Photos: HC Matcon Inc.
HCM was brought on to complete a deep excavation for a residential project in the Kitchener-Waterloo (KW) area. As part of the first phase of the development, the shoring spanned an entire city block and extended 14 metres deep for three levels underground. The large site footprint allowed HCM to use two crews for both the vertical drilling and tie-back installation to meet the strict schedule requirements.
HCM with RWH Engineering worked closely with the developer to provide a design-build solution, having extensive experience in KW, which is known for varying soil stratigraphy. To manage the ground water and challenging soil conditions, the shoring consisted of a combination of caisson wall and piles and lagging. HCM tracked the soil conditions onsite during vertical drilling, allowing for adaptations to the tie-back design and installation method based on the conditions encountered.
The design-build approach minimized the risk in the varying soil conditions on this project. HCM was able to work with RWH to provide a full scope of services, including design, anchor stressing and monitoring. 