Naples Gulf Front properties set the milestone for Southwest Florida homes. Waterfront residences on Gordan Drive are some of Florida’s most exceptional luxury estates with pristine natural beauty and the assurance of privacy. Situated just footsteps away from the Naples pier lies a picturesque and historical home located on the sandy Gulf of Mexico shores.
The owners elected to enrich their historic residence and maintain the ambience of old Historic Naples, while modernizing the interior living space. The house was originally constructed in 1932 and was fortunate to survive many a hurricane. It the process of renovating the existing home, several additional rooms were designed to provide new expansive living quarters.
In addition, the homeowners elected to install a new swimming pool within the confines of their backyard. John Gaddis, of AVA Builders of Naples reached out to Coastal Foundation Solutions to assist in the intricate foundation situation. The design required approximately one hundred and eighty-eight (188) helical piling.
The project entailed various forms of helical pile configurations from interior underpinning piling, new construction piles within the interior of the house, exterior new construction piling and specific piles for the proposed new swimming pool.
We contacted our helical engineers and forwarded them the geotechnical report with a request to draft a strategy for this complex project. There was a heavy blow count approximately 18- 21 foot below grade where we believed we could torque into. The interim soil layers beneath this level where quite weak and lacked adequate compaction qualities.
Coastal Foundation Solutions developed a strategy to install seven (7) test piles around the perimeter of existing structures to test the substrate layers. We contemplated that with the correct helix arrangement we could circumvent installing helicals to a depth of 80 foot.
The test piles were a resounding success with pilings achieving capacities of 24 to 28 tons ultimate capacity. This provided us with concise information to order the 198 pilings for the project.
The proposed helical piles would be rotated into the substrate to secure load bearing capacity upon refusal. The team recommended two types of piling for the project due to the lime rock conditions.
The project would entail utilizing “Chance” RS3500 round shaft helical piles with a schedule 80 pipe. In areas where lower load capacities where required, the piling would consist of RS2875.276 schedule area round shaft pipe piles. The pilings were to be installed using a 30,000 pound excavator to insure pile penetration to refusal.
Coastal Foundation Solutions fleet of excavators allowed us to access to the project site without limitations.
Coastal Foundation Solutions proposed solution proceeded precisely according to our strategy with no time delays. We successfully installed a total of sixty-five (65) RS3500.300 round shaft helical pile (3-1/2” OD – 0.300″) Wall Thickness with lengths of 15 to 21 foot. The extensions consisted of RS3500.300 round shaft helical pile (3-1/2” OD – 0.300″ Wall Thickness). In addition, the pile lead section was a 10”12”14” “Chance” hollow round shaft.
The other helical foundation piling employed on the project was 2.875-inch OD by 0.276-inch wall (also schedule 80 pipe). We successfully installed a total of one hundred thirty-three (133) round shaft helical piles with a 10” x 12” x 14” lead helix section.
The helical piles are engineered with appropriate helices and shaft size to support the foundation loads for the existing soil conditions. The helical piles are screwed into the soil with midi-excavator equipped with a hydraulic torque motor. The installation torque is continuously observed throughout the installation with a digital torque indicator.
We are exceedingly proud of the project outcomes we provide for our valued clients.
Special Thanks to our installation crew of Kit Garcia, Juan Flores, and Manny Cheatham they continue to surpass our expectations on each project.