architectural structure question
Thread Starter
|
Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,143
Likes: 18
architectural structure question
There's a new building going up nearby my apartment. For the past two weeks they've been pounding what looks like long concrete posts into the ground. I've never seen a building with these polls before. Why pound them in if they could be drilled in? There are a lot of poles, too. I'd say every six feet, maybe about twenty per row. Anyone know what the purpose of these are?
Gone but not forgotten.
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 6,521
Likes: 2
I'm not sure about ND, but in Texas we have soil that is not stable and piles are put down to bedrock or at least deep enough to get past the point of expansion and contraction. I would think that with the temperatures in ND, they also have stability problems. Many homes in North Texas have problems and foundation repair companies do a good business here.
Dono
Dono
New User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 0
Likes: 24
Pounding Concrete posts ?
I've never seen that.
The piles up in this part of the world will pound a 0" slump mixture of concrete into the ground with a huge lead pile driver.
Are these around the perimeter of the site or all over?
They also pound large steel I-beams around the perimeter to prepare for further excavation and need shoring walls to keep the earth from sliding into the job site.
I've never seen that.
The piles up in this part of the world will pound a 0" slump mixture of concrete into the ground with a huge lead pile driver.
Are these around the perimeter of the site or all over?
They also pound large steel I-beams around the perimeter to prepare for further excavation and need shoring walls to keep the earth from sliding into the job site.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 935
Likes: 0
From: TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Originally Posted by dono
I'm not sure about ND, but in Texas we have soil that is not stable and piles are put down to bedrock or at least deep enough to get past the point of expansion and contraction. I would think that with the temperatures in ND, they also have stability problems. Many homes in North Texas have problems and foundation repair companies do a good business here.
Dono
Dono
Still kicking!!
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 6,061
Likes: 6
From: Kalispell, Mt.
Sometimes on unstable land, such as a swampy area, they will drive piles into the ground and build a type of platform on top of the piles to build the building on. I didn't think it was too common a practice though, since the only one I am aware of at this moment is Fort Pulaski National Monument just outside of Savannah, Georgia. It was a fort built in a very swampy area and the architecture was pretty advanced for that time....and after a couple centuries, the fort has not sunk into the mud and is still mostly level. I think you can look it up in a search of National Parks.
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 353
Likes: 0
From: South Dakota
Don't know much about building and engineering. Things I have seen make me wonder if maybe the posts are actually hollow forms that they will drive down to bedrock and then put in the rebar and concrete. Around here when they build some bridges they will drive large I-beams into the ground and keep welding them together until they get to a point where they only move so far in so many pounds.
Trending Topics
FTE Chapter Leader
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 42,772
Likes: 3,170
From: Fraziers Bottom, WV
You are most likely watching them drive extruded steel piles. They are (for the lack of a better description) flattened steel "Z" with a channel on one long side and a ridge on the other. The Piles inter lock with the ridge and channel. They can be driven 10-50 feet in the ground. In some cases they may dig what looks like a basement and then drive the piles or drive them from the ground level. Then they may dig out the inside area to create a basement. The color can be a gunmetal gray, rusted or a combination of the two. I have seen them coated with what looks like white paint but it had fibers in the paint.
They serve several purposes:
1. To stabilize the ground by creating a solid stable wall.
2. To act as moisture barrier with the ridge and channel and the outside can be waterproofed.
3. Structural strength on a concrete floor where a heavy load will be placed.
They serve several purposes:
1. To stabilize the ground by creating a solid stable wall.
2. To act as moisture barrier with the ridge and channel and the outside can be waterproofed.
3. Structural strength on a concrete floor where a heavy load will be placed.
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
Top 6 Best Deals Available on New Fords & Lincolns Right Now
Brett Foote
This Hennessey Takes the Expedition Tremor's Off-Roading Capability to the Next Level
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Fords at 2026 Carlisle Ford Nationals
Joe Kucinski
3 Best / 3 Worst Parts of Modern Ford Ownership
Brett Foote
10 Amazing Upgrades That Solve Common Ford Truck Owner Headaches
Pouria Savadkouei
Every 2026 Ford Engine Explained
Brett Foote
10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Verdad Gallardo
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
From: Central KY
From My Civil Engineering education I have picked up that Concrete Piles can be driven with the appropriate pile cap(cushion) They most likely chose this material because of the rising steel prices. THe reason that they don't drill these in is because the sides of the piles offer significant support when finished through inter-particle friction. On top of this you will most likley see them pour a concrete slab and the piles will serve to prevent the catastrophic effects of surface settlement.
Mill1on
THe type of pile that you refer to is also common, the type chosen has to do with sub surface consistency, economic factors and engineers preference.
Hope Springs Hauler, EIT
Mill1on
THe type of pile that you refer to is also common, the type chosen has to do with sub surface consistency, economic factors and engineers preference.
Hope Springs Hauler, EIT
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 389
Likes: 0
From: Charleston, SC
Originally Posted by drewcoolness99
there was a lady on the news from castle hills, she bought her house for 325,000 2 years later it is worth $0. She said they had never even had water in the pool. But they dind't let the land settle long enough after they flattened everything out there. Theres cracks through out the house. Same thing ios going to happen with the houses they are building behind mine. They can have a plot leveled and and a house built in about a month or less.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post