FAQ about piling

Q.  What areas of the country do MK Piling cover?

MK Piling (North West) is a national company employing over 20 piling teams - we can provide piling services anywhere in the UK.

Initially we need to see either your architect's plans or structural engineers drawings. We can send a quote based on these. We can also come out to see you and collect drawings.

Q.  How long will the work take?

To install the piles and foundations on a typical house extension can take 2-3 days. Drop weight rigs can install 5-10 piles a day and top drive rigs can install 10-20 piles a day (depends on depth driven).

Q.  Do you do the excavations?

No, unfortunately we do not carry out any groundwork.

Q.  What size trenches need to be dug out?

The size of the trench depends on the size of the ground beam to be installed. For our typical ground beams to an extension an excavation of 600mm deep and 450mm wide is sufficient. Please ring for advice.

Q.  Is a site visit required?

We will always visit the site prior to commencing work. We can come out to see you at any time.

Q.  Do you arrange for pile calculations and design for submission to the local authority?

Yes we can have an engineer produce structural drawings for the piling work. We will submit these to the local authority building control before starting work.

Q.  Do you arrange for visits by the building inspector?

We will arrange for the building inspector to check the work we have carried out prior to pouring concrete.

Q.  Does anybody need to be on site?

As long as the site is set out there is no reason to be on site when we start work. We will arrange a visit to site before we start to check for any problems.

Q.  Do you mark out the piles?

No. We ask that the builder/contractor set the piles out. The main reason for this is that the pile location is directly related to the lines of the building. These details are known by the builder/contractor.

Q.  Do you need any water or electric?

No. Everything we need is carried around in the back of our vans.

Q.  How long is it before you can do the job?

Generally there is a wait of between 2 to 4 weeks before we can start work after receiving an order.

Q.  Does your quote include VAT?

Most of our quotes are subject to VAT. In some circumstances such as domestic new build properties no VAT is charged.