Open Accessibility Menu
Hide

Case Studies Timber Column Project

Situation: When hurricane Ike hit the shores of Texas, the island of Surfside and Galveston were on the western side of the storm. This is where the surge of water exited back into the ocean taking 5 to 6 feet of sand and dunes with it. The erosion caused catastrophic damage leveling most of the structures on the beach. However, some of the structures survived total collapse but had settled several feet. The home shown to the left had settled 3 to 6.5 feet from its original elevation. The structure had deflected 6 inches at the top of the timber piles.

Solution: The home was supported on (32) 10” x 10” square timber piles. A Ram Jack helical pile was installed at each timber pile to a depth of 34’-0. The helical pile was then attached to the timber pile with Ram Jack’s timber column bracket. Due to the excessive differential settlement that had occurred, individual lifting of the timber piles was out of the question as it would have created additional racking and stress to the structure. Therefore, hydraulic cylinders were placed at each timber pile and manifolded together with independent controls at each location to provide a controlled uniform lift of the structure. Once the structure had been lifted back to its original elevation, Ram Jack helical anchors were installed and used to pull the structure plumb.

Conclusion: The home was able to be repaired for a fraction of the tear down and re-build costs. If you have foundation problems, Ram Jack has the solution.

Download the full case study in PDF format.