Screwbase Groundscrews

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Screwbase Groundscrews

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Installers of groundscrews and helical piles to from 1.0m to 3.1m in depth. Groundscrews are used

02/10/2026

Sometimes this job can be difficult. Sometimes it really tests your brain and if you're not careful you could end up losing your marbles.

Today, I found one of someone elses marbles. I shall keep it as a spare, for one of those more trying days!

30/06/2026

Look at the gap under this floor frame! This is another advantage of groundscrews, imagine having to fill that gap with compressed hardcore, prior to having it capped with concrete. The mess and the cost would be huge!

The area that this floor frame covered previously had a shed placed over it. The shed was laid on some slabs that had been levelled onto the topsoil. What happened wasn't unusual: over the course of a few winters with frost/thaw cycles, and a few summers where the topsoil dries out, the slabs moved and sank into the ground.

Where that shed was, our clients are now having a Gorilla Sheds log cabin installed, so we worked with them to install the groundscrews complete with a pressure treated floor frame made to the exact size that they needed. Perfectly level, installed deep into the sub soil so the load is beyond the frost level, and completed in a single day.

The first groundscrew was installed just above the highest ground level so no part of the floor frame will be in ground contact, prolonging the life of the log cabin.

25/06/2026

If only it were a bit cooler!
This project was for Essex Developments : 32 groundscrews to support two composite decks on two levels. This was our part of the project, Essex Developments own guys are fitting the actual decking.

The groundscrews used were 32of, 1250mm x 76mm flat head groundscrews so there's no fixing brackets showing. All the brackets are on the inside of the frame.
The decking frame is Millboard Plas-Pro and is fixed together with plated fasteners. The deck is partly under ground level, so it's important that both the frame and the fasteners are not going to rot.

I'm looking forward to Essex Developers completing this project so we can share the final result

05/06/2026

Sometimes we have to pull out the stops to help someone out of a pickle .... this was one of those jobs.
We're currently working to around a 6 week lead time, but we received telephone request on Tuesday this week from another companies client. That company had badly, and discourteously, let them down.
The job was simple enough, to install 18 groundscrews but 12 of them had to go through a porcelain patio. The other company took full payment up front, then they didn't turn up. When the client contacted them around mid-day on the arranged installation date, they were told that the company wouldn't be turning up as they didn't have the equipment or knowledge to core drill the patio. They said they would turn up the following day with a breaker, and they would break the patio up as required in the places that the groundscrews had to go!
Unsurprisingly, the client didn't find this solution acceptable and cancelled the job with them, which left the client in a bit of a bad position. Next Monday they have a team of installers booked to start building their new Garden Room! If they cancel the build at this late stage, they would lose a rather substantial deposit.

Which bring us to the call we received, which meant postponing a job in the workshop which wasn't time sensitive, and also bringing in our mate Dave who is a semi-retired who helps us out on jobs from time to time.
So it's Friday, we spent the day core drilling through porcelain, installing groundscrews, and feeling our collective ages!
The job has been completed in good time, the Garden Room build starts on Monday.

Now ..... b**r!

19/05/2026

We had a busy day out today in Bexley, S.E. London.
We didn't just complete the installation of 28 1500mm long groundscrews, we had to conduct the load testing too!
The Structural Engineer called on our knowledge and experience to assess what was needed to achieve the necessary loads, and also to provide a factored load test report to not only prove that the groundscrews will meet and exceed their required loads. The report has to also satisfy building control so that the Garden Room build can continue without delay.
We don't usually load test and install on the same day, but in this case it was a time sensitive job.
We didn't just make the right decision as to the size and quantity of groundscrews required, we did so accurately, meaning our client didn't have to pay for unnecessary works.

I will admit though, we did have some spare groundscrews with us, just in case we had underestimated the requirement! :)

08/05/2026

One of our jobs this week was this one: quite a large groundscrew base with an included floor frame.
Our client had three reasons for choosing groundscrews for his combined shed and music room.
Speed - we were in, job done, and out again in only 1 day and the floor frame is immediately ready to build onto. No waiting for concrete to go off, and.....
Cleanliness - we didn't chew up his garden, and there was no concrete to spill on his drive, or the road.
And the slope - so, as you come out of the clients back door, the back garden slopes from the house backwards and from left to right. If a concrete base had been laid it would have formed a dam across his garden so in the winter wet season, the rain would run down his garden, meet with the concrete base, and run off toward his garage. The garden would be a running, swampy river that would be likely to flood the garage. Groundscrews are typically installed to just above the highest point so any rainwater can just run straight under his shed without making the floor wet.

But what about the cost? The whole of this base project came to around £3,500 +VAT. If concrete had been used (forget about the mess) our client would have had three chaps on site for 3 days. he would have had skips, permits, a shuttering, and concrete to pay for, plus he would still need to spend out for a floor frame - but that floor frame would have been in ground contact and more susceptible to rot.

Groundscrews. they're faster, usually cheaper, and a lot more environmentally friendly than concrete.

27/04/2026

We get asked what the process is?

If your garden building falls into the remit of building control, you are most likely going to be asked for a load test, so thats the first thing that will need to be done. Load testing is done, and factored results are produced, in order to satisfy building control that the groundscrews are going to provide a stable, capable base for your intended structure.

Once the load testing has been completed and signed off, the size and quantity of groundscrews can be calculated and the installation can commence.

The final part of the job is for the floor frame to be installed - we can design and build that for you too, in accordance with the British Standards timber load charts.

the details? Yes, I could go into them here, but they are for us to worry about. That's the whole point of having Screwbase do the job for you. We take the worry away and leave you with a well built, structurally sound floor ready to insulate, then build onto.

Groundscrews made simple.

11/03/2026

A cracking day for installing , possibly the first day this year where we've been working in the sunshine. We had a lovely drive down to Uckfield in West Sussex, and for a change the M25 behaved itself :)
This layout is 8m x 4m, and due to the slope of the ground, we used a combination of 1.25m, 1.5m, and 2.0m groundscrews.
We also performed a to ascertain the load bearing capabilities of each load point. Our client requested this as the needs to comply with the current building regulations

09/12/2025

It's been a great year! We now cannot take any bookings until mid January, but as we get into the new year no doubt the waiting list will extend. If you're looking at starting a garden room, shed, or summerhouse project in the spring, it would be a good idea to consider getting the job scheduled sooner rather than later to avoid unnecessary delays.
This job was over in Pilgrims Hatch, Essex and was a bit on the muddy side! Our job was to install the groundscrews and timber floor frame for a 6m x 6 garden room. As we used 4x2 C24 treated timber for the floor frame, the groundscrews were spaced at no more than 1200mm on centre, ensuring that there's absolutely no flex to the floor at all. The frame has the ring beam doubled up around the perimeter with triple beams across the front. The additional timbers on the ring beam aren't just nailed, they are also glued to laminate the timbers together.
We were a day on site for this one, and the floor is ready for our client to work on immediately

09/07/2025

For a tortoise! This 4m x 3m groundscrew base with a double ring beam floor frame is the start of our client's garden room for a tortoise to live in. This isn't your 25cm long normal tortoise, this one is a giant, over 70cm long!
The only access to this cottage garden was through the cottage which made groundscrews not just the cleanest option, but also, because of the sloped ground, also a very much cheaper option. Groundscrews cost less than half the price that our client had been quoted for concrete.
A good result, and immediately able to be built on.

Address

Windsor Gardens
Hockley
SS54LH

Telephone

+441702599039

Website

http://www.screwbase.co.uk/

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