What is the Advantage and Disadvantage of Precast Pile Manufacturer

21 Jul.,2025

 

Precast Concrete Pile: Advantages And Disadvantages [Sizes & Cost]

Pile structures are being used for the places where there is weak layer of soil on the surface. Thus, it cannot support the weight of a heavy building structure. It is being used to support concentrated loads like high-rise structures.

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Piles are usually made up of wood, concrete, or steel.

It is also the most well-known and widely used foundation method in the world. It is usually the quickest method and also the cheapest besides the use of wooden piles.

Precast concrete piles have high resistance. Their main benefit is high vertical pile load. The allowable capacities for the concrete piles on design build basis is from 125 to over 750 kips per pile.

Precast concrete piles are reinforced concrete piles which comes in different shapes. They could be circular, rectangular, square, or octagonal shape.

There are two types of precast concrete piles which are as follows:

  • Driven Precast concrete piles
  • Bored Precast concrete piles

These are being used in the foundation of buildings, bridges and marine structures.

The size of the prestressed concrete piles is usually from 12 inch (305mm) 66 in (mm). 12in (305mm) are usually squares piles and are used in the building structures.  66in (mm) diameter are cylindrical piles, used in the marine structures and bridges.

i. The main advantage of the pre cast concrete piles is that these piles compact soil. Thus, it increases the bearing capacity of the soil.
ii. These piles are available in different sizes, shapes, and lengths. They are available at the site according to the need. As a result, it increases the speed of the work.
iii. The position of the reinforcement in the pre cast concrete piles is not disturbed or changed
iv. Pre cast concrete piles have must faster foundation time and highest foundation quality.
v. Pre cast concrete piles are cost effective. These are cheap and suitable to use.
vi. The method to install the pre cast concrete piling is also environmentally friendly.
vii. These are the most economic form of deep foundation and can also be driven underwater.
viii. Pre cast concrete piles have the ability to withstand high pressure vertical loads. They can easily bear high tension loads.
ix. These piles are resistant to the biological and chemical action from the subsoil.

i. Precast concrete piles are heavy in weight. They need special type of equipment for handling. Transportation and driving.
ii. These piles require sufficient care. If it is not provided, these may break during the transport or driving.
iii. These piles need time to be made, which means that these would not be available on short notice.
iv. The length of these piles is adjusted according to the transportation facilities.
v. These piles need extra reinforcement because of the transportation and driving stresses.
vi. If these piles are too long then it would be difficult to transport these. and it will be uneconomical to cut the pile.

If these are used for the larger sections, load will be increased and it can extend beyond 100 tons per pile.

When jetting is required for the installation of the pile, 3 to 4 in. diameter hole is formed along the central axis of the pile.

For more information, please visit Jianhua Holdings Group.

The cost of the concrete piles varies from region to region on the basis of quality. A Chinese company has issued its price for 5-18m Concrete pile $/set.

The Precast-prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) updated in that as the size of the panel increases the cost becomes lower, for example, erection of 100 square feet panel costs about $30 per square foot, whereas 200 square feet panel would cost around $20 per square feet.

The cost of the concrete piles varies from region to region on the basis of quality. A Chinese company has issued its price for 5-18m Concrete pile $/set.

The Precast-prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) updated in that as the size of the panel increases the cost becomes lower, for example, erection of 100 square feet panel costs about $30 per square foot, whereas 200 square feet panel would cost around $20 per square feet.

Some types of hammers which are used for pile driving are:

  • Drop hammer
  • Single acting hammer
  • Double acting hammer
  • Diesel hammer
  • Vibratory hammer

For the installation process, first of all, the site is investigated and then piles are assessed based on strength and compressibility, etc. Groundwater level and artesian characteristics are also checked.

To determine the level of foundation, information is collected from nearby structures and experiences of the piles in the close area. Before the execution of the work, complete working diagrams are prepared.

Pile foundation is a safe, sound, and dependable foundation method; it is also the oldest method. A foundation usually consists of different layers of piles.

Pile is usually selected because of the following properties of the pile:

  • Nature of the Structure
  • Loading Conditions
  • Type of soil and its properties
  • Groundwater Table
  • Facilities for pile driving
  • Maintenance Cost

According to “Michael Tomlinson and John Woodward” (Author of Pile Design and Construction Practice)– Precast concrete piles principle is best suited for the marine structure and also proves very beneficial in the structures where timber piles are likely to be weekend by insects.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF PRECAST ...

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF PRECAST CONCRETE PILES?

Precast Concrete Piles – Advantages & Disadvantages

Precast concrete piles are cast, cured and stored in a yard before they are installed in the field mostly by driving.

Advantages of Precast Concrete Piles

  1. Reinforcement used in the pile is not liable to change its place or get disturbed
  2. The defects in pile can be easily identified after the removal of forms, and these defects (such as presence of cavity or hole) can be repaired before driving the pile.
  3. The cost of manufacturing will be less, as a large number of piles are manufactured at a time.
  4. Precast concrete piles can be driven under water. If the subsoil water contains more sulphates, the concrete of cast in situ piles would not set. Thus precast concrete piles have added advantage in such a circumstance.
  5. Precast concrete piles are highly resistant to biological and chemical actions of the sub soil.
  6. Better quality control can be implemented as compared to bored cast in situ piles.
  7. These piles can be constructed in various cross-sectional shapes such as circular, octagonal or square.

Disadvantages of Precast Concrete Piles

  1. These piles are usually very heavy. So special equipments are required for handling and transportation.
  2. Sufficient care must be taken at the time of transportation, otherwise piles may break.
  3. For embedding these piles in field heavy pile driving equipment is required.
  4. These piles are costly as extra reinforcement is required to bear handling and driving stresses.
  5. The length of the pile is restricted since it depends upon the transport facility.
  6. Once constructed, it is not possible to increase the length of the pile (as per the site demand)
  7. If the pile is found to be too long, during driving, it is difficult and uneconomical to cut. Also cutting of extra length results in the wastage of material.
  8. Driving these piles created a lot of noise pollution.

Reference

Building Construction by Dr. B.C. Punima

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Precast Pile Manufacturer.