# Forum Home Renovation Sub Flooring  Ground Screws

## Hoff

Hi, 
As anyone had any experience with using these screws for posts.  www.krinner.com.au gives a good look at them if you aren't familiar. 
I'd be interested to hear how you went if you have used them.  Particularly if it is easy to get them in the ground perfectly plumb.  I think they could be suitable for what I want and I particularly like that you can work on your structure right away without having to wait for concrete to set.

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## UteMad

Join the club pryda makem and bunnings sell them but i cant see anyone would use them..
Any success or failure stories chuck them up with pics 
cheers utemad

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## Burnsy

Hi all, long time no post here for me. Jumped on to find out about ground screws and look what is already being discussed :Biggrin:  
Utemad, you got any details on the Pryda ones? I am about to do a deck at school and thought it would be a great place to try them out as mixing concrete to put in stirrups for decks is my pet hate.  Cullity timber over here sell screw in ones and they told me they were made by Otter, a search of Otters site had no mention of them. 
Keen to try them so would like to know what options there are, I have looked in a couple of Bunnings over here and they don't stock them. 
Cheers,
Burnsy

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## seriph1

very cool concept I reckon  -  seems like a very well resolved design.... would just need to see list of approvals, then wouldnt hesitate to use/recommend them.

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## oohsam

I saw these in bunnings a while back and thought...wtf is this...
However, i must say they didn't look like they were near long enough to hit clay at my place and was questioning their ability to not sink in heavy rain. 
I could be wrong!

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## dazzler

Saw these at the store the other day.  Just another do it fast, do it quick, do it to last a few years gizmos that permeate the buidling world IMO.  
There is a similar system for piers but at least they are driven in by an excavator.   :2thumbsup:

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## Make it work

I don't think I would use them for anything other than tent pegs or maybe a cubby house but I would not use them for any load bearing or dynamic application, not even a clothes line. 
I could be wrong and would be happy to be prooved wrong but till then....

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## Hoff

Did you have a look at the video in the link in the first post.  Or the list and pictures of completed projects?   
I think some here are drastically underestimating the value of this solution. They are already supporting many substantial and dynamic structures.

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## pharmaboy2

> Did you have a look at the video in the link in the first post.  Or the list and pictures of completed projects?   
> I think some here are drastically underestimating the value of this solution. They are already supporting many substantial and dynamic structures.

  LOL.  the building industry in australia is always slow on the uptake for just about anything - eg hebel, ultrafloor, steel framing. 
the only downside to these sort of products is you might need a geotech report for ground holding capacity - eg uplift in sand wouldnt be as high as uplift in clay.  Piles hold up some doozy structures, and these just seem a smaller version of twisted piles. 
the smaller ones would have no problem on a low level deck, but whose to say that a 400*600 lump of concrete is going to be miles better for a higher level deck thatn a  large one of these.   
One thing of note, is that contrary to intuition, the weight bearing capacity of a concrete footing has more to do with its depth than its width - so sinking is the last thing on an engineers mind except in quite exceptional sites.   :Wink:

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## rod1949

I seen these at a four wheel drive show a couples of years ago.  I thought "what a brilliant idea" not only for their intended purpose but also in 4x4 recovery, which one of the methods to remove a bogged vehicle is to winch off three star pickets that are hammered into the ground and braced to the one behind, now I've never had to do it but I've always thought it would be very difficult to remove the star pickets, but the ground screws would be easy.

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## intertd6

"One thing of note, is that contrary to intuition, the weight bearing capacity of a concrete footing has more to do with its depth than its width - so sinking is the last thing on an engineers mind except in quite exceptional sites" 
Engineering footings revolves around "allowable bearing pressure" the only time footings go deeper is if ABP is deficient in supporting the loads, footings are in reactive soils, footings need to resist uplift from roofs in high wind areas
With a 16meter deep 300mm diameter grout injected bored pier the friction resistance from the sides of the pier in sandy loam could support a 3 level home unit project with out socketing into rock at the toe, unlike the rest of the 150 piers which socketed into rock
regards inter

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## dazzler

> Did you have a look at the video in the link in the first post.  Or the list and pictures of completed projects?   
> I think some here are drastically underestimating the value of this solution. They are already supporting many substantial and dynamic structures.

  Hi Hoff 
Perhaps I am.  I am just a little over all the time saving stuff that is around today.  Maybe its behind why houses are built like rubbish, not like the old days. 
PS Im 42 now so I am legally entitled to reminisce  :Tongue:

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## Bleedin Thumb

One down side to these is that you need room to put a bar through then to screw them in.....not a biggy in most cases but...... I bought one a few months back when I was doing a deck & pergola because one footing was in between roots, only to find I didn't have clearance around the screw to install it,.....my footing was in a tight corner. 
The hole to drive the screw in is lower than the post support stirrup so it only works in a clear flat area.besides that I tried it out anyway...I recon they are great.....save you heaps, but I'd increase my bracing as I usually put my posts straight into ground.

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## Hoff

> One down side to these is that you need room to put a bar through then to screw them in.....not a biggy in most cases but...... I bought one a few months back when I was doing a deck & pergola because one footing was in between roots, only to find I didn't have clearance around the screw to install it,.....my footing was in a tight corner. 
> The hole to drive the screw in is lower than the post support stirrup so it only works in a clear flat area.besides that I tried it out anyway...I recon they are great.....save you heaps, but I'd increase my bracing as I usually put my posts straight into ground.

  Was it easy to get it in nice and straight?

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## pharmaboy2

> Hi Hoff 
> Perhaps I am.  I am just a little over all the time saving stuff that is around today.  Maybe its behind why houses are built like rubbish, not like the old days. 
> PS Im 42 now so I am legally entitled to reminisce

  ah the old days!   :Wink:  
whenever I am privy to the framing, footings etc in old houses - say circa 100 yr old - they never fill me with any confidence at all.  there's also the possibilty that the ones that we are looking back with the ones that are still standing in  mind - of course nearly all the working class quality buildings built soon after federation, have either had massive renovation, or fell down inside their first 50 years of life - so the most of the ones left are homes of the rich of the time.............. 
when i reminisce, it involves super six roofing (often over shingles!!), leaking tile rooves, underpinning crumbling footings with no reinforcement, and battening out internal walls for gyprocking to take the 20mm dip in the middle out!   :Wink:  
better than a shoe box nt middle o road.

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## UteMad

> Hi all, long time no post here for me. Jumped on to find out about ground screws and look what is already being discussed 
> Utemad, you got any details on the Pryda ones? I am about to do a deck at school and thought it would be a great place to try them out as mixing concrete to put in stirrups for decks is my pet hate. Cullity timber over here sell screw in ones and they told me they were made by Otter, a search of Otters site had no mention of them. 
> Keen to try them so would like to know what options there are, I have looked in a couple of Bunnings over here and they don't stock them. 
> Cheers,
> Burnsy

  
Bunnings here in Sydney stocks them and pretty sure they are pryda .. I am a sceptic of new things so was hoping someone would have tried them.. i just cant believe with soil stability and bearing area that they wont shift in times of big rain etc
Just checked pryda cattle dog and its not there listed .. have to look next time at bunnies.. they are bloody loong though atleast 600mm 
cheers utemad

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## dmsantam

I used these for a carport. worked a treat. been there a year so far, and no sign of any sinking. solid as a rock.

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## KrinnerWinner

Hi Guy's 
The ground screws you find at Bunnings are *inferior copies* of Krinner Ground Screws. Otter imports these from *China* and they do not comply with Australian Standards / Building Code of Australia. I suppose you can use them for DIY projects, but applications requiring a DA or engineering certification, you can not! Krinner Ground Screws have been tested and have been certified by structural engineers, comply with Australian Standards & Building Code of Australia. For more info go to: Krinner Ground Screws Australia or email me directly. 
Thanks Guy's,
Fred

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## zymurgy

Here is my 2 cents worth. 
Access to my backyard is awkward, so I decided to go with these Krinner Ground Screws for my deck project. 
No previous experience with them, so I laid out the locations and inserted pegs. I made the pegs true, hoping they would be a guide for the screws.     
Keeping units plumb was relatively easy as I had a magnetic level that I was looking at as I rotated screws.   
Once screw thread is embedded, just start winding  :Biggrin:    
I timed an install after I had done several, and it was in the open, so no obstacles in way of winding. Took me 4 mins. 
Once screwed all the way, they DO NOT move! But, easily removed to relocate etc. 
Would I recommend them, absolutely. I have nearly done all the stumps and haven't touched a bag of concrete.

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## jatt

Bit of an oldie resurrected.  Cant vouch for em personally, however another option to consider is Mega Anchors. 
No affiliation, however I have used em on a job and am happy.  Not unusual to see em used around the traps where one isnt allowed to conc things in, ie at many caravan parks.   Come across plenty in situ and seem to be doing the job fine. 
They have relevant approvals and I found them to be helpful.

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