handling. Outside, a Hitachi 270 exca-vator
was used for the large piles.
As the job progressed, IPS discov-ered
what would prove to be its biggest
hurdle. The condo’s mechanical room
had grave structural problems as well,
with a wall unable to support itself. It
looked like an entire basement wall
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would need to be removed to pro-vide
access to shore up the wall of the
mechanical room.
To do this work, all the glycol and
other fluids from the mechanical room
would have to be drained, which would
cost about $400,000 over a period of
five weeks.
“So we said, we can just fit in there,”
said Cote. “We will cut out a section
of the wall and shore it up. We got in
and out and saved them that money
and time.”
IPS had clearance of just 65 inches
to get into the mechanical room. In
some places, Cote says hanging duct-ing
allowed only four feet of headroom.
But, as its name implies, IPS special-izes
in innovative solutions to get a job
done right, often saving clients both
time and money.
As another example, halfway
through the Windermere job, IPS con-tacted
the owner and changed the
terms from a stipulated price to a time
and materials price, which ended up
saving 2.5 per cent on the total fee.
IPS wrapped up the work in five
weeks with assistance from Miller
Contracting, which handled much of
the interior concrete work.
The Windermere Condo building offi-cially
opened in the summer of 2016, and
is currently being used by Saskatchewan
Polytechnic for student housing.
Cote says the project is a good
reminder of the old adage that you get
what you pay for.
“We can’t stress that enough to cli-ents,”
he said. “Screw piles have become
more readily available and unknown
contractors are taking on jobs they
shouldn’t, or existing contractors are
trying to cut corners. We have never
subscribed to that; I would rather be
more expensive but do it right.
“This is a perfect example. There
was no excuse for what happened to
that foundation.”
Regardless, the Windermere Condo
job certainly highlights the innovative
spirit at the heart of IPS.
“We’re not a box piling company,”
said Cote. “This project was a real chal-lenge,
installing high capacity piles in
a very small area. If you ever want to
know how to build a condo after it’s
already standing, this is how.”
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