Pylex pilings

[1roddy]

If anyone cares, I HIGHLY recommend the Pylex pilings for footings for a deck or other similar construction project.

Put a 6' x 1/2" piece of rebar down around five and a half feet with a sledge hammer, and then the piling over that (piling is hollow). Used a 3/4" impact with an adapter made to fit in the top of the pilings to get them started, and then when it struggled, took the impact off, put the cap back on the piling and used a 2 x 4 to get it down the rest of the way. Got 18 of them in about five to five and a half feet in under four hours including breaks. Cost me around a thousand bucks. MUCH cheaper than the $5100 quote for a similar product with the same weight load capacity.

Has the deck heaved at all? I'm also in northern ontario. Thanks!

 

[Bronco82]

The deck hasn't heaved. Still impressed with how they went in and how they are holding up, even after the excessive snowfall winter we had.

A co-worker of mine is using them for his deck, but having a hard time finding the 6x6 saddles for on top as they only come with 4x4 saddles.

 

[Cord]

They're a type of helical pile. I've had them on a few problem projects as their versatility can often solve issues that otherwise has no solution. Need to increase the load bearing capacity for a pad footing in an existing basement under a building with very tight clearances? Run in a couple helical piles and pour a new pile cap; problem solved. The greatest issue is to calculate the load on the piles and the bearing capacity of your soil. As this product is being directed towards a residential market, the manufacture has probably created convenient reference charts to follow. I'd have no hesitation to use them on my house.

btw - utility pole guy wires are connected to a helical pile. It's just that these are designed to function in tension instead of compression so the drive rod is thinner.