The Screw Pile Screw Up

From the day we moved into our house until we fixed the problem ourselves more than two years after we moved in, my wife and I have been complaining that the stairs leading from our main floor deck to ground level were neither level nor attached to the screw pile used as a foundation. When we walked down the stairs they literally moved more and more the closer to the ground we were. According to two engineers and two independent screw pile companies, while the screw pile in question was installed correctly, the screw pile was not used correctly or, as one engineer put it, not really used at all. In fact, even if the stairs had been attached to the screw pile, supporting the stairs on a small disc in the centre is not sufficient to properly stabilize the stairs. But, when we asked Calbridge for a refund of this screw pile, the Construction and Customer Care Manager flatly refused.

Here's the story:

With the beautiful view we have looking west from our back yard and, with a walk-out basement, my wife and I needed a deck off the main floor for barbecues or just sitting around sipping beverages.

Of course the deck needed to sit on a foundation of some kind to prevent movement from frost heave. Back in the day we would dig a hole to below the frost line and pour concrete into a round form tube. This is labour intensive (aka expensive). Small diameter tubes are susceptible to lifting forces ("frost jacking") due to adfreeze effects during the winter months. To compensate for this the cylindrical concrete should be attached to a footing set well below the frost line and/or be of a diameter large enough and or set deep enough below the frost to have a dead load greater than the force exerted by adfreeze. For a great explanation of adfreeze see the publication written by E. Penner and K.N. Burn Adfreezing and Frost Heaving of Foundations.

We opted for screw piles. The helix at the bottom acts as an anchor to resist adfreeze effects. Screw piles are easier and less expensive to install than concrete columns. You can see them sitting under the columns for the deck. One for each column. And, we were told, one would be needed for the stairs.

What is a Screw Pile?

The screw pile was first patented in 1833 by an Irish engineer named Alexander Mitchell. Originally used as a foundation for lighthouses and moorings their use has expanded greatly over the last almost two centuries. For a history of screw piles read Alan J. Lutenegger's paper Historical Development of Iron Screw-Pile Foundations: 1836–1900

As the name suggests the pile is installed by simply screwing it into the ground much like putting a screw into wood. It has minimal impact on any landscaping and is able to carry tension, compression and lateral loads immediately after installation.

Click for a great video from Techno Metal Post

What Went Wrong?

As shown in the above picture, the stairs are not sitting properly on the cap of the screw pile. We should not be able to see any part of the disc's top. This means that any lag screws securing the stairs to the pile would be set close to the edge of the wood on the bottom of the stairs and so would lose a lot of holding power.

Second, the stairs were never secured to the screw pile. It was just sitting on top. This means no holding power - the stairs are free to move on the top of the screw pile (which, of course, happened.)

With only the one screw pile placed in the centre a seesaw was created. When we walked on the stairs they tilted making them a little unsafe.

It doesn't take a degree in civil engineering to see that this is a much more stable design.

Several times we brought it up to Calbridge representatives but, after two years of inaction on their part we had the landscapers we hired build a pad for the stairs so that my wife and I could finally be able to use them safely.

Safety Issues

Obviously not having the bottom of a long flight of stairs secured on the bottom but merely balanced on a small disc could lead to sudden, unexpected movement when a load is placed on the stairs. It is reasonable to assume that more than one adult would be using the stairs at any given time resulting in a mass of a few hundreds of kilograms on the stairs. Imagine two adults carrying something heavy up the stairs then having the stairs shift. My wife and I are both in our sixties with grown children. Imagine one of us carrying a grandchild in our arms when the stairs shifted.

This is how Calbridge built our home.

Adding Insult to Injury

Before we took possession of our house my wife and I attended a Home and Garden Show and two different screw pile companies were there. In 2018 it would cost $275 (plus tax) to install one screw pile. Calbridge charged us $605 (plus tax) for each screw pile. That's 202% of what it would cost anyone else to install one. When I brought that to the attention of the sales team, they could not give me a reason why they charged so much extra. In fact. nobody I talked to at Calbridge could tell me why they charged more than double the going rate for the screw pile.

So we paid more than double for a screw pile that was never used correctly.

What the Calbridge Construction and Customer Care Manager Said

The Construction and Customer Care Manager (CW) came to our house to inspect the poor workmanship we had in our house. While he was there he expressed surprise that we had a screw pile at the bottom of our stairs and told me that normally Calbridge just rests the foot of the stairs on the ground. He confirmed that with his subordinate JH. In a follow up e-mail I said:

"I asked you during our meeting if Calbridge was prepared to do anything to compensate me for having to fix the outside stairs myself since nobody from Calbridge made any effort to fix them. You and (JH) were both surprised that a screw pile was installed at the foot of the stairs and you told me that this is typically not done. If this is the case then I should be refunded the $605 plus GST I paid or that one unnecessary screw pile."

His answer:

" I have had a look at the drawings for your home and 1 screw pile was installed per these drawings. Noted on the foundation plan and the rear elevation. We will not be compensating for this item."

CW didn't address my complaint that nobody from Calbridge came to fix the stairs nor that he himself was surprised that we had a screw pile. Just flatly refused to refund the money for a job poorly done. He merely mentioned that the screw pile was on the drawings. Just because something is on a drawing does not mean it is being used correctly. I pressed him further on the issue in another e-mail:

"You and (JH) both told me that the use of a screw pile at the bottom of the stairs outside was unnecessary. When we bought the house we were told it was necessary. Who do we believe? Calbridge Representative 1 or Calbridge Representative 2? Further, after Calbridge installed the screw pile Calbridge never did use it correctly. We reported the problem to (BM) and (DS) more than once. I had to get somebody else in after literally months of waiting to make the stairs safe. Yet you tell me that I have to pay for this unneccesary item. It this true? This is not a rhetorical question. I want this answered, please."

His answer:

"I misspoke when we met, my apologies. The Screw pile was called for to support the stairs. I can certainly look back on email correspondence between yourself and our staff to get a better understanding of the history."

CW never did look back on e-mail correspondence and again did not address my assertion that the job was poorly done. The screw pile was installed correctly. It was just never used properly. I tried one more time:

"I spoke to two different screw pile companies ... I was told that if screw piles were used one screw pile would indeed support the weight of the stairs. However the stairs would have to have special framing if only one was used. Both companies agreed that, if screw piles were used, it would be best to use two screw piles (one on each side of the stairs) and that both screw piles would have to be attached to the stairs. A staircase merely “floating” unattached on the top of a single screw pile would definitely not be a safe option."

His answer:

"I am not able accommodate your every request solely because you feel I should or because you called a different company looking for explanations to back up you opinion. There are several ways to complete almost every aspect of building a home which allows for variances from one contractor/company/home builder/ to another. Calbridge is responsible for warranty follow-through and with the Alberta New Home Warranty standards, we have a template for what is and is not acceptable. As such, we have the choice to complete all scopes as we see fit, so long that they are code compliant and align with ANHW standards."

CW seems to have taken exception that I contacted other companies to check on the validity of his statements. But who else am I going to call? When every person with expert knowledge in this field I talked to tells me that what Calbridge did was incorrect then, well, chances are that what Calbridge did was, in fact, incorrect. In court, these would be called "expert witnesses." Yet again CW is overlooking that the screw pile was not properly used. But he did mention they have a template and this would be a good chance for him to show me how wrong I am so, you guessed it, another e-mail:

"Thank you for your reponse. If you would, please send me a copy of templates you use to determine what is acceptable and what is not. Specifically the use of screw piles on stairs and siding. Perhaps this will clear up this entire mess ... Also, if you could direct me to where I can find a copy of Alberta New Home Warranty standards that could be most useful in helping me better understand your side of this matter."

His answer:

After hearing nothing from CW I sent a reminder text to send me the information I needed to understand his side of the argument.

His answer:

What the Alberta Building Code Says:

At the time of writing this (August 20, 2022) I am just now reviewing the Alberta Building Code that I downloaded off the internet. Section 4.1.1.3 states:

Buildings and their structural members and connections, including formwork and falsework*, shall be designed to have sufficient structural capacity and structural integrity to safely and effectively resist all loads, effects of loads and influences that may reasonably be expected, having regard to the expected service life of buildings, and shall in any case satisfy the requirements of this Section.

*Falsework: temporary framework structures used to support a building during its construction

Now, I am not a lawyer but it seems to me that the use (or lack of use) of only one screw pile is in direct contravention of this section of code in that is not "designed to have sufficient structural capacity and structural integrity to safely and effectively resist all loads, effects of loads and influences that may reasonably be expected. "One load that may reasonably be expected on stairs is people using them. As I mentioned above, merely walking on stairs that could suddenly move is not safe. We're not at Hogwarts here!

Summary

I have contacted screw pile companies and talked to engineers. All agreed that using only one screw pile in the centre of the stairs is bad practice. In this opinion they were all most emphatic. When I asked CW to provide the documentation he said exists to show that Calbridge's work is acceptable, he chose not to cooperate. He chose, instead, to ignore me.

The right thing Calbridge should have done was fix the problem when it was reported. Since they failed to do that despite my wife and I waiting more than two years, they should have refunded the money I paid. When I consider Calbridge charged more than double the going rate for installing a screw pile I think this becomes a "no-brainer."

What do you think? Did Calbridge live up to its promise to "always do the right thing?" Share your views in the Reader's Comments section.

Later Happenings...

After I wrote the above account of the screw pile screw up I wound up filing a civil claim against Calbridge Homes demanding, among other things, a refund of the money I paid for the single screw pile installed at the bottom of the stairs leading from my deck. During mediation Calbridge agreed to refund the entire $605 plus tax I spent for the screw pile.