Swanson Saw Mill

After Seneca Saw Mill burned down, the Owner decided to rebuild on the previous building site and pond which was previously backfilled with rip rap, debris, and scrap. Micro piles and H-piles were too costly for a deep foundation option, with the high load capacities that were engineered and specified.

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Ram Jack Solution

Ram Jack West used 5 1/2″ and 3 1/2″ helical piles to provide in excess of 75 kip design load capabilities. A grout system was also incorporated in situations where torque correlation was an issue. Special 3/4″ plate steel helical material was manufactured by Ram Jack due to driving in large cobble in excess of 25,000 ft. /lbs. of torque.

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Ram Jack used two full-sized excavators to install over 500 helical piles for the newly re-built Swanson Mill in Springfield, Oregon.  The work required extensive coordination with the foundation contractor, whose work was always right on the heels of ours.

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Engineer Specifications / Requirements

Extensive testing was done to quantify the upper layer of the cobble to support the recommended load design for piling. Compression and tension tests were performed on all pile variations and verified that the stringent engineering specifications were being met or exceeded.