The cost of the foundation can be up to 20-30% of the total building cost. Reducing consumption of materials and quality selection of the required characteristics of the pile can reduce both the estimated cost and time of work.

In terms of compact construction and the high land prices the most relevant is high-rise building. But it is hard to build in soft ground conditions (for example, in St. Petersburg). The situation is complicated by insufficiently explored methods of selection and design of piles (especially steel-tube piles) for specific cases of construction, as well as by the absence of regulatory documents related to the high-performance technology.

The article considers the clarification methods for calculating the bearing capacity of tubular steel piles. An additional contribution of soil core to the overall bearing capacity due to accounting an effect of its "natural" selflocking in the cavity of the steel pipe is considered.

The conclusions about the effectiveness of the piles, depending on different initial parameters are made.