We’ve been boggling some minds lately.  The confusion or disconnect usually occurs right after we tell potential customers about Postech Thermal Piles (insulated and galvanized steel screw piles) and how they are unsurpassed in quality and performance.  This claim (which we can back up) always sparks everyone’s favourite follow-up question, “what’s does it cost in comparison to the competition?” Our answer isn’t what most people generally expect; “they are usually cheaper upfront and certainly a huge savings in the long run.”

How could it be?  It just doesn’t make sense, if it’s better it should be more expensive, right?  Let us explain with a few short points:

• Our steel screw piles can be installed by one person using a modified mini-excavator.  Concrete piles require multiple crews and multiple machines, all of which cost money.
• We can install our steel screw piles in nearly all weather conditions; if it’s raining the other guys can’t work, your project gets pushed back and time is money.
• Buy yourself a minimum of 24 hours of productive building time; our piles don’t require curing and can be built upon instantly, again time is money.
• Traditional concrete piles require that a hole is bored in your yard, this brings up the soil and creates a mess known as “tailings”; removal of tailings is an additional cost and sometimes not included in quotes.
• Postech purchases an astronomical amount of steel every year and has excellent purchasing power which translates to savings on product cost.
• Our galvanized steel piles will last at least 200 years; longer than competitors steel piles which are typically painted or untreated and much longer than concrete piers which are expected to last 35-50 years.
• Our innovative insulated design provides unparallelled protection against frost heaving; in 20 years you won’t be calling expensive foundation repair contractors because your building has shifted.
• In the future if you want to remove or replace your structure, our piles can be easily removed, re-used or recycled; concrete requires heavy excavation and land restoration.

So please, don’t be quick to discount our foundation system based on a “the higher priced the foundation the better the foundation” philosophy.  NOT ALL FOUNDATION SYSTEMS ARE CREATED EQUAL!  And, yes with a premium Postech Thermal Pile foundation, you can live the champagne life on a beer budget.

Postech Winnipeg proudly serves Winnipeg and most other Manitoba communities and are considered Cottage Country specialists.  For a free quote for your residential, commercial, industrial or recreational building project, please call toll-free 1(855) 4-PILING (474-5464) or email stan@screwpiling.ca.

Do you have a commercial or industrial building project within the City of Winnipeg or within Manitoba?

Does it make sense to use steel screw piles but you don’t know where to turn for something larger and much more capable than a Ground Hog style anchor?

Guess what?  Postech Metal Foundations has just what you’re looking for!

Postech Winnipeg carries an inventory of 3.5″ diameter steel screw piles which are capable of nearly 25,000lbs (with safety factor of 2.1 to 3).  But, if that’s not enough for your job, Postech can custom order piles 4.5″, 6.58″ and up to 8.58″ in diameter with helicals ranging up to 24″.  Using extensions, we can drive your screw piles as deep as necessary; now that is heavy-duty!

For a free quote on your heavy-duty commercial or industrial foundation, please call (204) 793-0653 or email stan@versapile.com.

Postech Metal Foundations Winnipeg, your “no size of project too small” steel screw piling contractor!

Designed to both anchor and support, helical screw piles are an excellent foundation solution for a wide range of building projects and structures including power lines.  In fact, over the past 10 years and all across the country you are seeing more and more power lines supported and anchored using helical steel screw piles.

A typical tower style power line structure can be effectively supported using 3 to 4 helical screw piles under each of the 4 legs.  I snapped the picture above of power lines being installed on helical screw piles just west of Medicine Hat, AB.  There were hundreds of power lines going in and crews were working through the winter month to install the foundations and structures.  It looked as though the power lines were being supported using 3 helical screw piles under each leg which seemed to be approximately 15 feet each in length.  It would have been great to see galvanized helical screw piles as opposed to the untreated piles which were being used; this would have helped the power line company maximize the life expectancy of each helical screw pile and increase overall ROI (return on investment).

When Manitoba Hydro looked to tackle a major issue with regards to crumbling concrete foundations supporting their power lines, they found that helical screw piles were the solution.  To read an article regarding Hydro’s use of helical screw piles, click on this link:  http://tdworld.com/overhead_transmission/power_firm_foundations_replace/

Postech Metal Foundations Winnipeg offers premium galvanized helical screw pile foundations for all your needs including power line installations!  Call toll-free 1 (855) 474-5464 (4-PILING) or locally (204) 793-0653 for a free quote or to discuss whether or not a premium Postech foundation is right for your building project.

We proudly provide and install premium helical screw pile foundations in the Winnipeg and rural Manitoba areas including Cottage Country!

One question I get asked frequently is why we don’t carry screw piles with the double helix design.  Surely 2 helicals are better than 1 right?  The answer is not always my friends and in most cases, certainly not in Winnipeg.  Let me explain…

Winnipeg is known for it’s “gumbo” like soil, we live on what is considered “expansive clay”.  This means that the moisture in the soil combined with fluctuating temperatures creates soil movement; the area prone to movement is known as the “active zone”.  A reason helical screw piles are so effective against ground movement is that so long as the helical is anchored below the active zone, it will secure the slender pile shaft firmly in place.

If you use a double helix screw pile in expansive clay, it is imperative that BOTH helices be anchored below the active zone, otherwise the pressure created by expansive clay on the second helix could result in heaving.

Some might be quick to say, “no big deal, we will just get both helices below the active zone.”  This may be possible but most likely only through the use of extensions and sometimes even extensions won’t work.

The frost line in Winnipeg is as deep as 8 feet and the “active zone” should be considered at the same depth.  The minimum engineered design requirements of a double helix screw pile dictate that the distance between the helices be a minimum of 3 times the diameter of smaller bottom helix.  Assuming the bottom helix is small and only 8 inches in diameter, you just added 2 feet to your pile.  Since the bottom helix generally ends at or around  6 inches from the bottom of the pile and you need at least 6 inches of pile above grade to allow for heaving, you now require a pile at least 11 feet in length to guarantee that both helices are anchored below the active zone.

Most Winnipeg piling contractors carry a 7 to 8 foot helical screw pile (I don’t agree with this length0 but the odd contractor can order 10 foot piles; as an aside Postech Winnipeg only carries 10 foot piles, click this link to learn why:  http://screwpiling.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/8-foot-ground-anchors-in-winnipeg-why-one-piling-contractor-is-going-with-10-foot-screw-piles/.  I don’t know of any piling contractors in the area who carry 11 foot double helix screw piles.

Here’s more on why I indicated that only sometimes is it possible to anchor both helices on a double helix screw pile below the active zone.  Often very dense soil is found below the active zone.  If the soil is dense enough, the pile will reach “refusal” a short distance below the active zone; at refusal the pile has reached its ultimate depth and can not be screwed down any further.  If the pile reaches refusal before the second helix has passed the active zone, extensions won’t work and your foundation will be at great risk of heaving.

There are additional reasons we do not generally carry double helix screw piles, however under certain circumstances where soil tests have been preformed and the engineers are certain a double helix design will not jeopardize a foundation’s stability, we can custom order double helix screw piles.  Note that load tests have proven that a double helix screw pile and a single helix screw pile both carry equivalent capacity should they reach equivalent torque.

If you are looking for a high quality heave proof foundation, call Postech Winnipeg toll free at 1 (855) 4-PILING (474-5464) or locally (204) 793-0653 or email stan@screwpiling.ca.

We just received our shipment of 6.25″ diameter Thermal Piles.  These piles will be drilled in 20 feet to support a metal ramp along a creek.

If you are looking for a heavy duty steel helical screw pile foundation in Manitoba, Postech Metal Foundations Winnipeg can install high quality heavy duty galvanized and insulated piles just like those above.  Call Winnipeg’s heavy duty piling contractors at 1 (855) 474-5464 (4-PILING) for a free consultation and/or quote.

The question Postech dealers typically are asked by customers when they roll through most residential gates in their modified Kubota mini-excavators is a weary “You’re going to install those big screw piles with that little thing?”

What do you think the reaction was from our most recent customer when we rolled up in 2 trucks, one loaded with 250 lb a piece 6.25″ heavy duty screw piles each 10 feet in length and another trailer sporting our little Kubota?  It was something close to, “Wow, when you said you used a small excavator, I never thought it would be THAT small.”

Not only did we put down the massive screw piles with our puny machine, we did it in a very rocky area… into frozen Winnipeg winter soil – Booyah!

Do you require heavy duty screw piles for your building project?  We provide quick, no obligation and free quotes, visit our website to learn more about screw piles in Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba or call us at 1 (855) 474-5464 outside of Winnipeg or at (204) 793-0653 locally.

Check out the proof by clicking the link to our video evidence or by checking out the pictures we shot of installed screw piles below:

Have you had a look at Winnipeg’s long range weather forecast lately?  All I can say is that from now until March 20th we are in store for higher temperatures than normal – 6 degrees all the way up to 15 degrees Celsius!

What better year to get a jump on the building season?

Have you been losing patience waiting for the weather to clear so you can build that sunroom you’ve been saving for?  Maybe you want to get a jump on the flooding season and reinforce your cottage on a high and dry water-proof foundation?  Or, perhaps you are a contractor who can’t wait to get out the tool-belt so you can put some dough in your wallet.

It might not be concrete season just yet, but we at Postech Winnipeg are chomping at the bit to continue getting some early projects completed.  Just this week we installed 10 custom-ordered massive screw piles for a commercial ramp in Winnipeg (and the weather was nothing like what is in store).

Don’t wait, let’s take advantage of this great weather and get your projects built before the Benjamins even know they’re falling behind.

For the month of March 2012, Postech Winnipeg will even pre-drill through the frozen soil for FREE – you get an off-season foundation for the same price as a regular season foundation. 

Serving Winnipeg, Rural Manitoba, and Cottage Country.  Visit your favourite Manitoba piling contractors online at screwpiling.ca or call us now at (204) 793-0653 in Winnipeg or toll-free 1 (855) 474-5464 (4-PILING).

What would the best piling system for decks look like?

• Installed well below the frost line to eliminate heaving.  With a frost-line as deep as 8 feet, you require a 10 foot screw pile to guarantee the installation.
• Laser leveled foundation to make construction of the deck a breeze.
• High capacity piles which support future plans to enclose the deck or add a hot tub, pergola, etc. (you may not have these plans in mind just yet but you never know).
• Adjustable adapters to get the level perfectly.
• A wide range of adapter heads to allow for a wide range of beam or post sizes.
• Wind lift adapters to secure decks which might be lifted by wind (ie. composite decks that do not have a gap between decking boards).
• Equipment that won’t ruin your landscaped yard / lawn.
• A contractor who understands what it is to provide a superior customer experience.

“Thanks again for installing the screw piles for my deck project. You and your team did a great job today. I was thoroughly impressed with your professionalism and knowledge. I will definitely recommend you to my other sub contractors for their screw pile projects. I look forward to working with you again in the future.” – Ryan Vogelsang, Ryvo Construction

For a premium screw pile foundation for your deck project in the Winnipeg, rural Manitoba or cottage country areas, please call Postech Winnipeg at 793-0653 or toll-free 1 (855) 4 – PILING.

Want to learn more about what Postech screw piles can do for your residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural or recreational building projects?  Check out our website at www.manitobascrewpiles.ca

So you are building a deck and for now it’s just a deck you are building.  What you might not realize is that in just a few short years your backyard ambitions will have grown and you’ll soon be planning to add a screened room, four season sunroom, gazebo or pergola or even a monsterously heavy hot tub to your little old deck.

You’re in luck!  Because you chose a Postech Thermal Pile foundation, your professional and friendly installed provided you with a piling report which looks a little like the one below.

Monitoring our hydraulic pressure during the last few inches of installation, we can consult our engineered allowable loads chart to determine the capacity of each pile.

Our piling reports come in particularly handy when you’re speaking with your permitting office to determine if you can build on your existing deck.

Although our piles are typically over capacity for most decks, if you do still require additional support – not a problem!  Just give us a call and with the temporary removal of a couple deck boards and one or two sections of railing, we can reach over and install additional piles right under your existing deck.

For a superior customer experience, please call Postech Winnipeg at 793-0653 or visit us at www.manitobascrewpiles.ca.  We proudly serve Winnipeg, rural Manitoba and Cottage Country.

“Oh you have pretty much have a Groundhog anchor right?”  That is a question I get all the time here in Winnipeg. My standard answer is, “Yes and no, I would say we are in a completely different league.”  Little league tykes baseball and adult professional baseball are both classified the same sport but there is a significant performance difference between the two.

Fortunately smaller ground anchors have been available in Winnipeg since the mid 90′s and have brought recognition to the concept of screw piles in Winnipeg – unfortunately they have also instilled a very narrow idea of what helical screw piles can be effectively used for.

In some circumstances installers of smaller ground anchors have failed to install piles which can hold the required loads or that are not long enough to anchor below the frost line and many decks, home additions and sunrooms have lifted, sunk or shifted on the systems which have existed until recently in Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba.

Either way both the Postech and smaller ground anchors have some distinct advantages over traditional concrete piers.  Below is a chart which explores and compares each piling system:

Each piling system has it’s merits and no one piling system will be right choice 100% of the time; however there is very little a Postech Thermal Pile can’t do that concrete alternatives can.

Aside from rare circumstances where a location can’t provide a 28″ wide access point, there is really nothing a Postech Thermal Pile can’t do that a smaller ground anchor can.

For more information regarding Postech Winnipeg, please visit:  www.manitobascrewpiles.ca

What better to follow the coldest winter in over 100 years?  A summer with rain, thunderstorms, isolated showers, clouds and October like temperatures.  The result?  Contractors who are busier than ever but who can’t keep up because the weather keeps delaying their projects.

Postech Screw Piles Winnipeg has a foundation solution that can be installed regardless of the weather (we run from lightning).  Our professional installers are amphibious, toughing it out even when the wet stuff is dropping fast and furious. 

We carry plywood for our machine so if your yard is well landscaped we can come in and out without damage.  If your yard is not landscaped and mostly mud, we might leave some marks in the muck but our tracked excavators used to install screw piles, can get in and get the job done.

If you’re a contractor looking to get caught up on your work projects, we can help you get back on schedule.  We pride ourselves in fast turn around times.  Unlike concrete, our screw piles don’t require curing and you can build on them as soon as they are installed. 

For a fast, free, no-obligation quote and lightning fast service and installation even when its wet, call Jeff Lysak at 204.899.3325 or email sales@screwpiling.ca. 

http://www.screwpiling.ca

Is it true?  Does Postech Screw Piles Manitoba and NW Ontario use hovercraft excavators?

One might think this is the case, however the pictures in the slideshow below show Postech’s installers working hard to make it look like an excavator never crossed over the freshly laid paver patio walkway.

There are many reasons to choose Postech Screw Piles for your project, our attention to ensuring as little to no impact to your landscape / property is simply one.

For a fast, free and no-obligation estimate call 204.793.0653 or visit http://www.screwpiling.ca.