A good civil construction company is one that provides end-to-end services when it comes to giving a structure to your commercial or residential building. A civil construction company offers several services to its customers. Out of these demolition and bulk excavation are very popular. However, there are some other services like shotcrete shoring that these companies provide. These are equally important. In this article, we will tell you more about shotcrete shoring, its uses and its types.
What does shotcrete shoring mean?
Shoring helps to prevent the sidewalls from collapsing, by giving them stability. This is used during excavations. This useful construction technique was used in 1914 for the first time. Initially, the technique was used to shield the workers on the excavation site so that they could be kept safe in the event of a wall collapse. Today, shotcrete shoring refers to the dry or wet mixture of concrete & mortar sprayed with great force on horizontal and vertical surfaces.
Why do civil construction companies use shoring with shotcrete?
Shoring is a type of support or anchoring (mostly temporary in nature) given to buildings at the time of excavations. Here are some of the uses of shoring, and their applications in the civil engineering field today:
- Shoring is mainly used for excavations, but it is also used for constructing new buildings or repairing existing buildings.
- Heavy timbers are used for providing support to the walls, and these timbers are placed in a sloping direction.
- Many shores are used depending on the height of the wall. Sometimes, civil engineers use wedges to hold the shores tightly to the wall.
- Apart from providing stability to the walls and prevent them from collapsing, shores are also used to hold the concrete slabs, beams and girders in place.
Common types of shotcrete shoring
A civil construction company usually offers these types of shotcrete shoring services:
H Shoring, or I-Beam Shoring
Considered one of the most common types of shotcrete shoring, this method is also known as soldier pile walls. In this method, I or H-shaped steel beams are installed in the ground. The method of installing these beams depends on the quality of the soil conditions. This method is great for supporting excavations that are 1.2m to 5m deep.
Secant Pile Shoring
If the site doesn’t have a big space for excavation, or if there is any project in close vicinity to the current site, a civil construction company may consider using the secant pile shoring method. When excavation is done in the site using this method, it will not damage the nearby projects. In this technique, two types of piles (reinforced and un-reinforced) are arranged in an intersecting pattern, and drilled in the soil.
Contiguous Pile Shoring
Here, the piles are arranged in such a way that their faces touch each other. This anchoring usually works well on clay soils, where the water pressure is not too much.
Sheet Piles
Usually seen in harbors and other water bodies, sheet piles are used in excavations of sites to protect the soil from the water. Here, Z or U-shaped steel piles are drilled in the ground using sophisticated hammers.
Diaphragm Walls
Considered the best choice for very deep excavations, diaphragm walls are great for areas like tunnels. These diaphragm walls are made from reinforced concrete.