CN Malton GO Station

CN Malton GO Station

Challenge: Build While Trains Are Running

Work on the Malton GO Station in Toronto, Ontario includes improvements such as new walkways and a tunnel for pedestrian access to new platforms.

HC Matcon’s scope of work, includes:

  • 37 caissons at 30-inch diameter, and an approximately 25-foot deep shoring system with strand anchors.
  • The pile and caisson installation was challenging due to a number of factors. The train tracks, in close proximity to the work being done, were required to be fully operational.
  • Special precautions were taken for track protection and the safety of workers.
  • Due to the close proximity to Pearson International Airport, special precautions were taken to conform to the Greater Toronto Airport Authority’s guidelines for the operation of high-mast drills and cranes.
  • HC Matcon accommodated special staging requirements set forth by CN for work, such as the installation of the precast tunnel and track relocations.

HC Matcon will work with all parties involved in a project to ensure a swift execution with minimal conflicts.

Client: B. Gottardo
Location: Toronto, Ontario

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Redevelopment Project

St. Joseph's Healthcare Redevelopment Project

Unique Soil Conditions

The future location for this tower is located immediately adjacent to the emergency wing of the existing St. Joseph’s hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. HCM is a recognized shoring contractor that will take on many challenges relating to foundation design.

On this particular project, HCM took on the tasks of:

  • shotcrete shoring
  • caissons
  • micropiles
  • excavation
  • site services
  • demolition with the constraints of limited access and project complexity.

A portion of the work was to be performed indoors, which required special care towards the patients of the hospital and the HCM workers. The original design for this inside work included conventional pad footings dowelled in to existing caissons five feet below the finished floor. The soil conditions are unique on this project due to the fact that the site is situated at the bottom of the Niagara Escarpment where bedrock is on an incline. This increased the depth required for adequate bearing stratum, requiring the entire area to be excavated and the perimeter shored. To save costs to all parties involved, HCM proposed an alternate to the original design to provide hand-dug caisson caps around the existing caisson and column construction. Caissons were excavated to depths of 18 feet below the finished floor using reinforced compression rings and shotcrete shoring to reach adequate bedrock.

The above innovations were the optimal solution for this portion of work resulting in another successful hospital project by HCM on budget, on time.

Client: PCL
Location: Hamilton, Ontario

TTC Wilson Complex Modification

TTC Wilson Complex Modification

Engineering Solutions

The Toronto Transit Commission will be purchasing all new subway cars in the near future, creating the requirement of larger maintenance carhouses. The original contract drawings employed caisson wall, soldier piles and lagging, and conventional concrete underpinning for the earthwork specifications related to our field of work. HC Matcon proposed an alternative engineered solution that included the use of shotcrete, underpinning, micropiles, soldier piles and shotcrete lagging (SPSL) to achieve the same effect. The acceptance of this proposal allowed for a substantial cost savings to the owner, as well as a shorter construction schedule for the various contractors involved. Mechanical jacking pits were built where shoring is used as a backform for manholes. Shoring for carhouses below- grade will be used as a backform for foundation walls. The substitution of shotcrete underpinning in lieu of caisson walls will allow for easier access to the tunnel portion of the project. This will allow for less demolition of the existing building and less clearance issues.

The above are just a couple examples of the innovations that HCM Contractors Inc. will use to add value to any project.

Client: Aquicon Construction
Location: Toronto, Ontario

Credit Valley Hospital

Credit Valley Hospital

Alternative to Save Time and Money

The Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga, Ontario is undergoing a massive expansion and renovation. HC Matcon was brought in to undertake the shoring, underpinning, and caissons for this construction. The majority of the work included the drilling and installation of 222 concrete caissons, ranging between 24- and 84-inches in diameter. The original design required concrete-encased steel beams and conventional timber-lagged shoring adjacent to the operating hospital for support of the existing building and excavation. HC Matcon proposed an alternate to use vertical micropiles and shotcrete shoring in lieu of the above, which resulted in less disruption to the functioning hospital. The acceptance of this proposal also allowed a savings in cost and schedule time for the general contractor and owner. HC Matcon is able to overcome challenges while working with all parties involved to add value and cost savings to a project.

Client: Bondfield Construction
Location: Mississauga, Ontario

Scarborough Hospital

Scarborough Hospital

A Design-Build Solution

The Scarborough Hospital was adding a new Critical Care Centre in the courtyard surrounded on all sides by existing hospital structures.

 HC Matcon’s scope of work included:

  • excavation of the new building foundation on pad footings
  • permanent shotcrete underpinning system to support surrounding structures
  • soldier pile and lagging wall to support a pedestrian walkway adjacent to pad footings and service manholes
  • demolition of service tunnels while maintaining operation and maintenance access for emergency services and hydro caissons to support new canopies and additions to existing structures.

At various points during construction, HC Matcon has been required to provide innovative design-build solutions to accommodate changes to the original design.

Client: EllisDon
Location: Scarborough, Ontario

Grand House

Grand House

Difficult But Not Impossible

The Grand House is a student designed and constructed co-operative housing project located in Cambridge, Ontario.  It has won awards and is a landmark building.

  • Due to the topography of the site, limited access, and constructibility concerns, specialized foundation members were required.
  • Conventional footings and caissons were not feasible given the site parameters. HC Matcon Inc. designed a series of micro piles which were installed battered and upon which a structural steel web was installed and used as the base for traditional framing.
  • A total of 30 micro piles were installed at an average depth of 30′” each.

The use of non intrusive construction methods allowed the owner to develop the property and provided considerable cost savings.

Client: Grand House Student Co-op
Location: Cambridge, Ontario

George Street Bridge

George Street Bridge

This bridge replacement project required the drilling of two abutments consisting of a total of 32 drilled caissons in the existing creek bed. In addition to the environmental concerns related to work being completed in an existing creek bed, access restrictions and overhead lines required the use of a versatile machine capable of drilling the 10-14 foot caissons. The use of an excavator mounted drill enabled the precision drilling required with minimal impact on the surrounding landscape. The equipment’s low headroom capabilities make it ideally suited to projects with headroom constraints and uneven terrain.

Client: Montague Construction Limited

Location: Ingersoll, Ontario

The Bow

The Bow

The future Bow building, located in Calgary, Alberta Canada, is an innovation in both architectural and shoring design. At 58 stories and with a footprint of two city blocks, The Bow will be the largest building in Canada west of Toronto. It will be an impressive addition to the Calgary skyline and will serve to redevelop the east side of Calgary’s downtown. With 850 caissons to be drilled, combined with extensive shotcrete, there will be 13,200m2 of total shoring implemented for the construction of The Bow. This is the largest shoring job of its kind in western Canada. HCM Contractors Inc. is proud to be part of the team constructing this ground breaking new building for Calgary.

For this project, Ontario based excavation-shoring, foundation specialty contractor HC Matcon Inc. expanded into the Alberta market as the newly incorporated company HCM Contractors Inc. A new team was formed to build HCM Contractors Inc. from both experienced HC Matcon Inc. employees and new hires. Now based in Calgary, HCM Contractors Inc. brings with it the expertise that has made HC Matcon Inc. respected in the Ontario specialty shoring market.

HCM Contractors Inc. has invested heavily in new equipment for this shoring project. With the purchase of two new state of the art piling drills, the Bauer BG2 24 and Casagrande B250, HCM Contractors Inc. has risen to the forefront of caisson drilling in Calgary. The two machines allow HCM Contractors Inc. to handle jobs of impressive size. Purchases include a two Casagrande M9 drills for drilling tiebacks as well as additional foundation equipment.

With design from Toronto based Isherwood Associates, HCM Contractors Inc. is introducing the Berlin wall method of shoring to the Calgary construction market. The Berlin wall method involves a combination of caisson wall and shotcrete. The soil conditions in Calgary are unique due to the city’s glaciated geological history. The soil is composed mainly of gravel and cobbles– transitioning to rock layers of mudstone, siltstone, and sandstone. No one shoring system is ideally suited to all layers. The Berlin wall method allows the shoring system to be tailored to the variable soil conditions of Calgary while still passing on a significant cost saving to the customer. The caisson wall, completely enclosing two city blocks, penetrates the lower rock to cut off water in the gravel and eliminates all upper ground loss, unlike what would be typical of lagging systems. At the same time, the caisson wall provides greater stiffness and controls the movement of the shoring wall. At lower depths, the rock requires less support and caissons are not needed– anchored shotcrete provides an optimal solution.

HCM Contractors Inc. is employing a full survey crew to guarantee millimeter accuracy throughout the shoring installation. Our team utilizes a total station system with targets on the bottom and top of each pile as well as on neighboring buildings. This ensures precision with the caisson layout and implementation of the shoring system. The project also includes the installation of twelve vertical inclinometers and twelve rock extensometers. This is the first time that rock extensometers have been used in construction in western Canada. These instruments provide us with sub millimeter data on movement within the shoring system. With precision monitoring of moments during excavation allows for additional anchors to be installed on an as required basis.

 

Client: Matthews Southwest

Location: Calgary, Alberta

St. Joseph’s Health Centre Parking

St. Joseph's Health Centre Parking

Shotcrete Reduces Costs for Owner

The St. Joseph’s Health Centre is adding a new Our Lady of Mercy wing complete with three levels of underground parking.

HC Matcon was responsible for:

  •  installing the approximately 20,000 square feet of zero clearance shotcrete and caisson wall to be used as a back form for the foundation walls.
  • 121 caissons to support the foundation perimeter and new ambulance bay canopy drilled with a Watson 3110.

HC Matcon’s alternative shotcrete shoring solution added value to the project with a substantial cost savings to the owner.

Client: Harbridge and Cross
Location: Toronto, Ontario

Guelph Civic Administration Complex

Guelph Civic Administration Complex

Complex Shoring Requires Innovative Design

Work on this site involved the supply and installation of caissons, underpinning, rock anchors, as well as both traditional soldier pile and lagging and shotcrete shoring systems.

  • Shoring designs were required to incorporate work next to the existing CN passenger rail tracks and the historical heritage buildings being developed into the new structure design.
  • Due to the nature and age of the buildings impacted by the work shoring design required flexibility of design while maintaining and adhering to the strict tolerances required by the specifications.

The combination of the shoring systems in conjunction with the design capacity for on site modifications allowed the excavation to be completed uniformly across the site and helped to accelerate the construction schedule.

Client: Urbacon Ltd
Location: Guelph, Ontario

TTC St. Clair Station

TTC St. Clair Station

Two new elevators on the east and west sides of St. Clair station were installed to allow easier access for disabled persons. During construction, HC Matcon was confronted withsome interesting challenges, including extremely tight access and a high water table.

The east elevator pit was constructed with a 10 m deep caisson wall, braced horizontally against the existing subway structure. Piles were drilled with a Bauer BG 22H self-lining drill in order to overcome the high groundwater conditions.

The west elevator pit was constructed with an 8 m deep lagging wall, the piles for which were drilled in a single weekend in order to comply with TTC and City of Toronto access restrictions. HC Matcon’s excavation operations were aided by our own dewatering systems installed at each elevator pit. A total of 4 deep wells were effectively used to lower the water table below final excavation grade.

Client: Consolidated Canadian
Location: Toronto, Ontario

TTC St. Clair Station

TTC St. Clair Station

Overcoming Tight Access and High Water Table

Two new elevators on the east and west sides of St. Clair station were installed to allow easier access for disabled persons. During construction, HC Matcon was confronted with some interesting challenges, including extremely tight access and a high water table.

  • The east elevator pit was constructed with a 10 m deep caisson wall, braced horizontally against the existing subway structure. Piles were drilled with a Bauer BG 22H self-lining drill in order to overcome the high groundwater conditions.
  • The west elevator pit was constructed with an 8 m deep lagging wall, the piles for which were drilled in a single weekend in order to comply with TTC and City of Toronto access restrictions.
  • HC Matcon’s excavation operations were aided by our own dewatering systems installed at each elevator pit.
  • A total of 4 deep wells were effectively used to lower the water table below final excavation grade.

Client: Consolidated Canadian

Location: Toronto, Ontario