Why are screw pile foundations the best choice for your garden room?

Here at eDEN Garden Rooms, our main concern is delivering a consistently exceptional standard of quality for each and every garden room we create. This begins from the moment we meet you for a consultation and runs through the entire project; from the materials we use, to the techniques we implement, and of course the team of specialists who design and build your new garden room.

One of our other great passions and company values is delivering this high standard whilst being respectful of the environment, and our team continue to strive to find solutions that are both ecologically friendly and exceptionally efficient.

One area that we are often asked about is the foundations of a garden room; what do we use and why, and how does this affect the stability and longevity of your garden room? In this post we aim to answer all of these questions and explain exactly why we use screw pile foundations, as well as their many benefits to your garden room construction.

First of all, what is a screw pile?

A screw pile is a giant screw (around 890mm long) which winds into the ground using a portable hand drill. This is the same technology which you may have seen being used on large-scale construction projects (where the hand drill is replaced by a gigantic crane) but the technique can be applied to smaller-scale projects, with the same benefits.

How does a screw pile work?

The screws are placed into the ground at regular spacing from one another, and the average garden room project would require around 20 of them. As our construction team wind the screws into the ground, they gain tension, creating a strong and sturdy base from which to build upwards with a timber frame. Each screw can hold around 7 kN (kiloNewtons) of construction.

What are the benefits of screw pile foundations?

1. Screw piles can be used on uneven ground, without the need to dig down (which requires more machinery, man-power and budget, and is extremely intrusive to your garden). By implementing the first screw at the highest point, our team use a level to match this height on all the other screws, creating an even base for construction.
2. Screw piles are ecologically friendly. Here at eDEN Garden Rooms we avoid using concrete whenever possible (with special exceptions only when conditions require). Not only is it very time consuming, with drying time affecting project timelines, but filling your garden with concrete is also bad for the environment (and all the lovely ecosystems which also call your garden home!). Screw piles have a much lesser impact on your garden and are therefore a more ecologically friendly approach.
3. Screw piles are far less intrusive and less damaging than other methods. For example, if your project needs to pass through tree routes, using slim screw piles which have a small surface area will cause minimal damage, avoiding the need for digging and often meaning that beloved trees can remain intact.
4. Screw piles are lightweight and accessible. Because they are implemented using a portable hand drill, we can install them even in homes where there is no, or limited, side access to the garden. They can be carried carefully through your house by our team, and we won’t need to bring a digger onto your lawn.
5. We can implement screw piles year-round. By eliminating the complications caused by using concrete, we are much less reliant on dry weather to be able to get cracking with your project. We install projects around the calendar in every season, and our professional team have battled heatwaves and snowstorms to make sure that every project we undertake is completed on time and to the same high standard.
6. We can install screw piles quickly with our in-house team. We are always happy to sub-contract work to specialists if it is required, but as we own our own machinery for screw pile installation, we can do all of the work in-house. This helps us to keep control of the entire construction process, and also allows us to work to faster timelines, with more flexibility.

If you would like to learn more about the specification we use for our award-winning garden rooms, why not take a look at our Quality page which explains in detail all of the high-spec features that come as standard with an eDEN Garden Room.

For all garden room enquiries, please get in touch with our friendly and knowledgeable team on 0800 0935 339 or email info@edengardenrooms.com.