DRIVEN FOUNDATION PILE
A driven foundation pile or pier includes a shaft having a top portion for embedment in a wall or other structure. A top plate and a bottom plate are in planar alignment and are attached to and extend from a bottom portion of the shaft. The bottom plate may have sloped bottom edges coming to a point that extends below the bottom portion of the shaft to facilitate driving the pile into the soil. The top portion of the pile may have openings to facilitate embedment of the pile in the wall or other structure.
1 . A driven foundation pile comprises:
a shaft having a top portion and a bottom portion, the top portion for embedment in a structure,
a top plate attached to and extending laterally from the bottom portion of the shaft,
a bottom plate vertically spaced from the top plate and extending laterally from the bottom portion of the shaft, said bottom plate in planar alignment with said top plate.
2 . The driven foundation pile of claim 1 further comprising: the bottom plate having a tapered bottom edge.
3 . The driven foundation pile of claim 2 wherein the tapered bottom edge of the bottom plate extends below the bottom portion of the shaft.
4 . The driven foundation pile of claim 1 further comprising:
said top portion having one or more openings suitable for receiving mortar or cement.
5 . The driven foundation pile of claim 1 further comprising:
said bottom portion including a top slot and a bottom slot vertically spaced from said top slot, said top slot sized to receive said top plate, and said bottom slot sized to receive said bottom plate.
6 . A driven foundation pile comprises:
a shaft having a top portion and a bottom portion, the top portion for embedment in a structure,
a top plate attached to and extending laterally from the bottom portion of the shaft,
a bottom plate vertically spaced from the top plate and extending laterally from the bottom portion of the shaft, said bottom plate in planar alignment with said top plate, said bottom plate having a tapered bottom edge that extends below the bottom portion of said shaft.
7 . A driven foundation pile comprises:
a shaft having a top portion and a bottom portion, said top portion having one or more openings suitable for receiving mortar or cement for embedment in a structure, said bottom portion including a top slot and a bottom slot vertically spaced from said top slot,
a top plate received in said top slot and attached to and extending laterally from the bottom portion of the shaft,
a bottom plate received in said bottom slot and attached to and extending laterally from the bottom portion of the shaft, bottom plate vertically spaced from the top plate, said bottom plate in planar alignment with said top plate, said bottom plate having a tapered bottom edge that extends below the bottom portion of said shaft.
8 . A method for building a wall using a driven foundation pile comprising:
driving a bottom portion of a shaft into the ground, said bottom portion having a top plate and a bottom plate, said top plate extending laterally from the shaft, said bottom plate spaced from said top plate and extending laterally from the shaft, said bottom plate disposed in planar alignment with said top plate,
stopping driving said shaft into the ground when said top and bottom plates are disposed below the surface of the ground and a top portion of said shaft is disposed above ground,
surrounding said top portion with one or more blocks, and
securing said one or more blocks to said top portion to form a wall with a pile foundation.
9 . The method for building a wall of claim 8 further comprising:
said driving step comprises driving the bottom portions of two or more shafts into the ground,
arranging the top and bottom plates of each of said two or more shafts in planar alignment,
said surrounding step comprises surrounding the top portion of each of said two or more shafts with two or more blocks, and
said securing step comprises securing said two or more blocks to the top portions of said two or more shafts to form a wall supported by a foundation formed by the bottom portions of said shafts wherein the top and bottom plates of said one or more shafts are parallel to and in planar alignment to the wall.
10 . The method for building a wall of claim 9 wherein the top portions of each of said shafts include one or more openings to accept mortar or cement to facilitate securement of the shafts to the wall.