Blog Category Archives: Newsletter

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Sewer Installation Delayed due to foundation Failure

A utility company trenched in a gas line adjacent to a property with a stone rubble foundation. The excavation and vibration caused sections of the stone rubble wall to fall stopping all future work on the underground services.

The initial solution was to install timber lagging to protect the wall from the 14’-0” sewer cut within 8’-0” of the foundation. However, the 110” wide narrow laneway precluded drilling rigs from accessing the site.

The solution required shoring up the front of the house, removing parts of the foundation, installing five – 14’-0” deep helix piers (14 kip capacity) and constructing a reinforced concrete foundation wall. Cochren Foundation and Repair provided engineered drawings within 48 hours and completed the work in 3 business days.

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Freeze-thaw cycles can play havoc with foundation walls that were built with older building materials. Poor mix design & quality control results in a limited life span of these foundations.

Foundations undergoing excessive spalling presents a unique challenge for any contractor to provide a cost effective solution. Accessibility, interior finishes, depth of spalling, the residual capacity of the wall and most important the experience of the crew.

Over the years Cochren Foundation and Repair have successfully restored many spalling foundations.

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The foundation walls of the underground parking structure was constructed with unreinforced masonry block. The clay soil adjacent to the wall became saturated as result of poor grading, clogged weeping tile and close proximity to the underground sprinkler system. Over time the expansive clay soils and frost pushed the perimeter wall inwards.

To provide safe working conditions 8’-0” high timber lagging was installed 3’-0” out from the existing foundation wall. This provided enough room for the demolition, concrete formwork, waterproofing, and weeping tile installation.

Between the close proximity to the property line as well as maintaining onsite parking for the 100 tenants created a challenge for the restoration. Cochren Foundation and Repair provided the engineering details for the foundation wall replacement. While working closely with the superintendent and staging the work while tenants were at work allowed Cochren Foundation and Repair to complete this job in 4 weeks.

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Cochren Foundation and Repair Co. provided a design build proposal to restore 24,000 square feet of underground parking structure. This included precast slab replacement, realigning and reinforcing foundation walls, vertical and horizontal reinforcement, installation of masonry walls and privacy fences.

The design build proposal provided by Cochren Foundation and Repair Co. saved this owner 33% over previous tendered bids.

The 9’-0” high masonry foundation walls were not attached to the precast roof structure. Lateral pressure from backfill caused displacement of the wall.

The roof deck was lifted while the masonry walls were pushed back into vertical alignment. The walls were secured to the precast roof deck.

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