Hospital Underpinning System
We recently installed an underpinning system around a hospital to prevent rain-related flooding on their grounds. Let’s look at the problems they face and the solution we provided.
The Problem
The hospital often experienced flooding on their grounds and in their basement during and after rainstorms. They realized they needed to prevent the flooding, so it didn’t cause structural damage to their buildings. The hospital hired a contractor to perform stormwater drainage improvements throughout their campus. The contractor collaborated with us to create a customized underpinning system that would alleviate the hospital’s flooding problems.
Our Solution
We provided a helical pile underpinning system to the contractor. At one point, we had to redesign our solution to reduce project costs and adjust to product availability. We also had to add an uplift restraint bracket to the solution to support two pump stations on the hospital’s campus. The contractor installed the underpinning system by putting it in a trench box 15 feet below the ground. One of our team members was onsite for four days during the installation to ensure the contractor’s installation process went smoothly.
The Results
The project was a success. The installation process went well, and the contractor used two pieces of our helical drive equipment, a drive head and a torque indicator, to get the job done. The underpinning system transferred the foundation’s weight to stable soil to prevent flooding throughout the campus.