Business idea: production of screw piles for foundations

Everyone, without exception, dreams of having their own country house, especially since now all kinds of assembly houses are widely represented on the construction market. “I was interested in a 5x4 m frame house with a price tag of only 250 thousand rubles,” Andrey Smirnov from Rostov-on-Don shares his project. - I can assemble such a house myself. Only the fundamental problem stops. Concrete blocks are expensive, troublesome and long. The same is the strip foundation. Isn't there a simple solution - quick, DIY and reliable at the same time? "

It turns out that there is such a solution, and it is popular both in Europe and America. “This is about screw piles for foundations,” writes Mike Hopps of Home Construction in his article “Minimizing construction costs without compromising quality”. - Developers, as a rule, care about their income, and customers - about their expenses. So, in the general estimate for the construction of a private house, 15-17% of the cost of foundation work is included. When screw piles are used, it is possible to keep within 2-3%. "

Based on foreign and initial Russian experience, we decided to talk about one of the ideas for doing business with our own hands - screw piles for the foundation - and how to make money on their production.

The main question of any entrepreneurial endeavor is whether there will be demand for its products. “The topic is, of course, interesting,” says businessman Maksim Nagnibeda. - But will there be demand? That's the question. Our people are conservative, solid, not at home - they are building fortresses with a bomb shelter in the basement. " Of course, there is a fair share of skepticism in the opinion of an entrepreneur. At the same time, customers and independent developers already have a positive experience in using Western construction technologies aimed at minimizing costs in the construction of buildings.

“Why does a house of OSB boards and mineral wool insulation need a powerful foundation? - Explains the expert on construction Rodion Kalanov. - One screw pile with a diameter of 108 mm, depending on the type of soil, is capable of withstanding a load from 3 to 9 tons. Whereas a Canadian house made of SIP panels with a total area of ​​150 square meters weighs no more than 15 tons. If we take into account the level of groundwater and the depth of soil freezing, the foundation made of screw piles will turn out to be even stronger than concrete. "

Thus, screw piles have a quite predictable prospect to fill the niche of budgetary foundations for light private houses. In particular, an analyst at ORFEI agency. td Mark Katz is convinced that this product has all the prerequisites for becoming a hit in the next 3-5 years. “It's a good idea, but it's often discredited by low-quality production. As a result, pipes quickly rust, and the blades sometimes break during screwing in, - says the expert. "However, when the" foam "disappears and responsible producers remain, the demand will be very high."

What you need to know about screw pile manufacturing?

At the same time, the steel grade from which the piles are made matters. In particular, the use of 34NK precision steel alloys can significantly increase the service life of such a foundation. “Don't forget about protecting pipes from rust,” says Rodion Kalanov. - Simple anti-corrosion paint is indispensable here, since during the screwing of the screw pile into the ground, it experiences high abrasive loads. The lining should be used, that is, the application of polyurethane, and the most resistant compounds. "

According to the expert, for this it is necessary to contact firms with special equipment. You can assess the quality of pile protection yourself, and without complex devices. “Usually I unscrew such a pile back and look at the coating,” Viktor Konkov shares his experience. - If the pipe is rubbed to the metal, then we can talk about unsatisfactory processing.

In general, following three simple rules will ensure the high quality of screw piles:

• welding control with ultrasonic flaw detectors;
• use of pipes made of precision steel alloys;
• applying a reliable coating of polyurethane resins.

Why is it profitable to create your own business on the installation of screw piles?

1. Small investments in business organization - from 100,000 rubles.

Depending on your financial capabilities, available equipment and goals, this is from 100,000 rubles. You can start with a smaller amount and develop intensively, quantitatively and qualitatively, the business with investments from profit without attracting additional capital investments. Or, having invested to the maximum, immediately reach the high bar of opportunities and, accordingly, profit. But "Installation for twisting screw piles" (it is also called boream, capstan, svayakrut, yamobur, etc.) produced by WINTTEK in any scenario is the main investment and the guarantee of return on investment. A much smaller result can be obtained by starting with manual screwing of the screw piles.

At your request, we are ready to provide you free of charge "Calculating the cost of organizing a business", which will contain the entire list of equipment, tools, fixtures, what is used for what, estimated cost, etc. down to workwear. You can use it to calculate the costs of several options for organizing a business and choose the most appropriate one for you. To clarify: we do not offer you to buy a franchise (franchising).

Fill out the Feedback Form and your personal free business consultant will contact you and provide you with all relevant information on this issue.

2. Fast payback.

You will not only recoup your investment, but you will also be able to invest in business development in a few months.

After all, if the sale of piles can give a small profit, then on the construction of a pile-screw foundation it can be higher than its cost. Because only twisting the piles costs the consumer from 50 to 100% or more of their price. Plus, all other work is paid separately.

Still, you shouldn't give up those small percentages that you can have in addition to the delivery of high quality WINTTEK products to the customer.

Our business consultant will help you calculate profit on specific examples.

3. Ease of implementation.

After reading the materials of the site, having discussed everything with our business consultant, you will understand that the organization of the business itself, the technologies used, equipment, etc. You can absolutely do it, especially with the help of WINTTEK, because we actually present you with a ready-made business plan, technology and equipment.

4. Growing interest in foundations on screw piles and, accordingly, their sales and installation.

Screw piles are building structures actively used for laying the foundations of buildings, during the installation of power transmission poles, in the process of building ports and bridges. Such systems can be installed in any type of soil, in any weather, with minimal labor force.

Considering the wide scope of application of screw piles, it will be easy to find clients - in every city, whole microdistricts are being actively built up. And where there is demand, there will always be profit. The case is small - to understand the nuances of the planned business and calculate the risks. What is the business of manufacturing and selling screw piles on?

Starting investments - from 2,500,000 rubles.

Market saturation - medium.

Difficulty starting a business - 7/10.

Possible risks when starting a business

Since investments in the company are coming up, you should be aware of all possible financial risks. And here a clear business plan will come in handy, which will include points for analyzing the market and the technology being implemented, and calculating costs.

The only thing that can significantly complicate the sale of finished products is a lot of competition in a particular region.

Therefore, even before you start making blades for piles and the final product, you need to find out:

• Does a particular region need products?
• How many companies already offer these types of products?
• How far are the suppliers of raw materials?
• Will it be possible to find experienced specialists in a particular region to work in the shop?
• How much are wholesale buyers willing to pay for a quality product?

If, according to the analysis, it turns out that the products are not particularly interesting to local builders, then it is better to abandon the idea. There is another option - to invest more funds in the business so that it becomes possible to offer products to neighboring sales markets.

And in order for the price of equipment for the production of screw piles to pay off as soon as possible, you should start looking for wholesale buyers of manufactured products even at the stage of creating a business plan. Then, by the time the workshop is launched, its approximate capacity and profitability will already be known.

What technology is used?

Large screw piles are capable of withstanding enormous loads, they have long been used in the construction of large industrial facilities and hydraulic structures. But this technology has become widespread in our country with the growth of frame housing construction.

• • Ability to do without digging a foundation pit and expensive work on its reinforcement and pouring with concrete, which leads to a serious reduction in the cost of construction.

For comparison, the total cost of foundations for the construction of low-rise buildings is, as a rule, about 20% of the cost of the entire construction. The use of screw piles reduces this figure to 3%.

• The speed of driving the piles into the ground, which can be done manually.
• Ease of screwing piles and low cost of the necessary equipment.
• Production of works for tightening piles does not require the participation of highly qualified workers.

It is pertinent to note that screw piles can also be used for the foundation for brick and monolithic structures, but due to the severity of the structures, the requirements for the strength of the piles and the accuracy of their twisting increase manifold. Therefore, only large companies with a serious production base can work successfully in this area. A small business can effectively engage in the production and installation of foundation piles for frame and wooden houses. Let's consider in general terms what the technology for the production of such piles and the technology for their installation look like.

Pile technology

As a rule, screw piles are made of solid-drawn or welded pipes with a diameter of 108 mm with a wall thickness of 4-5 mm. Then they can withstand a load of 4 to 8 tons, depending on the density of the soil. Their length is set based on the characteristics of the soil at the construction site. Taking into account the fact that the depth of soil freezing in central Russia rarely exceeds 1.5 m, a length of 2-2.5 m in most cases is sufficient. Longer piles are used on unstable soils and in cases where the water level is too close to the surface.

• • First, the pipes are cut into pieces of the required length.
  • Then the lower end of the pipe is processed in order to give it the shape of a cone in one way or another. Often the bottom end is simply cut obliquely to represent a sharp angle, but drilling requires a lot of force.
  • After that, a screw blade is welded to the lower end of the pipe, which is made of a 4-6 mm thick steel strip bent on rollers. Theoretically, such a strip can be bent manually using a template, but in practice only a very good specialist can do this, and the pace of work will be very low.

The pitch of the auger screw depends on the hardness of the soil, the harder the soil, the smaller the pitch. Sometimes the drill head is made separately from a steel circle, which is tapped on a lathe, in which case the thread pitch can be set with great precision. The quality of drilling during installation increases, but its cost also increases by about 1000 rubles. Therefore, its use is advisable only on an industrial scale of production.

• Then the pipe is drilled through in two or three places. A steel rod will then be inserted into this hole to fasten the gate, through which the pile is rotated when it is installed.
• At the upper end of the pipe section, a head is installed, that is, a metal platform with a flange, which is welded or screwed to the pipe. The head serves to support the lower part of the structure of the building.
• At the end of the process, an anti-corrosion coating is applied to the piles.

Eco-friendly timber and frame houses are confidently gaining their place on the market from brick and concrete structures. Lightweight houses have a number of advantages, one of which is lower costs for foundation installation. There is no need to fill in a monolithic or strip structure, a lightweight columnar foundation is sufficient. The simplest and most affordable option that is suitable for any kind of soil is screw piles. The pillars can be easily screwed into the plot to the size of the house and are not afraid of groundwater, soil pressure in winter. Installation of screw piles can bring good money to your organizer if you approach the matter responsibly and draw up a clear business plan.

Business specifics

Screw piles are metal posts with pointed tips (cast or welded) that have helical blades. The piles are suitable for any geodesy and can be easily assembled with a few hands. They can withstand loads up to 2 tons and are not subject to decay. The strapping is made from above, the piles are cemented around, and the foundation is ready. The column is screwed in below the freezing layer. If this condition is not met, then the foundation may skew. Therefore, the installation of screw piles is traditionally trusted by professionals.

Target clients can be private construction companies engaged in timber and frame housing construction, as well as people who want to save money and assemble the project on their own. Business minus in seasonality. In winter, work is 90% less, but over the summer, spring and autumn, you can earn from 1 million rubles.

A screw pile installation company can provide the following services to its customers:

• Layout and calculation of the foundation of screw piles for private housing construction (survey).
• Turnkey assembly work.
• Binding.
• Concreting.
• Preparatory work.

As an additional income, you can offer clients ready-made projects of houses from a bar, rounded logs or frame. For this, an agreement is concluded with a private design company, and you will receive 10-15% of the transaction.

Piles can be purchased from the nearest manufacturing plant or made by yourself. The second option will require investments from 1.5 to 3 million rubles.

Piles are made from a single-piece extended thick-walled pipe. The standard length of the product is 2–2.5 m. But you shouldn't give up expensive non-standard sizes. The price of non-standard poles is 50–70% higher.

For the manufacture of screw piles, you will need a room of at least 300 m2 and special equipment. A ready-made line for the production of screw posts can be purchased for 1.5 million rubles. Raw materials are purchased at the nearest metallurgical plant. We recommend that novice entrepreneurs limit themselves only to installation; in the future, the business can be expanded and launched its production.

The market value of the pile is from 1200 rubles. If you conclude an agreement with a manufacturing plant, you can get a discount, which will become a tangible increase at the end of the month. Installation price depends on the complexity of geodesy. On an uneven site, work is more difficult and installation costs increase. The standard cost of installing one column is from 900 rubles. A small frame house 5X2 m requires at least 8 posts. You can perform 1-2 installations per day. The number depends on the number of workers employed. A start-up company can fulfill up to 20 orders per month. On average, the income will be 160-200 thousand rubles.