FAQ
The Questions Owners and Developers Ask
Written for someone who already knows the vocabulary.
Send the geotechnical report and the site plan. You get a written read on the water, the excavation and the risk.
FAQ
Dewatering, SOE and deep foundations in Florida
- Do you self-perform dewatering?
- Yes, along with support of excavation. Very few Florida general contractors do, and it is the reason this service line exists.
- Will you price without borings?
- Not the dewatering. Without data it is a guess that becomes a change order.
- What is the longest lead item?
- Usually the discharge permit for the dewatering. Start it before you think you need to.
- Wellpoints or deep wells?
- Wellpoints for shallow drawdown in permeable sand; deep wells for greater drawdown or lower permeability. The borings decide.
- When do sheet piles not work?
- Against a refusal layer such as coquina or cap rock, and on sites where vibration is unacceptable.
- Why choose a secant wall?
- Hard or obstructed ground, vibration limits, very tight movement tolerances, or a wall that stays as permanent structure.
- How is auger cast pile quality verified?
- Grout volume against depth recorded for every pile, plus integrity testing. Ask for the records.
- Can muck be compacted?
- No. Organic soil keeps consolidating. It is removed or bridged with deep foundations.
- What is down-drag?
- Consolidating soil hanging on a pile, adding load instead of supporting it. It has to be in the design.
- Can dewatering trigger a sinkhole?
- In karst, yes. Rapid drawdown is a known trigger, which is why it is staged and monitored.
- Does groundwater really move with the tide?
- On waterfront sites, with a lag that depends on the soil. It is measured at the site rather than read from a tide table.
- Do we need a pre-condition survey?
- On any site with a neighbor. It is cheap and it is the only evidence of what was already cracked.
- Who sets monitoring thresholds?
- The engineer of record, agreed in writing with the owner before work starts.
- Can helical piles carry heavy loads?
- They are a light to moderate capacity solution. For large loads they are the wrong tool.
- What is uncontrolled fill?
- Fill placed with no compaction record and no control over content. Unknown rather than necessarily bad — and unknown is the problem.
Still not answered?
Call (954) 807-3208 or send the geotechnical report. If the borings do not support a price yet, that is what you will be told.
Capabilities
Construction Dewatering
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Support of Excavation
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Sheet Piling
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Secant & Slurry Walls
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Auger Cast Piles
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Helical Piles
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Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.