Case Studies
Golfito Village & Marina | Waterfront Villa Support
Remote Waterfront Villas on Secure Foundations
Golfito, CR
Situated beside the tropical rainforest on a beautiful stretch of coastline,
the Golfito Marina & Village promises to be an essential golf and
tourist destination for the small Central American country of Costa Rica.
With a large marina, numerous restaurants, desirable shops, and waterside
villas all within a few steps, the still-under-construction resort will
undoubtedly attract everyone from golfers looking for 18 holes of pleasure
to families desiring a comfortable stretch of beach to rest, swim, and play.
SITUATION
The Golfito Marina & Village was to be built on the sand of the beach.
In order to compensate for the ebb and flow of the tide and provide a
strong foundation for the proposed structures, the owners used a combination
of steel sheet piles and gravel/river rock fill to raise the lot level
12 vertical feet. The new buildings would sit atop this compact gravel
and the nearly 20 ft. of sand beneath it. In order to provide the support
needed, support piles would need to be extended through the gravel and
sand to competent rock deep beneath the surface.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Ram Jack Centro America designed a plan that included 2 7⁄8in. and
3 1⁄2 in. new construction helical piles to be driven through the
gravel and sand to the rock below as deep as needed to provide the support
required for building construction. After discussions with local Costa
Rican engineers familiar with the project, Ram Jack Centro America decided
to use a modified helical blade to drive through the dense, tough gravel.
OUTCOME
After a four-day customs delay in the delivery of steel, Ram Jack Centro
America got to work. The delay proved to be a blessing in disguise, as
it allowed further modifications of the custom pieces needed for the CAT320CL.
The team worked 12 hours per day for 12 straight days. Despite on-the-fly
adjustments, Ram Jack Centro America installed 82 piles to an average
depth of 33 ft., providing the perfect foundation for the to-be-built
resort structures. When finished, the project manager was “surprised
Ram Jack finished ahead of schedule” and plans to use “Ram
Jack to do Phase 2 in 2017.”
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