Projects
436 & 442 E. 13th Street Manhattan, NY Geotechnical Engineering for Two New 6-Story Residential Buildings
Bilow Engineering designed the lateral bracing and foundation system for two new 6-story residential structures. The 25 ft. narrow lots provided a significant challenge to safely excavate and support the adjoining existing structures. In order to excavate and construct the 12 ft. deep basement, we needed to underpin portions of the neighboring buildings. We also installed soldier piles to brace the front sidewalks and rear yards of adjacent sites. Due to the depth of the excavation, the underpinning and soldier pile shoring required lateral bracing consisting of walers, rakers, and concrete heel blocks. We designed a continuous dewatering system to maintain a dry excavation throughout the below grade construction. We also designed the mat foundation for the new structures.
Fort Independence Bronx, NY
Geotechnical Engineering for a New 10-Story Building
Bilow Engineering performed a detailed subsurface investigation that involved soil borings and test pits to accurately define and characterize the engineering properties of the bedrock material. We designed a lateral bracing system that consisted of anchored concrete footings, cantilevered steel I-beams with 4-inch-thick timber lagging, and rock tie-back anchors. This permanent bracing support system was needed to secure a 40 ft. high rock outcrop from potentially sliding into the site
1641 Richmond Avenue Staten Island, NY
Geotechnical Engineering for a New 4-Story School
Bilow Engineering provided the design for a new foundation and support of excavation system for a new 4-story charter school. The project had a 25 ft. deep excavation that required extensive dewatering of the site. The design implemented a lateral bracing system with the use of walers and rakers to adequately support the open deep excavation. The structures surrounding this deep excavation were continuously monitored and achieved a less than ¼-inch of movement throughout the 4-month below grade construction period. The excavation and construction of this subsurface structure were successfully completed one month ahead of schedule
3254 Parkside Place Bronx, NY
Geotechnical Engineering for Rock Support for New 9-story Building
This site was approximately 75 ft. wide by over 1,000 ft. long and contained a rock outcrop that exceeded 75 ft. in height. In order to construct the new 9-story building, approximately 30 to 40 ft. of this rock outcrop needed to be removed. During the excavation and removal of the rock outcrop, the exposed rock was clearly unstable and risked a rock slope failure and collapse. We provided design and construction oversight services to secure the exposed rock properly and successfully, using shotcrete, rock netting, and rock anchors.
Gourmet Boutique Jamaica Queens, NY
Geotechnical Engineering for New Below Grade 5,000 Gallon Tank
Bilow Engineering designed a lateral bracing and dewatering system to allow for the safe excavation and placement of a new 5,000-gallon grease trap tank. The excavation was 14 ft. deep and the site was located within ½-mile of Jamaica Bay, thus continuous dewatering was required. Around-the clock monitoring of the excavation and the surrounding properties was performed to ensure the overall safety of the excavation and construction.
11 Butler Street, Staten Island, NY
Forensic Engineering to Address Site Damages Due to Adjacent Construction
We observed extensive damages to the 11 Butler Street property resulting from the excavation and below grade construction at an adjacent property. We assisted the owner and insurance company in determining the cause of the damages observed in the house, patio, pool house, and pool resulting from the adjacent construction. The forensic engineering work consisted of reverse engineering the lateral support design from the neighboring site in order to calculate the total amount of settlements and movement to the client’s site. We provided consistent monitoring, regular attendance at project meetings, and prepared design recommendations to the adjacent property owners and design engineer so the adjacent lateral bracing system could be properly supported to minimize additional movement and prevent further damages to our client’s structures and site
118 E. 1st Street Manhattan, NY
Geotechnical Engineering Services for a New 10-Story Residential Structure.
This challenging site was 25 ft. wide by 100 ft. deep and required an excavation of 14 ft. below the ground surface. Bilow Engineering provided services that included a pile foundation design as well as support of excavation system that included soldier piles, underpinning, and a lateral bracing system comprising of walers, rakers, and concrete heel blocks. Due to the poor and loose soil conditions that existed on the site and under the adjacent buildings, we designed a permeation grouting system to safely support the foundations of the adjacent structures.
Specialty Services Provided for Custom Projects Throughout the Tri-State New York Area
Bilow Engineering has provided a range of unique geotechnical services for the construction of specialty below-grade projects.
-Bilow Engineering strategically designed and oversaw the rock excavation and removal for a unique underground wine cellar strategically placed within 10 ft. of excavated bedrock for a discerning client whose home was near Central Park.
-Our firm created a water infiltration and storage system for an agricultural facility in order to collect and reuse stormwater to irrigate agricultural crops and reduce the overall amount of groundwater needed for use in the facility.
-We assisted with the excavation and the lateral stability system for a below ground pool for a Brooklyn townhouse structure that required a 25 ft. deep excavation one full level below the existing cellar.
-We created both an underground squash court and basketball court in two different Manhattan townhouses that were located below the cellar floor level. Both of these projects required extremely precise lateral bracing designs and excavations of the soil and rock materials to protect the existing structures and their neighboring buildings. The excavations for these projects extended