Design and Construction of Driven Timber Piles and Foundations

Abstract

Timber piles can also be driven for ground improvement, to densify loose granular soils. Although timber piles are rarely used on shore in the UK, in other countries notably the United States, Canada and Australia, they are used widely. For many structures, timber piles are a highly suitable choice of foundation, given appropriate ground conditions. They are economical, easy to transport, handle, cut to length and work with on site; and particularly suited for locations with access difficulties, or where excavations and the delivery of concrete would pose problems. Short, driven timber piles can be the solution for foundations in ground with a high water table, and where firm strata exists below surface material of loose sand, soft clays, or organic soils. In deep silt deposits, where the capacity of the pile is determined by shaft friction, timber piles are especially suitable being tapered and easy to splice. In Sweden and the Netherlands, timber piles are used below the water table, where they have proved practically invulnerable to decay, and extended to the surface using concrete sections. One of the suggested methods of reducing global warming has been to bury timber to create carbon dumps. Using timber for piled foundations would effectively achieve this.