTM Screw Piles
You might already have picked up all the smart benefits of screw piling in general, but when you thought you could not get more benefits from these smart foundations, GroundPlug has something extra to offer. Our purpose was to give every builder in the industry a way to be more efficient in their work. For them to build more and dig less. So, we put years into developing and innovating the GroundPlug Twister design.
While with regular screw piles you must watch out for getting the measurements exactly right, you will not need to worry about that with ‘Twisters’. Due to the ‘L’ bracket and the flexibility of the design, you actually reverse the installation process, making a significant reduction in time spend on measuring, installing and levelling each foundation.
You simply put together your frames, level the frame with pavers and wedges and you won’t have to level each foundation exactly. How? Because you side mount your GroundPlug screw piles using an L-bracket, placing the screw piles alternately on each side of the beam to achieve the needed support.
Because of its lighter design, GroundPlug Screw Piles require minimal preparation for installation. No more pre-drilling, no heavy tool dragging. You only need an impact wrench that can be handled by anyone, anywhere, anytime. As the design allows almost no resistance from the soil, it takes about 3 to 5 minutes to install a ‘Twister’.
In comparison to the conical piles, if you had one and the same deck project, you would typically choose more, but smaller foundations than with conical piles to support your load. As often the support requirements of the beam structure become the determining factor rather than the load, the option to use more smaller screw piles will be the cheaper alternative.
Value for money
So how do you compare these two different types of screw piles to determine which is the best choice? It’s a bit like with insurances, there are quite a few factors, and you can’t compare apples to oranges so to speak. Instead, we can simply say that you get more load capacity for your money and a much faster installation process using GroundPlug.
| Conical Piles | GroundPlug® TwisterTM Screw Piles |
|---|---|
|
Cone like shape (narrowing design) V |
Cylinder like shape (straight design) II |
|
Made from steel |
Made from steel |
|
Most have standard welded-on ‘U’ bracket. Some brands have a selection on connections to choose from. |
Small series comes with ’L’ or ‘U’ bracket. Heavy duty series also comes with an array of connections – some with several adjustment options. |
|
Wider tube |
Thinner tube |
|
Soil preparation needed |
No soil preparation needed |
|
Heavy tools needed |
No heavy tools (only an impact wrench) needed |
|
Takes 10-15 minutes to install |
Takes 3-5 minutes to install |
|
Lower number of piles needed |
Higher number of smaller (thus easier to install) piles needed |
|
Longer and more labor-intensive installation |
Faster and easier installation |
|
Bears the same weight capacity for a higher price |
Bears the same weight capacity for a lower price |
GroundPlug® TwisterTM Screw Piles
We at GroundPlug® Easy Mounting SystemTM provide engineered screw pile foundations for residential use. The GroundPlug® Easy Mounting SystemTM is a no-dig, no-pour, screw pile footing solution, designed to make the foundation process much faster and more efficient.
GroundPlug® TwisterTM screw pile footings can be used for a number of outdoor structures, including deck footing, greenhouse footing, shed footing and foundations for granny flats, small cabins, pergolas, retaining wall, arbors and more.
FREE ENGINEERING SERVICE
Are you set on building a deck? Are you thinking of choosing a screw pile footing for your project? Foundation installation for decks has never been so easy. Just fill in the form and we will pre-calculate your foundations needs and send you a quote within 24-48 hours. Offer accepted? We’ll draw up your plan sketch and ship out your screw piles directly to the building site, your home or your office.
