Being based in the North of England means we’re used to working in all weather conditions, but temperatures below 5°C can make piling difficult, as our blog post from 2019 explains:
“During the winter months, it is not uncommon for the soil to freeze and this can make a traditional piling project difficult. After all, the methods used in order to install piles tend to rely on the shifting of soil and this cannot be done when the temperatures fall below zero and cause it to freeze. In addition to this, concrete mixtures may have to be kept at a constant warm temperature until it is used which means that heaters often need to be set up, adding to the expenses of a project. Luckily, helical piles are often suitable for winter piling construction.”
Click here to read the full post on how weather can affect piling
Furthermore, freezing temperatures aren’t ideal for laying concrete either, as this post from Master Mix Concrete explains:
“Freshly laid concrete must be protected from freezing for at least the first 24 hours. Because water is a main component of any concrete mix it is very important that concrete being laid in cold weather is protected as much as possible from freezing after it is poured. If ice forms in your fresh concrete mix it is likely that the expanding water crystals will disrupt the cement’s hydration process, and can cause the concrete to lose up to 50% of its designed strength.”
Click here to read their full post on laying concrete in extreme cold
Having said all of that, there are still some things we can do, like install our pre-fabbed steel cages and splice them together as the team of Danny, Jayden and Wolf did today on this large farm project.
We’ll be back to concrete the project as soon as it warms up later this week!
