What Is Sheet Piling?

Steel sheet piles are trapezoidal-shaped plates, typically 600mm wide, which interlock by way of “clutches” to form a continuous in-ground wall. Sheet piles are usually installed with vibratory hammers to existing ground level, penetrating the soil to a sufficient depth to act as a retaining wall.  Excavations can then be made on one side of the wall whilst protecting structures and services on the other side. The finished height of sheet pile walls can also be left above existing ground level, allowing sheet pile walls to be back-filled against.

Emanon Shoring Capabilities

We can install hot-rolled and cold-formed sheet piles up to 12m long in other-than-rock material, with a range of excavator mounted vibratory hammers (EMV’s), and sheet piles up to 14m long with fixed mast piling rigs with vibratory hammers.  We can also install sheet piles in excess of 20m long using crane-mounted vibrators with power packs. Emanon Shoring has been installing sheet piles in the greater Sydney region and across NSW since 1985, and has extensive knowledge of ground conditions likely to be encountered in these areas. We have also undertaken contracts in Queensland and Western Australia.

Applications of Sheet Piling

• Temporary shoring allowing excavations for basements, coffer dams for the excavation of lift pits, pump wells, valve pits, underground tanks, gross pollutant traps, or pipework.
• Retention of fill to provide level work platforms for cranes, piling rigs and other construction plant and equipment.
• Cut-off walls or coffer dams to seal an excavation from water ingress.  Whilst hot-rolled sheet pile walls are not 100% water tight, they can be used directly adjacent to creeks and rivers.  The interlocking clutches restrict inflow of water to a trickle that can be easily controlled by small pumps.  
• For shallow excavations, sheet pile walls can be cantilevered - where the area of wall exposed by excavation is restrained by the area of wall embedded below the excavated level.
• For deeper excavations, sheet pile walls can be braced with structural steel waler-beams and struts, ground anchors or dead-man tie-backs.

Advantages of Sheet Piling

• A fast, simple means of providing temporary or permanent support for excavations.
• Cost-effective in soft and water-charged ground where benching/battering cannot be undertaken.  Installation costs are less than for Bored/CFA concrete contiguous pile or secant pile walls.
• After completion of finished works, sheet pile walls can be extracted, leaving no trace, or left in the ground.
• Environmentally friendly – hot rolled sheet piles can be re-used several times, depending on ground conditions.  No spoil is produced, meaning contaminated ground can be left in-situ, eliminating the requirement for treatment and/or disposal.
• Supply cost flexibility – sheet piles can be hired for short periods or purchased if required to remain in-situ.
• Where ground conditions are softer and dry and excavated heights are relatively low, cold-formed lightweight sheet piles can be used, offering substantial savings over hot-rolled sheet piles.