Project overview

Eight different wall heights and eight different wall thicknesses start the list of challenges for this monster project. The footings ranged from 14-in. x 24-in. to 14-in. x 6-ft. with double mats of rebar of #4 to #6. There were 20 vertical jumps from 10 to 12-ft in height with the widest jump spanning 12-ft.  The front wall of the basement was 18-ft 6-in. tall with a joist ledge at 8-ft. 6-in. A rear terrace required 188 linear feet of curved, sloping wall and another 370 linear feet of curved wall. A stair wall at a rec room required 248 fillers and of the corners formed, 30 of them required hinged corners held together with vice grips. The project also had many intersecting radius walls.

In all, the multiple elevations and wall thicknesses incorporated 74 corners in the terrace and basement with only 24 of them 90-degree. To top this all off, there were 66 steps formed on sloped radius walls. The project was divided into eight phases with multiple pours completed on each phase.

Project overview

The challenges of this project were many including the tops of all walls (24 to 32-ft.) sloped.  In addition, we had two structural concrete decks, a landing for a staircase and internal stair support wall with embedded steel.  The owner asked that all electrical conduit was in the concrete walls despite the height we were working.  The walls were built as an insulated sandwich wall requiring the electrical boxes to be pushed back into the form to fit within the concrete layer.  We used non-stop scaffolding due to the height of these walls as it permitted us to be raised up to 40-ft if needed.  An 8-ft walkway was created all the way around the house with the scaffolding.  The footings stepped three times with 6-ft steps in each location.

The house also features cast-in-place benches around a cast fire pit with oblique angles in all directions; cast-in-place display for art work bed, structural concrete decks and structural concrete headers.  The stair landing is also cast-in-place with cantilevered steel treads.  In addition to constructing this house, we were charged with the engineering.

Project overview

The foundation was to receive a pre-packaged/pre-designed wall and floor system making little room for field adjustment and requiring tighter tolerances for this ICF foundation.  The bulkheads, step-downs and depressions were meticulously designed and surveyed throughout construction to ensure accuracy.  Footing elevations altered as small as ½-in. and the total footing depths were between 12 and 24-in.

The project was designed for maximum sensitivity to the environment, which required control of waste.  The ICF walls were braced during forming and pumping but unlike grouting CMU walls, these could not be replaced, chipped or adjusted, it had to be correct the first time.  Only one 15-yard dumpster was used and all waste was managed, sorted and recycled when possible on-site.

Project overview

This foundation was part CIP and part CMU.  Footings for the crawl space and basement were 24 to 30-in. deep and 36-in. wide.  Additionally, multiple pier footings were required ranging from 12 to 18-in. thick.  A 985 sq.ft. safe room required footings with doubled dowels to tie into the double mat rebar required in the walls.  The double mat steel allowed ledges to carry the concrete “roof” and the first floor framing.  The safe room was topped with an 8-in. thick concrete “roof” or lid that doubled as the floor for an indoor firing range above.

The partial basement of this project eliminated some excavation and disturbance of the lot and yet the plan still required over 200 tons of gravel to bring the garage and basement slabs up to sufficient grade. 

Project overview

Over 400 tons of gravel was required to bring the slabs up to a buildable level for this lot.  Garage walls ended up 3-ft in the front and stepped upward to 25-ft in the rear.  An elevated garage at the first floor level with a storage level below took advantage of the grade.  All walls had double mat #5 rebar and large haunches at the front entrance were monolithic for large entry steps.

A retaining wall connects the main house to the semi-attached garage and steps from 12-ft to 20-ft in height.  Footings for the house were 30-in. wide x 12-in. deep and had more than 10-ft of vertical step. The largest pier footing was 60-in. x 60-in. and some footings were as thick as 24-in.

With all of the technical challenges of this project, our ability to work with the general contractor to propose more reasonable solutions and find opportunities gave the client a masterpiece of a home starting with this foundation.

Project overview

This California “cliff-hanger” has a mat slab footing ranging from 4-ft to 4-ft 6-in. thick with three keyways (lugs) below 3-ft x 3-ft x 50-ft long.  This consumed 560 cu. yds. of concrete with an topping slab 6-in. thick.  Only four square corners existed for the foundation walls.  The rest were acute and obtuse angles with intersecting interior walls at off angles.  Several columns were required between 30 and 40-ft in height. The job consisted of a five-level, concrete home, four of those levels below grade.

The project started by drilling 47 36-in. caissons, which went down between 40 and 60-ft in depth.  After hitting major groundwater, using pumps and holding tanks, multiple mat slabs and structural slab levels and covering slabs, in the end, over 2,700 yards of concrete was poured, over 1,000,000 pounds of steel set, thousands of pieces of hardware, and 9,000 square feet of structural deck shored.

Project overview

The complexity on this project was defined by the engineer-specified five footing size ranging from 10-in. x 20-in. to 16-in. x 48-in., each heavily reinforced; and a lug 130 feet long, 16-in. deep x 14-in. wide extending below the footing for sliding restraint.  Seven continuous vertical steps in the footing were required as well and a total of 21 wall heights were encountered.  Due to poor soil conditions, 50 piers were drilled prior to placing rebar and concrete in the footing.

The design called for 119 vertical feet of angled corner as well as a section of curved wall. The most complex walls, however, were the 17 and 18-ft tall walls with double matt #5 rebar at 12-in. o.c. each way. These walls sat on footings containing eight #5 continuous rebar and #5 cross bars at 12-in. o.c. as well as #5 “L” dowels at 11-in. o.c. at each face of the wall. Under these footings, the lug was 16-in. x 14-in. with two #4 continuous rebars and #4 vertical lug bars at 18-in. o.c.

Total station was critical to this project as was planning the details for the preparation of the crew. The layout required 99 points or corners for such a relatively small plan. The total station also aided in top of wall checking and all points and conditions were checked three and four times to maintain accuracy.

Project overview

The most outstanding feature on this project is the 40-ft tall stair tower with 9-ft radius. The tower included 13 cast-in-place windows, two doors and four beam pockets. Additionally, the project included 11 free-standing column piers with ledge, a free-standing retaining wall with deep stone ledge and large cut-out and angled garage walls. Six different footing elevations were required and both the elevator/stair pit and the retaining wall footings were heavily reinforced with continuous and transverse bars.

The total station was essential to this project as it was poured in various sections and all corners and wall lines were verified prior to placement. The project also included steel deck topped with white Portland cement in the basement, the boat display and the first floor. This took more care and caution than a standard floor mix.

Project overview

The footings on this large foundation stepped to eight different elevations with nine different wall heights; including an 11-ft stretch at the rear of the house with three different footing elevation changes. Through all of these height changes, the stone ledge on the exterior also changed creating a complex top of wall geometry. Our approach of conceptualizing the challenges on a project before getting to site allowed our workers to successfully complete this quality project.

Project overview

The challenge of this project included 25 different elevations with footing widths ranging from 4-ft to 12-ft wide.  Continuous #7 bars were required in all footings.  Built into the side of a cliff, some walls were required to be 17-ft tall and at each end of the building a 17-ft tall fireplace was cast.  The ½-acre site sits 150-ft above the river below and contains 17 units in three buildings, all with limited access.

While digging foundations, the engineer decided the original design would not work and the entire structure changed, forcing us to adapt during excavation.

The project required large mats of steel and 14 different concrete placements by pump.  In all, more than 2,000 man hours were logged on the project for our scope of excavation, foundations, flatwork and spoils removal.

Project overview

The footings on this project were up to 15-ft wide and contained up to #11 rebar.  The walls were as high as 27-ft, with numerous height changes and were required to be self-supporting with backfill prior to the placement of precast structural members.  They contained numerous brick ledges along the outside as well as slab ledges for the precast, many sloping to provide access to underground parking.  Corners were complex 45-degree angles at the elevator locations and 912 embeds were required in the walls for connections. 

Among the successes on the project were the problems anticipated and worked out before construction for the GC due to our CAD and total station work.  Through nine plan changes and 12 precast revisions, we were able to quickly adapt and produce a successful project.

Project overview

This project included complex corners and piers at walk-out walls. Additionally, a curved wall was prepared with a stone ledge on the exterior and a foot ledge on the interior.

Our expertise with total station made the difference in this project with the complex foundation received from the architect in CAD. Due to the elevation changes and the proximity to the lake, a pump placed the concrete for the entire project and the result was a high-quality, complex foundation for this owner’s new home.

Project overview

Curved footings were one of the biggest challenges on this project. There were only three 90-degree corners. Every other corner was angled or curved starting at 17-degrees. The contractor started layout with a surveyor and finished the layout with its total station to make the complex plan possible. Once the layout was completed, the project went smoothly.

We are very pleased with the outcome, as is the customer. Our employees produced a masterpiece from a complicated foundation.