Three Reasons Why Steel Piles Are Better than Concrete

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Harry's Home Improvement Blog

Hello, my name is Harry and this is my home improvement blog. Welcome! On this blog, I will be discussing many different home improvement and construction topics. I should explain that I am not a professional contractor. However, I have just come to the end of a home renovation project which took over 2 years to complete. During that time, I worked with dozens of different contractors in order to get my house into shape. I have spent hours working alongside plumbers, electricians, surveyors and roofing specialist. I learnt so much about their different trades that I decided to start this blog.

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Three Reasons Why Steel Piles Are Better than Concrete

22 October 2018
 Categories: Construction & Contractors, Blog


The structural integrity of your entire home depends on the strength of the foundation. When the foundation is well installed, the whole home will be stable for many years. On the other hand, if there are problems in the installation of the foundation, signs like new cracks, doors and windows that will not open as they did before and walls that are separating from each other will start to affect your building. The best way to handle potential foundation problems is to create a good foundation when building the first time around. However, even if you did not build the house in the first place, it is still possible to repair a foundation that has weakened. Concrete and steel piles are two of the most commonly used foundation repair materials. Here are some reasons why contractors choose steel over concrete.

Easy installation

Steel piles do not need to be massive in diameter to give your foundation the amount of support that it needs to stop sagging and cracking. They also come ready to install, which reduces preparation time. The process of fixing them merely involves digging around the base of the building to access the foundation and then installing the pilings. 

Provision of high stability levels

Another benefit that comes from the use of steel over concrete is that steel provides more stability than concrete. Steel piles can reach deeper than their concrete counterparts. If your house is standing in deep soils that are highly unstable, this is the best material for piles. Steel piles can provide high levels of stability even when the foundation is moving a lot. 

Minimum invasion

One of the things that people worry about when repairing their foundation, especially when the foundation has extensive damage, is the extent of excavation that they will have to do around their home and how much it will destroy the elements such as landscaping. Other foundation types might cause extensive damage to the structure of the house, but steel piles are minimally invasive. When experts handle the installation, they interfere very little with the external construction of the home.

These are three of the reasons why steel piles are better than concrete. However, this does not mean that steel will be perfect for all installations. If a foundation is having minor problems and the soil is not very unstable, you could use concrete instead of steel. Steel is durable, but it comes at a cost. The strength of the strong foundation will be worth the price paid for it if you use steel.