Building #18 at the Cedar Ridge Condominiums was sinking. The building is perched upon a slope overlooking the ravine. Repair for the foundation had been designed with helical pile underpins with helical anchors for additional lateral support.
After reviewing the original plans, McDowell Pile King helped develop revised plans including value engineering the project for machine driven 4” diameter schedule 80 pipe pile and custom fabricated retrofit pile brackets. The brackets were mounted to the stem wall to eliminate deep excavations and trench boxes. A c-channel waler was mounted to a portion of the foundation wall to bridge an area where the cantilevered floor joist prevented access to install pile. The key to implementing these value engineering concepts was the installation of a temporary wall. This wall provided stability to the slope and safe working access to install larger diameter piles, by machine, with deeper penetrations than would have been possible with man-portable equipment. As a result of implementing McDowell Pile King’s recommendations, the homeowners association at Cedar Ridge Condominiums achieved substantial savings without compromising the structural integrity of the repair.