Project Contractors
Project Details
Rock Removal directly below elevated house – located in Thetis Island, BC – completed September 2018
Scope of the Project
- Remove existing rock and excavate with machine to allow elevated house to be set in place.
- No blasting using explosives due to destructive effects
A house was hauled and delivered to Thetis Island and was planned on being placed where 40’ of rock laid. The rock was required to be removed for the house to be permanently placed where the pillars stand. The close vicinity of the house pillars made blasting impractical and prohibited because of vibration and fly rock concerns. 168 holes were hand drilled using 2” diameter hole size with 16”-20” of spacing between each hole. GeoBreak Expanding Grout produces zero noise, zero vibrations and zero fly rock minimizing environmental effects and eliminating the risk to safely remove the crop of rock below existing house.
Which GeoBreak Products Were Recommended
The close proximity to the house required a non-explosive demolition approach where expanding grout was used to presplit and fracture the rock allowing for a machine to excavate for quick removal.
Expected Outcome
The expected outcome of using expanding grout was to fracture and weaken the rock to allow for easy excavation with a machine without causing damage to the pillars and house.
Actual Outcome
168 holes were drilled and expanding grout poured causing no damage to the house or pillars.
Final Thoughts From The Project Contractors
With only a 185 cfm compressor while running two hand drills made for less downtown and more holes drilled. For this project, hand drilling the rock was required due to the height the house was placed. Blasting was out of the question because of the elevated pillars. Expanding Grout is not a dangerous good so no permits for use were required and we did not have to declare the Expanding Grout as a dangerous good for transportation on the ferry to Thetis Island making it a simple process for transport. Select your drill pattern, drill the holes and mix the expanding grout with water is all that is required making rock removal jobs an easy process.
