Deck
Screw Piles
Fort McMurray Screw Pile Pros
Fort McMurray Screw Piles for Decks
When considering a foundation option for your deck in Fort McMurray, Alberta, it is important to consider the climate and soil conditions. Fort McMurray experiences cold winters and warm summers, with freeze-thaw cycles that can greatly affect the stability of your deck. Therefore, it’s crucial to have a solid and stable foundation to ensure the longevity and stability of your deck.
Screw piles consist of a tubular steel shaft with a helical blade on one end. The helical blade, or helix, is mechanically screwed into the ground. The helix of the screw pile transfers the load from the pile shaft to solid soil deep in the ground, well below the frost line. Helical piles offer excellent stability and are great to use in the Fort McMurray area because of the varying soil conditions of clay, silt, sand, and gravel. Screw piles are particularly useful in areas where the soil is difficult to dig or has poor load-bearing capacity.
The Fort McMurray Screw Pile Pros will consider factors such as soil composition and frost depth, and along with their extensive knowledge of the Alberta Building Code, we will guide you in selecting the best foundation option for your deck project in Fort McMurray.
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Fort McMurray's Helical Deck Pile Installer
- Superior to concrete deck piles in every way
- CCMC Certified and Alberta Building Code Compliant
- No excavation required with no fill to haul away
- Specialized equipment able to access most backyard gates
- No frost jacking or heaving
- Quick and noninvasive installations
How deep do screw piles need to go for a deck?
The depth to which screw piles should be installed for a deck foundation in Fort McMurray, or any other location, depends on soil conditions and load requirements. Depending on whether your deck has a roof, walls, is over 6 metres off the ground, or has a hot tube, the applicable Alberta building code requirements for pile load and pile depth will be different. It’s essential to consult with the Fort McMurray Screw Pile Pros or a structural engineer to best determine what those specific requirements for your deck will be.
In general, screw piles for deck foundations are typically installed to a depth below the frost line. The frost line is the depth at which the ground freezes during the coldest part of the winter. Having the screw pile helix below the frost line prevents frost jacking or heaving from happening. In Fort McMurray, the frost line can be quite deep due to the cold climate, typically ranging from 6 to 8 feet below the surface.
To ensure stability and prevent movement caused by freeze-thaw cycles, it’s important to anchor the screw pile’s helix below the frost line using 10′-deep helical piles. This helps minimise the risk of the soil shifting and heaving during freezing conditions.
How to fasten Screw Piles to your Deck?
The laminated beam is the main structural component of your deck. The job of the screw pile foundation for your deck is to hold the load of the laminated beam(s) and transfer that load deep into the ground, well below the frost line. This load transfer is done using screw pile caps.
Screw pile caps are adaptors that are shaped and have holes where lag bolts or screws can be used to fasten the laminated beam(s) securely to the screw pile. The screw pile cap is attached to the helical pile’s shaft. With the pile cap attached to the beam, the load is transferred to the cap and then to the pile shaft and, therefore, into the ground, creating a stable connection that holds downward loads as well as uplift forces from winds. Screw pile caps can be bolted or welded to a helical pile shaft if required. There a several screw pile caps that can be used for deck construction, contact the Fort McMurray Screw Pile Pros to learn what caps are available.