SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF PILE CASTING WORK AT CANALVIEW

The main pile foundation casting has now been completed with a total of 437 piles being cast, the next phase
of works is pile trimming, which will commence in April 2018

The next stage is Pile Trimming
The breaking down of concrete piles “known as” Pile Trimming is an essential part of the substructure
construction process. The cast concrete piles should always be cast to a level above the “actual” required height
such that, after trimming, a sound concrete connection with the pile can be achieved.
Pile trimming eliminates/removes the “dirty” concrete from the pile head and provides a minimum of sound
concrete above what is known as the cut-off level, over the full section of a pile. Trimming must be carried out
without damaging the concrete and reinforcement of the pile and great care must be taken in order to avoid
causing cracks in the formation ot the pile. The process ensures that all damaged or poorly compacted concrete
and laitance is removed whilst leaving the reinforcement projecting. Breaking down of the concrete piles has
traditionally been carried out using hand-held pneumatic breakers.

The final stage is the Pile Cap
Foundations relying on driven piles often have groups of piles connected by a pile cap (a large concrete block into which the heads of the piles are embedded) to distribute loads which are larger than one pile can bear. A pile cap in simple terms is a thick concrete mat that rests on concrete piles that have been driven into soft or unstable ground to provide a suitable stable foundation to accommodate for the overall design loads of the structure above.