The Importance of Using the Right Tools when Shoring
Every construction project requires specialized pieces of equipment in order to do things correctly and to the industry standards. This is also true for shoring and trenching. In fact, each part of the trenching and shoring project will need different tools. Hence, you need to know not just where to rent shoring equipment from, but when to rent it as well.
Planning Your Project
As you start to plan to excavate, you must think about where you will dig, and how deep you will go. This will tell you what types of equipment and materials you require, and what the soil is like. The soil could be stony, sandy, wet, loose, and so on. Each of these types has its own specific hazards and risks, so it is important to have the right shoring equipment in place to brace the earth walls. This will stop them from collapsing.
Some precautionary measures include:
- Using shoring materials to prevent collapse. Steel trench boxes and plywood with bars is popular.
- Remove any excess water to stabilize it with a well point system.
- Bench the excavation, sloping the sides, so that the banks aren’t too pressured.
- Speak to the relevant local authorities to determine whether the existing cables, electrical wires, and gas and water pipes are located.
Once you begin your digging, you have to get equipment together such as trenchers, trackhoes, and backhoes. These tend to be requirements in long, deep trenches. Different trenchers exist for different projects, and it is important to be aware of those. They include:
- Portable trenchers, which can be used for the setup of irrigation lines.
- Micro trenchers, which can be used so that pedestrians and traffic are not disturbed in any way. They are often on restricted streets and along sidewalks. Micro trenchers also generally deal with terrains such as harder ground and solid stones. Essentially, if a chain trencher can’t reach it, a micro trench will.
- Chain trenchers, used generally on incredibly hard ground. They also often dig into deep and narrow trenches.
Once you have your equipment, you will have to make sure that your protect the local plants, digging them up by the root so that they can be replanted. Before you dig, however, you must make sure that your trench and your equipment is properly aligned so that it won’t collapse. You must make sure that each trench worker has been properly trained on working with this equipment.
You must understand just how serious building trenches actually is. You must use the right type of materials and the right type of tools if you want to be able to complete it on time, according to the brief, and, of most importance safely. To achieve this, you should make sure that you have the right tools and equipment ready for the job itself. Make sure, therefore, that you have access to information to help you understand what you need and the contact details of a good, trustworthy company on speed dial at all times.