and a Xtreme telescoping forklift. Due to the logistics of the site
after the sheet piles were installed, FCI worked with the contractor
to leave the Manitowoc 4000 on site during the shoring installation
and excavation phase. This allowed the owner to save on the cost
of an additional mobilization to pull the sheets once the footings
were poured.
As a result of the project being located in the Mission Bay
District, there is an existing corrosive environment in the soil. Due
to this corrosivity, the owner requested a special coating to be
placed on the top 45 feet of each pile. This coating, Amerlock 400,
was able to provide an additional overall lifespan of up to 150 years
after the application. For all of the good this coating provided, it
also came with its share of challenges during pile handling and
actual driving operations, discussed further below.
Challenges
With the project located on such a small footprint, the erection
of the crane and unloading of the piles often overlapped into the
public street surrounding the project.
“This was one of the smallest lots in the entire Bay Area to
install piles on,” said Rick Reyna with Foundation Constructors,
Inc. “Every move of our equipment and installation of each pile section
had to be precise. There was no room for error.”
Traffic control and flagging were used daily to make public safety
a top priority. Additionally, the project footprint was within one
foot of an existing structure that was newly built, and protection of
that structure was constantly on the mind of FCI’s crews with the
installation of each pile. Piles along the outer edge were installed
with the hammer within inches of the existing structure. The precise
nature of this pile placement required an attention to detail
unlike any other.
FCI staff had to coordinate each pile delivery truck to ensure
the proper pile length was delivered to the site in the correct
sequence; the lot size did not provide laydown area for more than
two truckloads of piles each day. Typically, one truck arrived with
a load in the morning and another truck in the afternoon to keep
the small stockpile on site full. With a small stockpile onsite and
no room to store additional piles, FCI’s coordination of trucking
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Foundation and Piling Plan. Numbering Plan by FCI.
Hornberger + Worstell
The SOMA Hotel lot
Google Maps, 2020
66 | ISSUE 5 2020 www.piledrivers.org
/www.piledrivers.org
