DrHurthing
Mechanical
Thanks in advance. I posted this over in foundation engineering, but I figure some of you guys don't read there.
I'm in my last year of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, so this is not my direct area of study.
My family and I began a small residential pile driving company. I've been studying up on the pile driveing and what we do is really simple. However, everybody seems to argue which way is the "proper" way to drive a timber piling.
Around here, people say to drive the big side down (butt is big side right?). This is for better bearing capacity in soft bottoms and so the ice doesn't pull the pile up when the tide changes. Others say put the skinny side down (tip?).
Most of the places we drive piles have soft bottom and we never hit rock. However, some places are hard sand with some river rock. One customer has pilings that fell over because the previous contractor only got them in 4 feet (looks like he was starting to split the top of the piling). I want to do the job right.
We have a hydraulic hammer that was made by some backyard guy, but it is used by several people (marinepiledrivers.com). I figure my two options are to either bore a hole or put a metal tip on the bottom of the pile. I'm rigging up a post hole digger from a bobcat as we speak and hopefully that will work.
As far as metal tips, I found that they make pointed ones that require cutting a point in the pile and flat round ones that just slip over bottom of the pile. In what instances is each one used and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Is there any suggested reading on this topic?
Lastly...pile or piling hahaha.
Thanks,
Jay
PS GO HOKIES!
I'm in my last year of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, so this is not my direct area of study.
My family and I began a small residential pile driving company. I've been studying up on the pile driveing and what we do is really simple. However, everybody seems to argue which way is the "proper" way to drive a timber piling.
Around here, people say to drive the big side down (butt is big side right?). This is for better bearing capacity in soft bottoms and so the ice doesn't pull the pile up when the tide changes. Others say put the skinny side down (tip?).
Most of the places we drive piles have soft bottom and we never hit rock. However, some places are hard sand with some river rock. One customer has pilings that fell over because the previous contractor only got them in 4 feet (looks like he was starting to split the top of the piling). I want to do the job right.
We have a hydraulic hammer that was made by some backyard guy, but it is used by several people (marinepiledrivers.com). I figure my two options are to either bore a hole or put a metal tip on the bottom of the pile. I'm rigging up a post hole digger from a bobcat as we speak and hopefully that will work.
As far as metal tips, I found that they make pointed ones that require cutting a point in the pile and flat round ones that just slip over bottom of the pile. In what instances is each one used and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Is there any suggested reading on this topic?
Lastly...pile or piling hahaha.
Thanks,
Jay
PS GO HOKIES!