Construction not Disruption: “Business as Usual” for Customer

Imagine trying to conduct “business as usual” in a building that is being renovated with a new interior second floor addition. That’s exactly what happened on this project.

Helical piles were the best foundation choice for the addition because their installation was done without disruption to the building’s tenants. Helical piles reduce the disruption caused by traditional deep foundation methods by:

• Minimizing Excavation and Spoils – helical piles have a slim profile and displace soil during installation. Drilling and removing soil is not required.
• No Vibration – Driven piles create a considerable amount of vibration so that there is significant risk of damaging neighboring structures. Helical piles install with virtually no vibration.
• Easier Access and Quicker installation –The helical pile installation for this project was completed indoors within 5 days!

Renovations to this mixed-use commercial building required enhanced foundation support for an interior second floor addition, which made helical piles the ideal choice.

Alternawork, Inc. worked with CHANCE distributor EBS Geostructural, Inc. on a foundation remediation project for an existing building in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. The specific site challenges for this project included the need for the tenants to continue business operations while construction took place. Helical piles allowed the foundation work on the interior of the building without disrupting their operations. It was imperative that noise was kept to a minimum to avoid disrupting the tenants during this indoor installation.

Helical piles require minimal excavation to prepare for the installation. Small equipment (portable and mini excavator) allowed easy access to challenging areas without the need for excessive demolition. The equipment also allowed quicker and easier set-up from pile to pile thereby increasing productivity. Precision installation allowed 15 of the 57 helical piles to be directly connected to column baseplates which saved on costs associated with concrete pile caps. Twelve concrete pile caps were used in locations that required multiple helical piles per column due to the load requirements. This efficient design had a positive impact on budget and timeline. The project was able to proceed without major impact to the tenant’s business operations and the helical pile installation was completed in 5 days.

Learn more about efficient pile design by utilizing HeliCAP helical capacity design software. Try it today!