When low bearing capacity or excessive building loads add complexity to a project, YGC’s knowledge of various deep foundation solutions will help ensure long-lasting structure performance.
Soil nails are slender steel threaded bars drilled and grouted into a slope that provide both active and passive reinforcement against gravitational, lateral, and hydrostatic forces through bonding with surrounding soil or rock.
Soil nails are slender threaded steel bars drilled and grouted into a slope that provide both active and passive reinforcement against gravitational, lateral, and hydrostatic forces through bonding with surrounding soil or rock.
This method of earth retention creates an internally stable gravity wall or retaining system using grouted, tension-resisting steel anchors to reinforce soils for permanent or temporary excavations. Soil nails provide a reliable solution in landslide remediation, roadway cut excavations, or road widening under an existing bridge end. Because soil nails are not installed with minimal vibrational energy, the installation provides reduced impact to adjacent structures.
Soil nail walls are constructed in stages from the top down where the excavation proceeds. Each excavation stage is three to nine feet of depth. Following excavation, near-horizontal holes are drilled into the excavated face. Steel bars thread into the holes and are grouted in place to provide active and passive reinforcement of the slope, installed at a pre-engineered center to center arrangement. A drainage system installed on the exposed face reduces the risk of future erosional impact, along with the use of precast face panels or a reinforced shotcrete wall facing. Bearing plates attached to the heads of the steel soil nails offer extra stability. Excavation and installation repeat until the wall reaches the desired depth.
Reduced impact on adjacent structures
Easily installed below structures like bridges because of lower overhead clearance requirement
Ideal for remote sites using smaller equipment
System flexibility leads them to perform well in seismic loading events
Reduced right-of-way requirements compared to tiebacks for similar wall heights
No need to embed structural elements below the proposed ground surface elevation on the low side of the wall
