Contiguous Piled Walls

A contiguous bored pile wall is a retaining wall consisting of concrete bored piles installed in various configurations with a minimum spacing between consecutive piles to form, a retaining structure.

A contiguous bored pile wall is a retaining wall formed using CFA, Cased CFA (CSP), SFA or rotary bored piling techniques consisting of a row of unconnected piles cast-in-situ with a nominal gap between consecutive piles.

They are flexible in shape and design compared to diaphragm retaining walls and generally offer a significant applied load advantages compared to that of sheet piled walls.

Key capabilities

  • Rig loadings: 6–140 tonnes
  • Diameter:
    • 300–1,200mm to a depth of 40m, diameter dependent, using CFA techniques
    • 300 – 2,100mm to a depth of 65m using rotary bored piling techniques

What are the advantages of Contiguous Piled Walls?

  • More cost effective than diaphragm walls
  • Greater flexibility in terms of geometry
  • Individual piles can provide both lateral support and bearing capacity
  • Piles can be installed within challenging ground conditions
  • Suited to city centres to support excavations within congested sites
  • The design of contiguous walls considers adjacent structures and utilities

Common Uses

  • Construction of basements or cellars, in dry and stable ground conditions
  • Inserting substructures close to an existing structure
  • Slope stabilisation
  • Excavation support
  • Bridge structures

Contiguous bored piled walls are typically installed within dry and cohesive soils, the wall is not watertight and the soil between individual piles is exposed during excavation. Reinforced mesh and spray concrete can be applied as a lining to secure the exposed soil.

A capping beam is installed to form a continuous homogeneous retaining structure that can incorporate ground anchors or temporary propping to provide additional lateral support. Depending on the ground conditions, walls can be installed as a cantilever or a propped wall.

Van Elle Contiguous Piled Walls