Case Studies Helical Piles Installed in Confined Space

Confined Space Limits Options | Ram Jack Provides a Way

Houston, TX

Plans for Houston Country Club's main building--a two-story structure that contains the dining room, restrooms, kitchen, locker rooms and meeting room--renovation and roof replacement hit a snag, but with the help of Fortified Engineering and Ram Jack, plans were adjusted and the project continued.

Problem

Phase I of the multi-phase project originally called for conventional concrete bell-bottomed piers to support new loads for upward expansion and replacement of the roof; however, the confined space of the existing structure did not allow for drilling and pouring of the concrete. The engineer of record with Matrix Engineering suggested the use of Ram Jack helical piles.

Proposed Solution

Fortified Engineering used structural drawings and geo reports to design a 7' x 7' pile cap to accommodate a 100 kip load using four (4) 2 7/8" threaded-connection Ram Jack helical piles with a quad-helix configuration of 8"-10"-12"-12" using new construction brackets for each of three (3) original pile locations. The piles would be installed by hand with a 7K driver with torque bar using a pump cart.

Outcome

With the country club closed for only one business day--from 11 p.m. Sunday through 6 a.m. on Tuesday (31 hours)--Ram Jack worked throughout the night Sunday into Monday to install all 12 interior piles by hand, so the general contractor could pour the pile caps prior to Tuesday morning's opening.

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