Jun 14, 2016
Reykjavik Iceland based contractor Urð og Grjót has been awarded to install a piled foundation for a new hotel building. The site is located right next to Reykjavik’s Concert and Conference Centre Harpa and it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by just 30 metres stretch of land. A sheet pile wall was installed prior commencing basement excavations to retain the land between the site and the ocean. A solid base rock lies only six metres below the bottom of the excavation. The piled foundation is required as deeper excavations would cause a risk of the Ocean flooding into the site and further into the capital city of Iceland.
Urð og Grjót is utilising Movax DH-30 piling hammer that is mounted on Liebherr 944 base. The contractor uses a wheeled excavator with a hydraulic gripper to carry the pre-cast concrete piles to required locations and to lift them up for a piling hammer. The concept is well suited and cost effective for the short pile sections. The piling hammer and the excavator are fitted with Movax MCS system that gives seamless control over the machinery and provides valuable information including a blow energy rate.
