Foundation Repair Contractor Wisconsin | Geotechnical Engineering in Greater Green Bay

Helical Piles Installed for YMCA in Fond du Lac, WI

2013-08-15T14:43:13.05Z

The soil tests indicated we would need to install the piles to a depth of 30 to 40 feet. It was determined that 34 Foundation Supportworks Model 350 Helical Piles would be needed to carry a design load of 65 kips per pile. A temporary earthen ramp was constructed to create access for equipment and materials. The contractor located and marked the pile cap locations. FSIWI installed 16 piles in the deep end to average depths of 26 feet below pool bottom and 18 piles in the shallow end to an average depth of 33 feet below pool bottom. Once the piles reached the proper torque the piles were cut to the necessary elevation and a 12”X12” plate was welded on top of each pile cap. FSIWI was able to install the 34 piles in two and half days to an average depth of 37 feet from deck grade. The piles were driven to a torque of 14,285 ft-lbs. giving an ultimate load of 97.5 kips at a factor of safety of approximately 1.5.

Helical Piles Installed for Northern Natural Gas Substation in Argyle, WI

2013-07-18T12:00:31.05Z

Subsurface information was not available for this remote substation location. However, the piles were installed to torsional capacities of at least 2,250 ft-lb to provide a conservative design load of 10 kips/pile with a factor of safety of 2. Model 288 (2 7/8-inch OD x 0.276-inch wall) helical piles with an 8”-10”-12” lead section were advanced to depths of 19 to 21.5 feet. FSW first removed about 12 inches of frozen soil at the surface with a jack hammer in order to start the lead sections.

Care was taken during pile installation not to damage a photovoltaic solar panel and overhead gas lines. After all four piles were installed and elevations set, new “I” beams were placed on the pile caps. Floor jacks were used to lower the building onto the new beams. One side of the structure was lowered nine inches and the other side raised one inch to bring the building back to level.

A portable stick welder was used to weld the structure to the beams and the beams to the pile caps. The installation of the four helical piles was completed in one day.

Helical Piles Installed for Hi-Tower Farms in Valders, WI

2013-07-18T11:49:01.05Z

Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin was contacted to provide a system to stabilize and then lift the settled walls back toward their original elevations. Both push pier and helical pier systems were considered, but due to the relatively light loads of the structure, it was apparent that helical piers would be the better option. A soils investigation identified bedrock at depths of about 12 feet.

A hydraulic jack hammer was used to break up and remove frozen soil down to the bottom of the foundation walls. Ten Model 288 helical piers at 6-foot spacings were advanced to bear on or within the bedrock.

The helical pier configuration consisted of 2 7/8-inch OD by 0.276-inch wall hollow round shaft with 12-inch diameter single-helix leads. L-shaped retrofit brackets were placed at the tops of the piers and positioned below and against the footing. Hydraulic lift cylinders, one at each pier location, were connected in series to uniformly lift the wall sections as much as 4 inches. The 10 piers were installed in two days despite the muddy working conditions caused by thawing ground, snow melt and precipitation.

Foundation Repair for YMCA in Fond du Lac, WI

2013-07-18T11:42:10.05Z

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.

Helical Piles Installed for Foremost Farms USA in Rothschild, WI

2013-07-18T11:35:26.05Z

Several deep foundation systems were considered, but helical piles were selected as the ideal option given the limited access to the interior pile locations and the ability to quickly mobilize equipment and product to the job site. The foundation design included two helical pile configurations. Eleven Model 287 (2 7/8-inch OD by 0.203-inch wall) round shaft helical piles with 10”-12” double-helix lead sections were included to support the design working load of 10 kips per pile, and three Model 288 (2 7/8-inch OD by 0.276-inch wall) round shaft piles with 10”-12”-14” triple-helix lead sections were included to support the design working load of 22.5 kips per pile. Seven piles were installed on the inside of the building and seven piles were installed on the outside. The exterior piles closest to the existing foundation wall were installed so the uppermost helix blades were at least 3 feet below the existing footings. The piles were installed to torque values of at least 2,300 ft-lb (Model 287) and 5,000 ft-lb (Model 288) to provide correlated ultimate soil capacities of at least two times the design working loads (FOS ≥ 2). Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin installed the 14 piles in one day to depths ranging from 15 to 26.5 feet.

Helical Piles Installed for Admission Center Addition in De Pere, WI

2013-07-18T11:28:06.05Z

St. Norbert College planned a $1,175,000 addition and renovation to their existing admission center. The new addition consisted of a 60-foot diameter rotunda to be supported on deep pile foundations and grade beams. A small area of the addition included a stairwell to connect the main floor of the rotunda to the basement level of the existing building. The bottoms of the grade beams stepped up from below the basement level to four feet below grade for frost protection. The geotechnical investigation included the advancement of three soil borings, with one boring located in the area of the rotunda addition. The soil profile observed at this location consisted of 5.2 feet of uncontrolled fill underlain by soft to medium stiff clay to approximately 20 feet. Very stiff to hard clay was then sampled from 20 to 27.5 feet over an apparent weaker clay layer with an SPT N-value of 4 blows per foot. Since the boring terminated at a depth of 30 feet, the thickness of this weaker layer was not determined.

A helical test probe was performed to further characterize the thickness of the very stiff to hard clay stratum and the soil conditions below the bottom of the boring. The helical test probe identified relatively soft soils from the bottom of the test boring to a depth of at least 42 feet. The deep foundation option would therefore bear within the very stiff to hard clay from 20 to 27 feet, or likely extend to depths exceeding 42 feet. Helical piles were selected as the ideal option since the helix plate size and spacing could be designed to bear in the very stiff to hard clay layer and support the design working load of 15 kips.

Helical Piles Installed for Whitefish Bay High School in Whitefish Bay, WI

2013-07-18T11:03:27.05Z

The initial soils investigation included the advancement of 10 borings at the auditorium addition to depths of 25 ft. The field house addition was about 300 yards from the closet boring therefore varying geotechnical conditions were expected to be experienced there. The soil strata generally included about 8-12 ft. of uncontrolled fill with SPT N-values of 6-8 blows per ft (bpf). Medium stiff to stiff silty clay and clayey silts were observed below the fill with the last sample collected showing SPT N-values ranging from 5-6 bpf. It was determined that a deeper geotechnical investigation would be needed to determine a suitable bearing stratum for the helical piles. After the deeper borings were performed it was determined that a Model 287 with a 10”-12”-14” lead section installed to a depth of 25 ft for a 10 kip pile and 37 ft for a 22 kip could be achieved, and a Model 288 with a 10”-12”-14”-14” lead section installed to 35 ft could achieve a 30 kip pile capacity with a factor of safety of 2. Installation of the piles began at the field house addition so that work could be finished prior to winter weather. During excavation of the pile caps and grade beams unknown under ground utilities were discovered causing several piles to be moved slightly to allow for installation. Due to the project having multiple phases FSW had to mobilize to the site on six different occasions over a four week period to install the 82 helical piles.

Helical Piles Installed for Culver's Restaurant in Orland Park, IL

2013-07-18T10:46:18.05Z

Due to scheduling issues and forecasted cold weather conditions, pouringconcrete at the site needed to be completed within 13 days from the start ofconstruction. Helical piles became an even more logical solution sincefoundation concrete can be poured immediately after installation of thepiles. Forty-seven (47) Foundation Supportworks Model 288 Helical Pileswere specified on the project with allowable capacities of 5, 10, 15, 20 and25 kips. Three different helical lead configurations were installed to torquevalues that correlated to the respective capacities, or higher, including afactor of safety of two. Isolated obstructions were encountered within thefill at depths between 10 and 12 feet, but the piles were able to advancethrough or around this material. Large boulders were also encounteredwithin the first few feet at several locations, requiring removal in order tocomplete the pile installation. Despite the challenges, the installation of the47 helical piles was completed in less than three days and the projectremained on schedule.

Helical Piles Installed for Ben Bikin' Bridge in Sparta, WI

2013-07-18T10:36:19.05Z

Since the soils information was limited a larger shaft size was proposed to limit buckling potential. The foundation design included eight Model 349 (3.5-inch OD by 0.279-inch wall) round shaft helical piles with 10”-12”-14” triple-helix lead sections to support the design load of 25 kips per pile with a factor of safety of 3. The abutments were excavated prior to FSW’s arrival, and footing forms were already in place. Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin worked with the general contractor to locate and mark the pile locations. The piles were battered at a 5 degree angle to allow for proper spacing of the helices yet still keeping the pile caps within one foot of each other. The elevation of the eastern abutment was approximately one foot below the waters edge requiring pumps and temporary shoring to install the piles. The piles were advanced into the bedrock and to torque values of at least 11,000 ft-lbs, which correlated to an ultimate capacity of at least 75 kips. The piles were cut off to the design elevation and new construction brackets were tack-welded to the piles. Three feet of exposed length was left to allow caps to be embedded half way into the concrete abutment. Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin installed the eight piles in one day to an average depth of 32 feet below footing grade.

Helical Tiebacks Installed for First Business Center in Appleton, WI

2013-07-18T10:24:09.05Z

The First Business Center building located on the corner of Hwy 41 and Hwy BB was being sold. The title work showed a portion of the property encroached on Hwy 41’s right of way. The owner negotiated with the State to deed over a strip of land along Hwy BB in exchange for the portion being encroached. The State also required a new 167 foot long retaining wall to be constructed for potential expansion of Hwy BB. The engineer designed a poured concrete retaining wall be constructed to allow the sloping grade to be leveled out. The wall required nine helical tiebacks to be installed to prevent tipping of the wall. The face of the wall would be formed and later stained to create a faux stone appearance. This required an integral waler system to be incorporated inside the wall.The engineer specified a minimum embedment length of 20’ to achieve a 15 kip allowable capacity.

Helical Piles installed for Blount Street Substation in Madison, WI

2013-07-17T16:29:28.05Z

The Blount Street Substation project included the installation of a new underground transmission line. Upon completion of the new underground line, an existing high-voltage overhead line would be decommissioned. The work included installation of 1) a poured concrete thrust block to encase an 8-inch diameter cable pipe and 2) a poured concrete spread footing to support new superstructure. While excavating for the 9-foot deep thrust block, the contractor uncovered soft, wet peat soils. A geotechnical investigation then included one soil boring advanced to a depth of 21.5 feet. The soil profile was described as loose to very loose silty sand fill from the surface to a depth of 9 feet, very loose clayey silt from 9 to 13 feet and soft to medium stiff silty clay from 13 feet to the bottom of the boring at 21.5 feet. Standard Penetration Test (SPT) blow count values throughout the explored profile ranged from “Hammer Weight” to 5 blows per foot.

The trust block and spread footing were redesigned with deep foundation support. The thrust block redesign required four piles with ultimate compressive capacities of 17 kips/pile. The spread footing (pile cap) redesign required three piles with ultimate compressive capacities of 43 kips/pile and ultimate tensile capacities of 34 kips/pile. The piles would be installed below overhead transmission lines carrying 69,000 volts and 137,000 volts of electricity. Although several deep foundation systems were considered, helical piles were selected as the ideal option given the extreme limited access and the ability to quickly mobilize equipment and product to the job site. Helical piles were to extend to depths necessary to provide torque-correlated ultimate capacities exceeding the design loads.

Foundation Repair for Affinity Health Group in Menasha, WI

2013-07-17T14:00:41.05Z

The Affinity Health Group Clinic is a building with both crawl space and full basement lower levels. The structure consisted of 12” poured foundation walls and a full brick facade.

The clinic had visual signs and symptoms of foundation settlement such as gaping cracks in the foundation walls and footings, separation from the poured walls and the first floor, and several room doors had become inoperable for patient examinations. Settlement ranged from 1 inch to 3 inches. Differential movement within the poured walls threatened to bind or break utility lines and piping that extended through wall penetrations. It was determined that settlement occurred due to the expansive clay soils found in the area.

Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin Receives Awards at International Convention in Connecticut

2011-09-28T00:00:00.05Z

Menasha, WI – Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin was recently honored at a meeting of over 600 guests from all over the United States and Canada at this year’s Team Basement Systems Convention. The annual convention is held each year between Seymour, Connecticut, (where the Basement Systems headquarters is located) and Hartford, Connecticut, and brings together dealerships of the international network for classes, seminars, training, parties and networking.

This year Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin received three awards at the Team Basement Systems International Convention. Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin ranked in the top 10 for both Foundation Supportworks Anchors Dealers and Power Brace Dealers. They also ranked in top 20 for overall Foundation Supportworks Dealers.

The convention featured guest speakers Krish Duhnam (of the Zig Ziglar corporation), and the “Pit bull of Personal Development” Larry Winget. A sports-themed party at the Connecticut Convention Center ended the convention week with music, food and performances by the Harlem Wizards and the New England Patriots Cheerleaders.

Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin is a certified foundation supportworks dealer specializing in foundation repair, wall anchors and power braces in Wisconsin. Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin has been servicing homes in Wisconsin since 1994.

Basement Systems is an international network of basement waterproofing, crawl space repair and basement finishing contractors. The international headquarters, based in Seymour, Connecticut, also provides sales and service throughout Connecticut and Westchester County, NY. Larry Janesky's Basement Systems has been helping homeowners increase their usable living space for over 20 years across the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. They have 27 patented basement and crawl space products, designed to help homeowners get more out of their basements and increase their home's value.

Wisconsin Foundation Repair Contractor Proud of Network Products Featured on A and E Drill Team

2010-11-23T00:00:00.05Z

Menasha, WI - A Foundation Supportworks team of foundation repair experts were called onto A&Eâ€™s television series Drill Team, to install their patented helical piers to help stabilize a New Jersey home's patio deck.

The home's sunroom had been completely battered and malformed, unusable and unlivable. The Foundation Supportworks team worked with the Drill Team carpenters, Jeff Devlin and Brandon Russell to transform the space into a beautiful, safe patio deck. The work was stabilized using the highly trusted Foundation Supportworks helical piers.

Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin performs similar projects using the same trusted products. The metal helical piers measure 20 feet in length and are made to sustain thousands of pounds of pressure.

Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin is the foundation repair expert in Wisconsin - that is the commercial branch of Sure-Dry Basement Systems. In addition to helical piers, they also install push piers, wall anchors and new construction helical piers.

Contact Foundation Supportworks of Wisconsin today for help stabilizing your home's foundation or repair any other foundation needs. They are the trusted experts for foundation repair in Wisconsin.

A&E Drill Team is a television phenomenon where real homeowners' home improvement woes get transformed by Jeff Devlin, Brandon Russell and Lauren Makk using their unbelievable magic and a lot of care and heart.

Bring Your Toys to FSI WI the 2010 Toys for Tots Drop Off

2010-11-23T00:00:00.05Z

We're excited about this holiday season! However, we also understand that some families don't have the resources to provide all the toys and fun that they'd like to give to their kids. That's why we support the Toys for Tots program. This year we're serving as a drop off for the program!

Toys for Tots is a program inspired by children. The mission is to provide new and unwrapped toys to children in need. By giving these children toys, we hope to be giving more than just a toy but a sense of hope, love and care. We want to encourage these children to grow into upstanding adults, which is why we want to help contribute to their happiness and contentment.

Be sure to donate new and unwrapped toys. Please avoid donating stuffed animals or toy weapons.

As always, we're your local foundation repair expert and we welcome any and all questions you may have regarding our services. We are experts in foundation repair in Wisconsin and look forward to helping you!

FSI of Wisconsin is Excited to Be a BBB Accredited Business

2010-11-23T00:00:00.05Z

We're honored to be accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). We know we've exerted the work and have been rewarded. This accreditation is only given to companies serving in a BBB location for at least the past 12 months. Every inductee receives an initial rating of A-, but we know that any improvement or declination is solely dependent on our actions, responses and conduct.

Our commitment to the BBB standards means we comply with these eight business standards to build trust, advertise honestly, tell the truth, be transparent, honor promises, be responsive, safeguard privacy, and embody integrity.

We also vow to quickly resolve any problems, as we want to provide excellent service to our customers.

Please contact us with any questions. We are experts in foundation repair in Wisconsin and look forward to helping you!