Case Studies
Brandywine Industrial Warehouse Settlement Rectified Using Driven Piles
Warehouse in Chula Vista Rectified Using Ram Jack Driven Piles
Chula Vista
Ram Jack Pacific was called to a 28 ft. tall concreteproperty. This industrial warehouse building forms part of a larger commercial development. Judging from an “as-graded” geological report, mass grading was performed between around 1989 and 1990. A process such as this typically involves the removal of about 3 ft. of native surface material, while placing around 20 ft. of fill material to elevate the building pad.
PROBLEM
This specific concrete property’s southeastern cornerwas distressed. The loading dock, housing deeper fills, was also under pressure. The team noticed separations in the interior slab at the cold joints, along with cracks in the tilt-up walls. Separations were also observed in the corners and joints of the structure’s interior wall panels.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
To adequately solve the problem on time, Ram JackPacific proposed sixty-one (61) 27⁄8in. driven piles. These were to be spaced at 6 ft. along the center, covering the entire length of the eastern wall. The piles would need to wrap the entire south eastern corner of the building, all the way to the loading dock’s west end.
OUTCOME
As planned, 61 Ram Jack driven piles were installedwith an average pile depth of 38.9 ft. However, larger-than-expected footings were discovered during the initial excavation - around 5 in. wide by 5in. deep. This put a spanner in the works, seeing as approximately 14 cu. ft. of concrete, per pile location, would need to demoed out to ensure that the brackets would line up correctly beneath the center load point of the tilt-up walls. Once the pile-driving process was complete, all exposed rebar was covered with epoxy. Ram Jack then backfilled and compacted each cavity and re-poured the asphalt and concrete as needed. When the project came to a close after just over a month, the building was restored to its former glory.
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