University of Ottawa STEM Complex

University of Ottawa STEM Complex

HCM installed a 36,000 SF shoring system for the new STEM Complex at the University of Ottawa. To reduce the shoring schedule during the harsh Ottawa winter, HCM deployed double crews, 24 hours a day for both vertical drilling and anchor installation. Constant adaptation to the soil conditions was needed due to the presence of soft clays, cobbley till, and flowing sands. Multiple freeze-thaw cycles made for challenging site conditions requiring proficient site communication to ensure a productive and safe jobsite. RWH Engineering Inc. produced an efficient shoring solution and by self-performing the precision monitoring allowed for the design to be verified closely with the excavation procedures. In-house engineering support also ensured there was no downtime caused by unforeseen conditions or site issues.

HCM worked alongside the other contractors to expedite the project to the bottom of the 17 meter deep site in 3 months.

Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Customer: R.W. Tomlinson Ltd

Upper House Condominiums

Upper House Condominiums - Caisson Wall Piles and Lagging

Upper House Condominiums

HCM completed the shoring for the eight storey Upper House Condominium project which required a 12m deep excavation for two levels of underground parking. A tied-back shoring system comprised of piles and lagging with caisson wall adjacent to an existing residence was installed. 

Typical to developments in Toronto, there were encroachment restrictions on the south side of the site which only allowed for the tiebacks to extend a maximum of 6.2m to the neighbouring property line. To work within the limited space restrictions, RWH Engineering Inc. designed a system utilizing an upper row of double splayed anchors. Post-grouted strand anchors were installed to achieve the required load capacity in the soils. HCM with the supervision of RWH completed a load testing program to determine the optimal number of post-grout cycles required to meet the anchor design. Reducing the post-grout cycles resulted in schedule savings to the project.

Further, the shoring design was finite element modelled to allow for comparison against the monitoring results and ensure the shoring performed adequately throughout the construction. 

HCM and RWH worked together to produce a design-build shoring re-design which was tailored to the specific requirements of the project and resulted in cost and schedule savings.

Location: Toronto, ON 

Customer: SKYGRiD Construction Inc.

 

Upper House Condominiums - Caisson Wall Piles and Lagging
Upper House Condominiums - Caisson Wall Piles and Lagging

Currie Barracks Residential Development

Currie Barracks Residential Development

HCM was contracted to provide the design and installation of shoring system for a multi-family condo development in the Currie Barracks area SW Calgary. Conventional cantilever pile and timber lagging shoring system was used to support the excavation for the foundation wall along 50% of the perimeter of the entire building footprint. Most of the shoring was offset from the foundation wall and the remaining portion was used as a blind form for the concrete formworks. This was determined by the presence of the City of Calgary Utility Right of Way (URW) and the close proximity to the property line at the areas that required shoring. The depth of excavation varied from 4-5 metres below grade. The shoring was regularly monitored by an HCM field engineer in order to detect any unusual movement and/or anomalies which may occur in early stages of the excavation. If movement had occurred, an alternate design solution consisting of an internal raker bracing was prepared at early stages of the shoring design. This provided the owner/developer with significant cost savings as the shoring showed negligible movement for the duration of the excavation.


HCM completed this project on schedule and according to the planned stages of the progress requirements determined by the General Contractor.

Location: Calgary, Alberta

Customer: Lear Construction Management

Twinning Tunnels

Twinning Tunnels

The installation of a deep trunk sanitary sewer system in the bedrock beneath Erin Mills Parkway in Mississauga required an innovative approach for shoring manholes. For this project, HCM was contracted to install nine caisson wall compression rings at various locations. RWH Engineering Inc. (RWH), an HC Group company, provided an economical design for the shafts which had diameters of up to 11 meters and depths up to 50 meters.

RWH overcame several design challenges on this project including the consideration of the compression rings to withstand large uneven surcharges due to a close embankment as well as significant crane loads. To ensure the integrity of the shoring system, RWH provided the precision monitoring services.

This project required the installation of the compression rings into the bedrock to support the overburden. HCM successfully implemented RWH’s innovative design which did not include a bench at the top of the bedrock, as commonly seen in compression ring design. This resulted in a reduced diameter of the compression rings, significantly reducing the amount of bulk excavation required as well as installation time.

The project exemplifies HCM’s ability to find effective solutions to complex projects to minimize construction time.

Location: Mississauga, Ontario

Customer: McNally Construction Inc.

Odeon Ronmore Development

Odeon Ronmore Development

HCM was contracted to provide the design and installation of shoring system for a mixed use commercial development in the main corridor of the Garrison Woods area SW Calgary. RWH designed a tied-back pile and timber lagging shoring system to support the vertical excavation for the foundation wall along the majority of the building perimeter. Due to overhead power restrictions and minimal clearances to the property line, the laneway side of the project was supported by a soil nailed shotcrete system. The laneway shoring presented various challenges including anchor encroachment limitations that could not exceed 6.0m to the adjacent property. Anchors were tightly spaced and injection grouted bars installed to gain increased soil adhesion. Regular site inspections and monitoring was performed by RWH to review the performance of the shoring and confirm the design during all stages of the excavation. The shoring was designed for a maximum excavation depth of 10m below grade for a total of 13,200 SF of shoring area.

HCM finished this project on schedule working with the General Contractor to escalate excavation activities and meet the occupancy milestone outlined by the owner.

Location: Calgary, Alberta

Customer: Chandos Construction Ltd.

K2 Condominiums

HCM Group - K2 Condominiums

K2 Condominiums

This development on King Street in Waterloo required approximately 15,000 SF of shoring for two levels of underground parking. RWH Engineering Inc. (RWH) designed a piles and lagging shoring system with rakers to reach depths up to 9 meters. Wet fine sands required careful excavation and lagging in small lifts to ensure no ground loss occurred. High surcharges imposed by surrounding buildings required the rakers to be jacked in order to lock in the design load to minimize shoring movement.

Due to HCM’s efficient construction and project management, this project finished on time and on budget

Client: U.I.D. Developments Inc.
Location: Waterloo, Ontario

Mount Royal University Conservatory

Mount Royal University Conservatory

Mount Royal University Conservatory

Design considerations for the foundations were similar to previous projects in the area, with installation of approx. 220 cast-in-place belled piles. The project design team for structural & geotechnical engineering consisted of local firms of Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. & Thurber Engineering Ltd. The need for the new addition to a campus was a result of fast growing student population at the Mount Royal University and demands for specialty studies.

The soil conditions at mentioned site consisted predominantly of clay till which is ideal for large capacity belled piles. The shafts for the piles were in the range of:

  • 900mm
  • 1000mm
  • 1200mm
  • 1370mm in diameter.

The bells were sized at:

  • 2000mm
  • 2400mm
  • 2800mm
  • 3400mm
  • 3600mm in diameter

 

Mount Royal University Conservatory - Soldier Piles & Lagging

The average basing depth on this project was approx. 12.0m – 15.0m with an occasional need to protect the upper portion of the pile shafts by using temporary steel caising in order to prevent ingress of water into the pile shafts. The average concrete volumes for single piles were approx. 20 – 24 cu. metres. Among the challenges for HCM was installation of piles in close proximity to concrete and steel underground utilities which were present on site as a result of previously demolished structure. In many cases this required coring and managing voids in the shafts after removal of these obstructions. Also, numerous piles were belled in soils with occurrence of large boulders which required special considerations for handling of equipment, customized tooling requirements and operating skills.

HCM finished foundation piling scope of work ahead of planned schedule.

Client: Cana Management
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Love Condos

Love Condos

Love Condos

This project involved approx 41,000 sf of piles and lagging temporary shoring system. The project was broken into two phase both consisting of piles and lagging with both rakers and tiebacks in order to avoid conflicts with neighboring properties. HCM along with RWH design and constructed the shoring system to meet the project scheduled and owners budget. By using in house engineering HCM was able to respond to changes in of the project quickly and effectively to ensure the project was completed on time.
Included on this project is:

• Pile and lagging walls

• Prestressed soil rock anchors

• Rakers and struts

• Regular monitoring

HCM worked closely with the General Contractor to ensure the shoring systems were built efficiently and as per the designs and specifications. In addition, together we were able to accelerate the overall project schedule.

Client: 59 Project Management
Location: Markham, Ontario

BRT Tomken Station

BRT Tomken Station

The Mississauga Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project is a dedicated roadway for bus travel. It stretches 18 km from Winston Churchill Boulevard to Renforth Drive.

HCM’s scope of work for this project included all shoring and caisson work to accomodate the construction of transit stations, bridge underpasses and overpasses, and below grade roadways. HCM’s tender submission used shotcrete for roadway protection systems and two-sided shoring for bridge underpass/overpass construction. This unique design, completed by RWH Engineering Inc. (RWH), an HC Group company, resulted in many cost and schedule savings for the owner.

There were numerous jobsites that HCM coordinated during different stages of the project schedule which made communication between the HCM team, the GC and other sub trades critical. This project exemplifies the ability of HCM to assist owners and GCs in finding beneficial solutions for all parties.

Client: Metrolinx

Location: Mississauga, Ontario

St. Thomas Courthouse

St. Thomas Courthouse

Alternate Methods Stop Running Sands

HCM was retained to design, supply and install a complete shoring system to facilitate construction of the new St. Thomas Court House for EllisDon. Construction of the proposed shoring was initially for soldier piles and lagging with a single level of bracing using tiebacks.

The existing structures were initially designed using conventional underpinning. When excavation reached the underside of the existing structures it had been determined that soils were not what expected in the geotechnical report. The existing soil conditions were flowing wet sands and HCM was asked to provide an alternate method to the conventional underpinning.

HCM implemented a shotcrete underpinning system including positive support of the existing rubble foundation to allow us to support the structure and lateral pressure of the earth while excavation proceeded to base of the new structure.

With the assistance of RWH (an HC Group of companies) our ability to react and provide an alternate design solution allowed HCM to complete successfully the shoring and foundation works within EllisDon’s budget and schedule.

Client: EllisDon Construction
Location: St. Thomas, Ontario

St. Thomas Courthouse - Shotcrete, Soldier Piles & Lagging

Weston Tunnel Grade Separation

Weston Tunnel Grade Separation

Weston Tunnel Grade Separation

HC Matcon achieved a significant milestone on the Weston Tunnel project, allowing for the GC to accelerate the schedule and make up for project delays. HCM mobilized 5 large diameter drill rigs and in seven and a half weeks installed 311 soldier piles (12,000 linear feet) drilled into bedrock up to 60 feet deep and approximately 620 filler piles (7,000 linear feet). The work was completed with an average of 30% downtime as drilling was carried out between two operational train tracks.

Client: KO Constructors
Location: Etobicoke, Ontario

Highland Creek WWTP

Highland Creek WWTP

Due to increased population and the requirement for treating excess amounts of waste water, Highland Creek WWTP underwent a significant upgrade to provide clean water for the residents of Scarborough.  HC Matcon was procured to install several excavation support walls within the treatment plant.

HC Matcon installed seventy-four soldier piles along with multiple tiebacks and shotcrete.  Due to the proximity of the proposed addition, the underground utilities posed a challenging concern.  To avoid disruption and contact with the existing utilities, HC Matcon implemented a perched pile system.  HC Matcon also designed a shoring system around the underground utilities and allowed work to proceed.

HC Matcon completed all work as per industry details combined with innovative connection designs which were incorporated to save schedule time.

Client: Alberici Constructors Inc.

Location: Scarborough, Ontario