When a structure becomes unsafe it often becomes necessary to give temporary lateral support to its walls. You will require such support when walls have bulged, cracked because of foundation settlement, and you need to be able to conduct repairs safely. You may also need such support when adjacent structures are to be pulled down, or for enlarging openings in a wall. Shoring is almost a must when you are digging deep trenches, and need to ensure that the side earthen walls will remain vertical and not collapse. This blog share you more tips from Richard Earls Construction on how do you setup shoring in a building.
There are many ways in which walls of structures and earth can be shored, and the method you adopt will depend on the particular situation that you have to deal with. To start with all shoring requires you to have wall plates that will give direct support to the walls that need to be shored. This can be in the form of complete covering of the surface, or just a framework that extends through the entire wall surface, and gives it the needed support. Wall plates or supporting arrangements can be of wood or steel. The type you use will depend on the materials and nature of the wall that you are shoring.
These wall plates then need to be supported or shored so that they remain firmly in place. One way of doing this is to install inclined rakers at an inclination of between 45 and 70 degrees to the ground to which the load of the walls needs to be transferred. The angle is often determined by the space available for the rakers. The rakers can be of wood or steel and need to be strong enough to resist the thrust that is anticipated from the wall that is being supported. The rakers will need to be supported on the ground or any other firm structure through sole plates that are properly embedded in the ground or fixed to the structure providing the support. The fixing to the sole plates must be firm and the use of wedges must be avoided as they can give way under vibration. Rakers also need to be braced, when they are very long to prevent them from bending, and it can also help if they are braced both vertically and horizontally. The connection that is made at the head of the raker and the wall plate also needs extreme care and firmness.
When it is not possible or the rakers or needed supports to reach the ground, the use is made of flying shoring that takes the support of an adjoining building or structure. Such situations may come about when the shoring has to be carried out at heights. In such situations wall plates are placed on the walls of both structures, the one that needs the shoring, and the other that will provide the support. A horizontal shore then provides the bracing between the two wall plates. These horizontal shores must be braced to give then additional rigidity. Where the distance between the buildings is great, it may be necessary to create a trussed framework to act as flying shores.
When it is required to shore walls vertically, like when you are creating opening or enlarging existing ones, you require to create dead shores that will support the weight of the structure above, and transfer it to the ground or other structural support below. These dead shores will be on either side of the wall that needs support, and have needle shores that puncture the wall at intervals to give direct support to it. These needle shores are in turn supported by the dead shores.
Shoring needs proper design and execution to ensure the needed safety of working. Margins of safety need to be high.