Are Ductile Iron Pipe Piles Micropiles?

I saw a post recently where a company was advertising Ductile Iron Pipe Piles as “Micropiles”. I don’t consider ductile iron piles to be micropiles for the simple reason that they don’t fit the definition of a micropile. If you look back to our post on micropile definitions, you will see that micropiles are drilled and grouted “replacement piles”. Ductile iron piles are not replacement piles. They are driven, grouted “displacement” piles.

A friend of mine from north of the border told me once that “the Americans get all bent out of shape when somebody calls a helical pile (or ductile iron pile) a micropile.” Does it matter? I think it does. You would probably look at me funny if I called a car a truck. But thats just me.

Anyway, don’t get me wrong, I love ductile iron piles. I just don’t consider them micropiles. If you need to get into rock, you wont be able to do it with a ductile iron pile but you can with a good old Micropile. They are great in soil though…

Are Helical Piles Micropiles?

I hear and see helical piles called “helical micropiles” all the time. I don’t consider helical piles to be micropiles for the simple reason that they don’t fit the definition of a micropile. If you look back to our post on micropile definitions, you will see that micropiles are drilled and grouted replacement piles. Helical piles are not replacement piles and most of them are not grouted.

A friend of mine from north of the border told me the other day that “the Americans get all bent out of shape when somebody calls a helical pile a micropile.” Does it matter? I think it does. You would probably look at me funny if I called a car a truck. But thats just me.

Anyway, don’t get me wrong, I love helical piles. I just don’t consider them micropiles. If you are interested in Helical Piles, Howard Perko just wrote a great book on them. It is called “HELICAL PILES: A Practical Guide to Design and Installation”.

Question and Answer Section

One feature that I think will be particularly useful to visitors is the ability to post questions regarding micropiles. Post a question as a comment to this section and I will repost it with an answer (if I know the answer). I will delete the comment after I repost it with and answer. Be patient, your question may require some research.