Description

Six-Story Parking Garage Supported by MAGNUM® Helical Piles

Project Overview

A six-story parking garage in Denver, Colorado, required deep foundation support for significant compression and tension loads. CTL/Thompson provided the foundation design, while Denver Grouting, a division of Hayward Baker, installed MAGNUM® Helical Piles to meet the project requirements.

The project included both vertical and battered helical piles, which allowed the foundation system to address axial and lateral foundation requirements throughout the structure.

The Challenge

The multi-story parking structure required a deep foundation system capable of meeting substantial axial loads. Specifically, the foundation design called for 100 KIP axial compression loads and 50 KIP axial tension loads.

In addition, the project required a large number of vertical piles along with battered piles at selected locations. Therefore, the foundation system needed to accommodate multiple pile orientations while maintaining the specified load requirements.

The MAGNUM Solution

To meet these requirements, the project team selected MAGNUM® Helical Piles for the parking garage foundation.

Denver Grouting installed 314 vertical helical piles to an average depth of approximately 25 feet. In addition, crews installed 40 battered helical piles where the foundation design required additional resistance.

The foundation design specified:

• 100 KIP axial compression design load
• 50 KIP axial tension design load
• 314 vertical MAGNUM® Helical Piles
• Average vertical pile depth of 25 feet
• 40 battered MAGNUM® Helical Piles

By combining vertical and battered piles within the same foundation system, the project team addressed the different load requirements of the six-story structure.

Project Highlights

Project Date: August 2008
Project: Six-Story Parking Garage
Location: Denver, Colorado
Foundation Design: CTL/Thompson
Installer: Denver Grouting, division of Hayward Baker
Vertical Helical Piles: 314
Average Depth: 25 feet
Battered Helical Piles: 40
Compression Design Load: 100 KIP
Tension Design Load: 50 KIP

Why MAGNUM® Helical Piles

This project demonstrates the versatility of MAGNUM® Helical Piles for commercial foundation applications. By using both vertical and battered pile orientations, the foundation system accommodated the specified compression, tension and additional load requirements of the multi-story parking structure.

Furthermore, the ability to use a consistent helical pile system across multiple foundation conditions helped provide a practical approach for supporting the six-story garage.