Screw piles for brokerswood holiday lodges

Knowledge Base

The sustainability of ground screw and screw pile foundations

Driven into the ground using specialist equipment, ground screws and screw pile foundations avoid the damage caused by heavy excavations, the hassle of removing spoils from the site and, most importantly, reduce the environmental impact of pouring concrete.

RADIX Ground Screws and Screw Pile Foundations contain less than half the embodied carbon (CO2e) than equivalent concrete foundations.

Not to forget, steel can also be recycled without losing any of its core durability or structural integrity, supporting a circular economy.

A real environmental example

The following demonstrates the comparison of concrete and ground screws to create the foundations for a 4.0m x 5.0m timber building installed in a plot of relatively flat land with good ground conditions. The impact on the environment of using concrete versus screw piles is clear.

Concrete Foundations

A traditional base made of 16 x 0.125m3 concrete piers would use 2m³ or 4.8 tonnes of concrete - and requires a lot of digging!

The average embodied carbon in concrete is 358kg per 1m³, therefore the average CO2e = 716kg ¹.

Ground Screws

Alternatively, 16 RDX PRO 76mm x 1250m ground screws, each weighing 10kg or 160kg total, will produce a solid foundation without digging or damage.

The average embodied carbon in steel is 1850kg per tonne*, therefore the average CO2e = 296kg ²

Avoiding cement and concrete foundations

Up to 10%

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world, responsible for 6-10% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. ³

Pouring carbon heavy concrete foundations

2.8bn tonnes

The volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced annually by the cement industry alone. By 2030, it is predicted that this could rise to 4.8 billion tonnes. ⁴

50% less CO2e

As demonstrated above, RADIX Professional Ground Screws contain less than half the embodied carbon (CO2e) than an equivalent concrete base.

Sources

1 https://ice.org.uk/
2 https://worldsteel.org/
3 https://materialspalette.org/concrete/
4 https://2ea.co.uk/concretes-colossal-carbon-emissions/

Screw pile foundations for holiday lodges in forest

Concrete Alternative Foundations
Overcoming challenging ground with minimal impact on our planet

Projects being installed in more challenging locations, with areas of sloping or soft ground, will require heavier excavations and significantly more concrete. In many instances, the project might not be possible at all.

Ground screws and screw piles can access remote and hard-to-access locations and bring up levels quickly with minimal impact by simply selecting longer screws.

They can also be built on immediately after installation, so they not only save the environment, they will save you time.