Guides & News
Practical advice, maintenance guides, and local foundation news from the team at Chinook Piling. Stay informed and keep your foundation sound.
What Are Screw Piles? A Plain Explanation
Screw piles, helical piles and helical piers are the same thing. What they are, how they work, how long they last, and what they are used for.
Screw Piles for Fence Posts and 6×6 Posts
Why fence and pergola posts heave in Calgary clay, when a screw pile is worth it over concrete, and how post brackets actually attach.
What Is Torque Monitoring, and How Much Weight Can a Screw Pile Support?
Installation torque correlates to bearing capacity, which is how a helical pile proves what it carries. What to ask for.
Calgary Clay, Cochrane Till, Canmore Bedrock: Why Ground Changes the Foundation
Four kinds of ground within an hour's drive, and what each one does to a pile. Why a fixed depth specification is a poor substitute for measurement.
Do You Need a Permit for a Deck in Calgary?
Height above grade and attachment to the house are the usual triggers — and the rules differ by municipality. How to check properly.
How Many Screw Piles Does a Deck Need?
Pile count comes from beam span and load, not deck size alone. Typical counts by deck size, plus the three things that change the answer.
Can Screw Piles Be Installed in Winter?
Frozen ground is not a barrier, and winter is often the easiest time to book. What changes, and why December is a good time to quote.
Can You Install Screw Piles Yourself?
For sheds and ground-level decks, often yes. For anything attached to your house, no — and the reason is torque verification, not gatekeeping.
Does Home Depot Sell Screw Piles? (And Will They Work in Calgary?)
Yes — Pylex screws are on the shelf for about $43. What they suit, and the Calgary-specific reason they are often not enough.
Bowing Basement Walls: What Causes Them and How They Are Fixed
Why basement walls bow on the prairies, how much movement matters, and an honest comparison of the four repair methods — including the two we do not do.
Deck Blocks in Calgary: When They Work and When They Heave
Precast deck blocks sit on the ground, and in Calgary the ground moves. When blocks are the right call, when they are not, and what to use instead.
Concrete Footings, Piles and Piers: What the Words Actually Mean
Footing, pier, pile, caisson, grade beam — five words for things that are not the same. What each one does, and which one your project needs.
What Are the Downsides of Screw Piles?
Rocky ground, engineering requirements, corrosion and the jobs they are simply wrong for. An honest account from a company that installs them.
Screw Piles vs Concrete: An Honest Cost Comparison
Concrete looks cheaper on materials. Once you add excavation, spoil removal and curing time, the comparison changes — and sometimes concrete still wins.
Sonotubes in Calgary: What a Poured Deck Footing Actually Costs You
Cardboard tube, bag of concrete, a hole below frost. The material cost is low and the real cost is somewhere else — here is the honest accounting.
How Deep Do Screw Piles Go in Alberta?
Frost depth, competent strata, and why torque — not a tape measure — decides when a screw pile is deep enough in the Calgary area.