Why Soil Nails AndDewatering May Be Necessary

While it’s often hard to imagine when looking at city blocks that are uniformly designed and sit perfectly level, the earth is a rather bumpy and unstable place. Construction projects quite often start out with extensive site work in advance of any real building to address these issues and others meant to lend stability and reliability to any structures built. In some cases, the use of soil nails, dewatering and other techniques performed by experts in the drilling industry may be necessary to ensure that future construction will be stable and will stand the test of time.

The simple truth is extensive site work may be required in a number of different circumstances. Any time the ground beneath a project is deemed unstable or needs additional reinforcement to deliver peace of mind, a drilling company with experience in the use of dewatering techniques, soil nail placement and other processes will likely be the first call. The extent of work that will need to be performed to ready a site and the exact measures taken will depend on the specific site itself. Some common measures involve the placement of soil nails and the use of dewatering.

Soil nails are used to remediate an unstable natural slope or to remediate an existing soil slope that has been deemed unstable after construction. The process calls for placing reinforcing bars into the soil that are typically grouted into place to lend stability to the slope. This technique may also be used to help stabilize retaining walls and to provide extra support to embankments and levees. The process is generally performed to ensure construction on slopes will suffer as little settling as possible and to help shore up slopes that are losing shape due to erosion after a site has been developed.

When dewatering is called for it means water must be removed from the soil before stabilization techniques can be used and construction can proceed. There are a number of techniques a drilling company may use to achieve the desired goals. How work will proceed will hinge on the type of soil and the extent of water. This type of work is often called for when the water table on a construction site is particularly high or deemed worrisome.

Construction often begins with work below the ground to ensure stability and reliability of any structures. This is where a drilling company with expertise in the placement of soil nails and dewatering techniques may end up saving the day by transforming an unbuildable, unstable site into a clean slate for construction.

About The Company

DMI Drilling Construction is a leading provider of site preparation and stability work in Washington State. From soil nails and dewatering to the creation of soldier pile retaining walls, the company offers a slate of services meant to help construction get started on solid ground.

DMI Drilling Construction has been providing retaining wall services to clients across Washington State since 1991.