STRUCTURE
Boathouse with no worries with Postech
Building a boathouse is one of the more interesting construction challenges around. While one would think that a boathouse is nothing more than three walls without a floor, the fact of the matter is, providing a stable foundation for a boathouse is a great engineering challenge.
With only a limited amount of shoreline available and the environmental importance of those shorelines, it’s vital that any foundation for a boathouse be environmentally friendly, so as to not disturb the delicate balance of nature along our waterways. The old-fashioned foundation of stone cribbing is anything but good for the environment, and typical concrete piles isn’t much better.
foundation for a boathouse be environmentally friendly
With driven piles, I-beams are driven into the lake or river bottom until refusal. This term either means that the driven piles have reached bedrock, or that they’ve reached a point where there is enough friction that they can’t be moved. However, this can be deceiving, as hitting a large boulder or other overburden can make it appear as if the beam has reached bedrock. Even if they do hit bedrock, corrosion begins working on the beam, weakening it.
The problem with this is that it may not provide a firm foundation for the boathouse, as the driven piles could continue to sink into the overburden over time. This would cause structural damage to the boathouse, eventually ruining it.
Postech Screw Piles, on the other hand, provide an excellent alternative to old driven piles in the case of boathouses, in that they don’t have to reach bedrock in order to provide a secure footing. The design of the Postech Screw Pile provides a wide load-bearing area, well below the part of the river or lake bottom which is softened by the water. Even in cases where the screw pile is only reaching the overburden, the boathouse is anchored firmly, with very little risk of settling.
Postech Screw Piles are protected from corrosion by galvanization. The zinc coating on Postech Screw Piles is not susceptible to rusting like driven piles. The galvanization, which is offered standard on Postech Screw Piles, makes them immune to the normal problems of corrosion.
If you are looking for an environmentally friendly alternative for the foundation of your boathouse, Postech Screw Piles are the best choice. Having a smaller cross-section than driven piles, concrete or cribbing, Postech Screw Piles disturb less the environmental balance of the lake or river bottom than any other option. Existing plant and marine life is able to continue undisturbed, with only the addition of Postech Screw Piles themselves sticking up to support the boathouse.
