Piling contractors covering Manchester and all of Greater Manchester — mini piling for extensions on the city's terraced streets, CFA rigs for developments, and underpinning for homes moving on shrinkable clay.
Manchester ground: what you're building on
Most of Greater Manchester sits on glacial till — the boulder clays left by the last ice age — threaded with softer alluvium along the Irwell, Mersey, Medlock and Tame valleys. Two things make this ground troublesome. First, the clays are shrinkable: they swell in wet winters and shrink in dry summers, and mature street trees magnify the movement. Second, the city's industrial past left wide areas of made ground — filled cellars, demolished mills and levelled terraces — which settles unpredictably under new load.
West of the city, the mosslands around Chat Moss add deep peat to the mix — some of the softest building ground in England. It's no accident that piling is a routine line on Manchester building quotes.
What we do across Greater Manchester
- Mini piling for extensions in Didsbury, Chorlton, Sale, Prestwich and every suburb in between — including rear terraces reached through a 750mm passage with our restricted access rigs.
- Underpinning for period homes with clay-shrinkage subsidence, a South Manchester speciality.
- CFA piling for apartment and commercial schemes on infill and brownfield plots.
- Screw piles for the garden office boom in the suburbs.
- King post walls for sloping plots in Stockport, Oldham and the Pennine fringe.
Areas we cover from our Manchester teams
ManchesterSalfordStockportTrafford & SaleBoltonBuryOldhamRochdaleWiganTamesideAltrinchamDidsbury & Chorlton
Satellite towns get their own local crews as demand grows — if your town isn't listed, check with us; the answer is almost certainly yes.
Typical Manchester jobs
10 augered mini piles through a side passage, ring beam formed and poured, piled in two days.
Piled underpinning to the front bay after a dry summer and a thirsty lime tree did their worst.
CFA piles through made ground into the glacial till, low vibration beside occupied neighbours.
Piling services
Mini Piling
Compact-rig piles for extensions and tight plots.
Find out more →CFA Piling
Fast, low-vibration piles for commercial schemes.
Find out more →Driven Piling
Proven capacity on every pile, zero spoil.
Find out more →Screw Piling
Instant-load steel piles for lighter structures.
Find out more →Sheet Piling
Continuous walls for excavations and water.
Find out more →Restricted Access Piling
Rigs from 750mm wide, headroom from 2.4m.
Find out more →Underpinning
Subsidence repair, traditional and piled.
Find out more →Piled Foundations
Piles, beams and slabs — one package.
Find out more →King Post Retaining Walls
Economical permanent retaining walls.
Find out more →Frequently asked questions
Do Manchester's clay soils mean I need piling for my extension?
Not always, but the glacial clays under much of Greater Manchester shrink and swell with moisture, and street trees make this worse. If trial holes show firm ground is deep, or roots are present, building control will often ask for piles. We can advise from your trial hole results.
Can you pile a terraced house in Manchester?
Yes - terraced streets are a large part of our Manchester workload. Rigs that fit through a 750mm passage let us pile rear extensions and internal works without taking walls down.
How quickly can you get to site in Manchester?
Site visits across Greater Manchester are usually arranged within a few working days, with piling start dates typically two to four weeks after quote acceptance, subject to season.