Solution

Maric Homes engaged VersaPile to design and have engineered thirty-seven helical piles, suitable for 40 kips of load, to support the home.
Our team anticipated, based on the soils data provided, that from excavated depth till would be encountered at approximately 36 - 37 feet. Accordingly, our team brought 40 feet of pile to the site.
In reality, while some piles did refuse prior to 40 feet, many had be extended an additional 10 feet in order to hit refusal up to 50 feet deep.
To extended some of the helical piles further, VersaPile quickly secured pipe to match the helical pile shafts. Our crew worked over the weekend to weld the extensions on the helical piles and continue turning them into the ground. Once the piles reached refusal, the extension was cut from the pile and used to extend the next pile. This ensured maximum efficiency of additional materials and minimized waste.
Because of this fix, additional costs to install piles deeper than predicted was kept to a minimum. Timelines were only impacted by one single day, as our crews worked over the weekend to lengthen piles as necessary.
Mobilizing in winter with a CAT 321D excavator, equipped with Pengo RT20 anchor drive, VersaPile's crew was able to penetrate frost without pre-drilling and successfully install all piles to till.
Had precast or timber driven piles been selected by the customer, they would have had to abandon piles which failed to refuse, making them unusable, and come back with longer piles. The till varied greatly from pile to pile which would have made it difficult for piling contractors installing timber or precast piles to predict. The cost increase from such situations tends to be exponential, as larger pile rigs are mobilized to install longer piles. Timelines are also at risk, with these delays often adding weeks to the foundation installation.