[RE-wrenches] helical screw piers

Mon Jan 26 05:06:47 PST 2009

Ken,

We have done a lot of ground mounts
We usually do an excavation at least to frost depth, 4 feet here, and  
then use either sonotubes or big foot tubes if the ground is wet, set  
on a couple of inches of gravel.
We then set a 2" schedule 40 galvanized steel pipe, that has been  
drilled near the bottom and a 6" piece of rebar fastened to prevent  
twisting and pull out,  in each form and build a wooden frame around  
the steel to keep them plumb, square and in alignment.  Then we pour  
concrete and often get charged extra for a small load of concrete.   
We come back and strip the wooden framework and hand grade what the  
back hoe was not able to finish.
With the screw piers it was just myself and the equipment operator.  
No damage to the site.  Ready to go the next day with the mounting racks
They charged us $250 per post, labor and material and engineering.
If we had 20 or 30 posts to set it would either be a negotiated price  
for the whole job or a careful calculation as to the least expensive  
option

Larry

On Jan 26, 2009, at 7:40 AM, Ken Schaal wrote:

> Would you be able to show the cost for those 8 piers??
>
> Did you do some estimates for pole mounts or concrete pier mounts??
>
> Thanks
> Ken
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Larry Brown
> To: info at asappower.com ; RE-wrenches
> Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 7:24 AM
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] helical screw piers
>
> Wrenches,
> We used a company called techno Metal Post   
> ( www.technometalpost.com ) I believe it is a franchise arrangement  
> with the main company in Canada. Here is a business opportunity if  
> a franchise does not exist in your community.
> They are screwed into the ground while hydraulic pressure is  
> applied. We received a stamped engineering report after completion  
> that identified how many posts were set,  to what depth and how  
> much hydraulic pressure had been applied for load bearing capacity
> It requires a special unit designed for this purpose
> We set 8 posts in 2 rows of 4 and then attached a UniRac U-LA  
> Ground Mount racking system for 28 Sanyo 200's
> The posts in this case were 2" schedule 40 galvanized steel pipe  
> ready for the UniRac mounting system
> They also shot the elevation and cut each pipe to the proper height  
> so that the relationship between the front row of pipes and the  
> back row of pipes was set to receive the racking system and then  
> the mounting rails would be at latitude for this site.  We supplied  
> the heights that were required.
> Many other uses for these screw piers.  Pictures on their website
>
> Larry
>
>
>
> On Jan 26, 2009, at 1:48 AM, ASAP POWER! 2 wrote:
>
>> Sounds like we gots to have it.  Larry, any pics?   If I assume  
>> correctly, these are literally screwing into the ground in place  
>> of a concrete footing.  such that you can place/attach a  
>> structural or pipe column or its part of the screw.   I can call  
>> some local rental yards and do some internet searching, but is  
>> there a brand name to the screw, driver, or a specialized 4WD  
>> unit?  How many did you drive for 5.6kW?
>>
>> I had contacted the outfit that advertised on TV/web for a while a  
>> couple of years ago, but wasn't impressed, however, thought maybe  
>> with the right soil it could be exceptional tool for quick guy  
>> wire anchoring purposes for wind towers.   This sounds like  
>> something more substantial.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Peter D.
>>
>> From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re- 
>> wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Larry Brown
>> Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2009 5:58 PM
>> To: RE-wrenches
>> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] helical screw piers
>>
>> Eric,
>>
>> We just used helical screw piers on a 5.6kw ground mount
>> The site was difficult due to its slope and soft because the frost  
>> had come back out after some warm days
>> There was an excellent chance that a concrete truck would have  
>> gotten stuck and a back hoe would have made a mess
>> The 4 wheel drive unit that drives the helical screw piers had no  
>> trouble navigating the terrain, did no damage to the site, was in  
>> and out in less than a day.
>> The piers were in two parallel rows and all were within 1/2" of  
>> our string, though that is in the skill of the operator
>> In very rocky soil it might be more problematic
>>
>> Larry Brown
>> Sun Mountain
>>
>>
>> On Jan 25, 2009, at 8:05 PM, Eric Andrews wrote:
>>
>>> Does anyone have any experience using Helical screw pier footing  
>>> for ground mount racks?
>>>
>>>
>>> Eric
>>>
>>>
>>>
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