HOMEPILE
Piling in Pietermaritzburg

Jacking has since become a standard practise to stabilise buildings that have cracked. The use of piles to support structures is common practice, but is hampered by the standard means of pile driving. The nature of standard piling equipment prevents piles being driven beneath existing structures and in small spaces. The use of HomepileAfrica’s revolutionary equipment allows 165mm diameter steel piles to be placed in small and restricted areas as well as in difficult conditions. Firmapile’s system is a smaller version of the huge augured concrete pile that is more commonly used on large construction sites. The difference is that the equipment used by Firmapile can be carried into a building through the door, or onto hard to reach sites with ease, and the entire job can be done quickly and easily. Piles placed in new already dug foundation trenches, makes Firmapile’s system extremely versatile. Firmapile’s system has been extensively and successfully used over the last 30 years in soil conditions such as turf, clay, collapsible soil, dolomite and sea sand, as well as in water e.g. It has proven itself to be incredibly versatile and can be used in virtually any conditions, eliminating the need for large rigs and extensive platform preparations as well as massive transportation costs. The process involves the use of pneumatic and hydraulic equipment to drive steel sleeves to refusal by means of displacing the soil, the equipment used to do this operates at high ramming capacities. The steel sleeve is then reinforced with concrete to take loads of 20 tons tested and guaranteed. This piling system has proved to be an immense success over the past years both locally and internationally. Even with the incredible versatility of the Firmapile system, the company is not limited to small household contracts. Clustering piles together to take the loads required for multi storey buildings, is a common practise for Firmapile, and fast becoming a trusted and reliable method of stabilising large structures. In fact Firmapile is often called in after traditional piling methods fail.