Pilings

[Worker]

Anyone out there ever use a "water lance" to water wash pilings into the sand? I've used a garden hose, attached to the end of posts, to sink the posts 3-4 feet. However, I need to get pilings down about 8 feet for support of a free-standing, 2 story deck. When I built my home, I had a soil engineer conduct borings to determine the suitability of the sand for a slab home. He bored 15 feet, all sand. He said it was fine for slab construction. Anyway, after the pilings are in I will provide diagonal bracing to keep the deck from moving laterally and I will check with local building codes. I'm aware of sevaral fatalities caused by deck collapses, mostly due to inadequate ledger anchors. I'm not able to get a convential pile driver into the back yard and I want to avoid the vibrations close to my house anyway. The pilings will not be exposed to the shorline water.

Thanks

[Rich]

Never tried it myself but seen it done on a larger scale so would think it would work - with enough patience.

[DEW29]

Did the soils engineer provide an allowable capacity for your piles or did he only provide info for a slab on grade? If you are providing adequate lateral bracing you may be able to put in a shallower concrete foundation to achieve bearing required. How close to the coast are you?