Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin Case Studies: Foundation Repair for YMCA in Fond du Lac, WI

The YMCA was built in the 1970's, in 2009 a 14 million dollar addition was to be constructed. The original structure consisted of a 12 foot high 12 inch thick poured foundation walls on a 17 inch thick footing, with structural steel framing above. The new addition was to include a new child care area, locker rooms, workout studios and natatorium. The new addition increased the structural load on one particular column. A deep support solution was needed to support the column for a 160 kip load. Two options were considered to achieve the necessary support; helical piles and hydraulically driven push piers. The push piers were selected as the ideal foundation support option given the limited access.

The soil tests indicated we would need to drive the piers to a depth of 30 to 40 feet. It was determined that six (6) Foundation Supportworks Model 288 Push Piers would need to be driven to 6000 psi to carry a design load of 26.7 kips per pier. Four piers were installed on the exterior of the structure and two on the interior to prevent "rolling of the footing". The contractor cut a four foot by eight foot opening in the interior floor and excavated down to the footing. FSIWI was then able to install the six piers in two days to an average depth of 37' 6". The piers were driven to an average of 5950 psi giving a factor of safety of two (2).