Overhead Restrictions on your project?…..Consider a Ductile Iron Pile Solution

Does your deep foundation project have limited overhead clearance? These types of projects are often specified with helical piles or micropiles. Did you know that contractors routinely use Ductile Iron Piles on projects with as little as 18 feet of overhead clearance – usually with higher capacities than helical piles and faster, less expensive and cleaner than micropiles? FAST. SIMPLE. SAFE.^®

Ductile Iron Piles (DIPs) are installed with medium-sized excavators and percussion hammers that can fit in tight spots. Overhead restrictions of 25 to 30 feet are ideal so you can drive each modular 5 meter (16.4 ft) section of Ductile Iron Pile. Yet, many of our projects are installed in as little as 18 or 20 feet of overhead by simply cutting the piles in half and using drive-on couplers to rapidly complete the installation. And with the high frequency percussion hammers, vibrations from the driving are safe and well below typical tolerances for work within existing facilities.

Ductile Iron Piles installed within 20 ft of clearance at a commercial building near Boston, MA

Why consider a Ductile Iron Pile option for limited overhead conditions?

• Reduced cost compared to micropiles and other low headroom options
• Improved speed of installation to complete your project faster
• Less installation and performance risk than helical piles
• Cleaner, simpler installation
• Safe operation

PROJECT EXPERIENCE – INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING FACILITY

Installation of 100-ft long piles within active International Shipping Hub

Construction of a new mezzanine level at an international shipping facility air hub near the Philadelphia International Airport required deep foundations to support loads up to 516 kips at 74 new column locations. Piles were needed to penetrate the soft silt and clay and loose sand extending to depths of at least 65 feet. Overhead clearances were limited to 35 feet in many locations but approached only 20 feet in some areas. Learn more about this PDCA project of the year and how Ductile Iron Piles were installed in the low overhead conditions to depths ranging from 67 feet to more than 100 feet to deliver capacities ranging from 45 to 75 tons. For more information, check out the project summary.

PROJECT EXPERIENCE – MANUFACTURING FACILITY MEZZANINE ADDITION

Installation of 60-ft long Ductile Iron Piles within the manufacturing facility

As part of the tenant build-out, new mezzanine construction was planned inside an existing 150,000 square foot warehouse. Column loads up to 250 kips required support using deep foundations to transfer building loads below soft clay and zones of peat and organic soils to underlying stiff glacial clay. With overhead clearances of only 25 to 28 feet and pile lengths of 50 to 60 feet, a Ductile Iron Pile solution was selected over low overhead augercast piles. Designers used exterior grouted DIPs to develop frictional capacity in the stiff clay using a combination of Series 118/7.5 and 170/9.0 piles to address both compression and lateral loading scenarios. Peterson Contractors installed over 480 DIPs with an average production of 1,000 LF/day with some days approaching 2,000 LF of production. For more information, check out the project summary.