As a building contractor in the United Kingdom, there are many building regulations that need to be followed in order to erect a safe structure. Many will say that the rules are restrictive and there are too many of them, but they are there to protect the final customer and the builder alike. Without them, building would be a hazard to the people that live and work in them and also equally dangerous for the people that walk past them every day.
If a new structure needs to be built or a current one added to, 9 times out of 10, planning permission is needed from the relevant council department. It is their job to make sure that building controls are followed and that the structure is strong enough. Piling contractors carry a lot or responsibility because it is their work that supports everything else that is added to a building and that’s a lot of responsibility. A driven pile is a column that is designed to offer support or resistance and it provides many advantages.
1. Piles can be made from a number of materials like concrete, wood, thick steel tubes, H-section or sheet and the wonderful thing is that they can be precast to the exact specifications that you need. This way, there is no second guessing the dimensions of the pile and it is as ordered.
2. They can be constructed in many different sizes, different lengths and different shapes and they are all made before the job begins and so can be used on-site immediately. This speeds up the rate of work considerably and a contractor can stick to the time given for completion within a few days.
3. If the pile is driven into granular soil, then this makes the soil around it more compactable which increases the bearing capacity of the piling itself. This added strength is a real advantage for the building project.
4. Driven piles are preferable over drilling holes in the ground because of the fear of penetrating the water table. And they are also preferred for work taking place over water like in the construction of a jetty, for example.
5. The great thing about driven piles is that they keep their shape throughout the building process and there is no bulging that may affect the safety or reliability of the job. There is no need to wait for the pile to settle when it is driven in and subsequent piles can be put in, in quick succession.
There are many other advantages of driven piling and the list above is not exhaustible. This method has proven itself time and time again to be reliable and cost saving in the UK. The UK construction industry needs to embrace this way as it reduces guesswork normally associated with such things and they provide a reliable and very cost effective way to provide strength and durability. As a contractor and an end customer, this really is the way forward.
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