TIMBER
Ground
Improvement Using
TIMBER PILES
Outside-the-box thinking proved
successful in the construction of a
South Carolina hotel
By Van Hogan, Timber Piling Council
Timber piles have supported structures for thousands of
years. Recently, they were selected to improve a new hotel
site in a less conventional manner.
A Staybridge Suites hotel was slated for construction in
Mount Pleasant, S.C., by Lowcountry Hotels, LLC of North
Charleston, S.C. The site for the new hotel was located along busy
U.S. Route 17, just north of the Charleston Harbor, which separates
Mount Pleasant from Charleston.
The new five-story hotel occupied a long, narrow footprint.
This configuration had the twofold effect of concentrating the
building loads on a relatively small portion of the site and providing
a tall, broad side that could transmit substantial uplift/overturning
loads to the foundation during times of high winds.
Coastal Engineering & Testing of North Charleston, S.C.,
was selected as the project’s geotechnical engineer. Three standard
penetration test borings and one seismic cone penetration test were
conducted to a depth of 55 feet below existing grade to evaluate
foundations, seismicity and site preparation needs. The investigation
found sands of varying densities to depths of 49 feet with the
Cooper Marl below.
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