Pile breaking

Removal of reinforcement in a prefabricated concrete pile or in-situ head-bored pile is known as pile breaking.

This definition is the foundation of our company and all of our equipment and thought processes have been derived from this definition. During the removal process we always try to keep the reinforcement in place, which works to your advantage as your schedule will not be compromised due to repairs to be carried out.

The art of hydraulic pile breaking is to complete the work so neatly that it looks like it was done by hand.

Currently we are capable of cracking up to 95% of piles without touching the pre-stressing strands or reinforcement. In the remaining 5% of cases we try to find the best solution in consultation with the contractor, the pile driver or the pile producer.

We have a large selection of square crackers available for this process. Various configurations are required for the crackers as there are currently 10 piles factories in the Netherlands alone, 5 of which use a different position of pre-stressing strands and for the insertion of support rods.

Once we have this process under control the logical next step is in-situ piles. No two in-situ piles are the same and each requires a different approach. Short clips are available on this site to demonstrate the process. You can read more about this in the project finder.

Manual pile breaking was done by hammer and chisel as recently as 50 years ago, after which pneumatic hammers were introduced. During the late Seventies the first hydraulic cracker was introduced to the market. This was a flat plate with four horizontal cylinders that opened and closed independently of each other, relative to the flow of oil. The disadvantage here is that lateral forces are exerted on the piles, and as a result the reinforcement could be damaged.

We use crackers where the lateral force of the teeth is adjusted automatically. In work jargon these crackers are also known “hoge hoed” (top hat), or “onderkraker” (lower cracker). The crackers are 90 cm high and a lever mechanism under the frame forces the teeth into the pile, which allows for cracking right above the ground.

Manual pile breaking is becoming less common. Piles have become harder over the years (B 65 is no exception anymore), which also means that men with hammers are limited to small projects or foundation piles that are located in inaccessible areas. Our skilled employees carefully expose the iron work and they provide a nice flat surface.

All of the waste accumulated during work is also neatly cleared away and disposed off in an environmentally friendly manner.

In our capacity as a subcontractor we try to limit costs related to waste as far as possible. The cost of failure is unfortunately still very high in the construction industry, so our commitment to constantly improving the process benefits you as a contractor as costs related to failures and downtime are reduced.

Use the project finder on the right of this page to see a few examples of projects that we have completed.

Quality is produced through cooperation, and cooperation is our strength!

For more information please look at our Dutch website, or contact us at +31 345 569602.