CASE HISTORY

New Construction - Key Highway Childcare Center

CHANCE Helical Piles - Helping To Build Baltimore's Future

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The Project:
- After heavy rains flooded the worksite; Earth Anchoring Suppliers was able to visit the Key Highway Childcare Center project site while Levelift Foundations were in the process of installing CHANCE Helical Piles. The project was located in a historic townhome neighborhood in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

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The Situation:
- The project’s scope was to demolish an existing building on Key Highway and replace it with a two-story commercial building that will be used as a childcare facility.  The soil borings determined that the loose fill and native soil would not be suitable to support the proposed structure. Geotechnical engineers recommended the removal and replacement of the soft soils before foundation construction. Removing and replacing the existing soils to a depth of 13 ft. would require excavation support such as soldier piles and lagging at the perimeter. To avoid the costly process of removing and replacing the loose soils, the developer welcomed a helical pile value-engineered plan created by Levelift Foundations, LLC.; a CHANCE Certified Helical Piles installer. This helical pile solution allowed the loose material to stay on site and the structural foundations installed at frost depth. This would save the project time and money.

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The Solution:
- Levelift Foundations installed one hundred twenty-nine (129) CHANCE 1.5” Square Shaft (SS5) helical piles with 8”, 10”, and 12” helixes to support the foundation walls and concrete slab-on-grade. Phil Schied, the owner of Levelift, stated that “the piles were installed to a refusal torque of 5,000 ft.-lbs. and an average depth of 14-ft. below footings and pile caps. A compression load test was performed on a non-production pile. At a design load of 20,000 lbs., the SS5 helical pile had a top-of-pile displacement of .20”. At 62,800 lbs. (251% design load), the top-of-pile displacement was .61”. 

The helical piles were successfully installed on time and within budget. Once the construction is completed, this 2-story, 15,000 sq. ft. building will be a childcare center offering 12 classrooms and an 8,100 sq. ft. outdoor recreation area. To top it off, the building will have an incredible indoor gym featuring a rock wall. 

CHANCE Materials Used:

• (129) Piles to a depth of 14’ +/-:
  • SS5 – 8”, 10”, 12” x 7’ Leads
  • SS5 – 7’ Extensions
  • SS5 – New Construction Brackets​​​

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Never Settle