Wood Pile-to-Beam Connections

HOME BUILDER?S GUIDE TO COASTAL CONSTRUCTION	

Technical Fact Sheet No. 3.3


Purpose: To illustrate typical wood pile-to-beam connections, provide basic construction guidelines 
on various connection methods, and show pile bracing connection techniques.


Key Issues

*   Verify pile alignment and correct, if necessary, before making connections.

*   Carefully cut piles to ensure required scarf depths.

*   Limit cuts to no more than 50 percent of pile cross section.

*   Use corrosion-resistant connectors and fasteners such as those fabricated from stainless steel, or connectors 
and fasteners with corrosion protection such as provided by hot-dip galvanized coating (see Fact Sheet No. 1.7, 
Coastal Building Materials).

*   Accurately locate and drill bolt holes.

*   Field-treat all cuts and holes to prevent decay.

*   Use sufficient pile and beam sizes to allow proper bolt edge distances.
Built-up beams should be designed as continuous members and not be broken over the piles. Some homebuilders 
are using engineered wood products, such as glued laminated timber and parallel strand lumber, which can span 
longer distances without splices. The ability to span longer distances without splices eases installation and reduces 
fabrication costs. 


Pile-to-beam connections must:
1. 	Provide required bearing area for beam to rest on pile.
2. 	Provide required uplift (tension) resistance.
3. 	Maintain beam in an upright position.
4. 	Be capable of resisting lateral loads (wind and seismic).
5. 	Be constructed with durable connectors and fasteners from corrosion-resistant materials or 
with corrosion protection in accordance with minimum requirements of the International Residential 
Code. The level of corrosion protection that can be expected will vary depending on the type of wood 
treatment and fastener type. Make sure the fastener is compatible with the wood variety selected for 
construction.


Problem: misaligned piles some piles are shifted in or out from their intended (design) locations. 

There are five possible solutions to fix the problem. (See figure 3 and details in figure 4):

Option 1   beam cannot be shifted.

Option 2   beam can be shifted laterally and remains square to building.

Option 3   beam can be shifted laterally, but does not remain square to building.

Option 4 (not shown)   beam cannot be shifted, and connections shown in this fact sheet cannot be made; install and 
connect sister piles; an engineer must be consulted for this option.

Option 5 (not shown)   beam cannot be shifted, and connections shown in this fact sheet cannot be made; remove 
and reinstall piles, as necessary.



Connections to misaligned piles (see drawings on figure 3 and details above)

1.	The ability to construct the pile-to-beam connections designed by the engineer is directly dependent upon the 
accuracy of pile installation and alignment.

2. 	Misaligned piles will require the contractor to modify pile-to-beam connections in the field.

3. 	Badly misaligned piles will require removal and reinstallation, sister piles, or special 
connections, all to be determined by the engineer.



Additional Resources

American Wood Council (AWC) (http://www.awc.org)

American Institute of Timber Construction (AITC) (http://www.aitc-glulam.org)