Driven piles, are a commonly-used form of building foundation that provide support for structures, transferring their load to layers of soil or rock that have sufficient bearing capacity.
Driven piles are commonly used to support buildings, tanks, towers, walls and bridges, and can be the most cost-effective deep foundation solution. They can also be used in applications such as embankments, retaining walls, bulkheads, anchorage structures and cofferdams.
A driven pile is a long, slender column made of preformed material and having a predetermined shape and size that can be installed by impact hammering or vibrating into the ground to a design depth or resistance. If the soil is particularly dense, pre-drilling may be required to enable the pile to reach the design depth.
Driven piles are very adaptable and can be installed to accommodate compression, tension or lateral loads, with specifications set according to the needs of the structure, budget and soil conditions.
Some advantages of driven piles, is there is less trades and personnel associated with the final foundation, an example being there is no need for cages, concrete, spoil removal, dewatering or any kind of liners that would normally be associated with a bored foundation.
However this does not make it suitable for all projects.
