Geo-Foundations offers a variety of specialized geotechnical construction services.

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Ontario-based Geo-Foundations Contractors Inc. takes its commitment to advanced technology and diverse services to customers throughout North America and the Caribbean.

The company was founded in 2001 and specializes in geotechnical construction. It focuses on small-diameter drilled solutions related to foundation support, ground improvement and ground treatment.

Geo-Foundations offers design/build services to customers in the heavy civil, industrial, commercial, institutional and transportation infrastructure sectors.

“The strength of our knowledge and experience, and the depth of our people, enable us to provide reliable and consistent on-site performance,” the company states.

“Through constant reinvestment into our people and our products, we are able to provide our clients with proven alternatives to conventional technologies through the use of specialized processes, equipment and design,” it adds.

The company says it is committed to safety and has developed a comprehensive safety awareness and training program for employees.     

It also conducts regular site inspections and ongoing job site procedure evaluations. “These measures, coupled with our total-value operating philosophy, are aimed at minimizing construction risk and ensuring a safe work environment for our staff, our clients and our surroundings,” it says.

Advanced Technologies
Geo-Foundations says it offers a variety of advanced technologies for specialized geotechnical construction. These include:

Rock anchors – “Rock anchors come in many shapes and sizes,” the company says. “Post-tensioned rock anchors actively transfer loading between the anchored structure and its underlying rock mass, thereby lowering the structure’s center of gravity.

“Passive rock anchors have high capacity to resist event-induced tensile loading, such as loading arising from periodic seismicity or seasonal buoyancy. Importantly in the case of post-tensioned or passive rock anchors installed to retrofit existing dams, the rock anchors also enhance the dams’ resistance to sliding and overturning.”

The company has completed more than 50 rock anchor projects in Canada, including 30 dams. “We are a full-service rock anchor contractor; we complete, with our own forces, every component of the construction process, including drilling, consolidation grouting, water tightness testing, post-grouting, installation, and performance and proof tensioning,” it says.

Micropiles – “Micopiles are a deep foundation system consisting of small diameter (305 mm or smaller), drilled, replacement elements consisting of high-strength steel and cement grout, that transfer axial loading to the earth via grout-to-ground sidewall friction,” the company says. “Micropiles are typically used in situations where above-ground or below-ground conditions render the use of conventional deep foundations impractical, too difficult, or too risky to the health of neighboring structures or services.”

Geo-Foundations has designed and constructed several dozen micropile projects in Canada. Most of these projects included at least one static compression load test to 200 percent of micropile design loading, the company says.

Jet grouting – “Jet grouting is a unique and highly innovative drilling and grouting technology used to create in situ, large-diameter soil/cement columns using small diameter drill tooling,” the company says. “The three principal jet grouting methods are classified by the number of fluids employed: single fluid, double fluid and triple fluid, representing, respectively, cement grout; cement grout and air; and cement grout, air and water.” The majority of Geo-Foundations’ jet grouting projects have included the double fluid system.

Soil nailing – “Soil nailing is a slope stabilization technique that involves the installation of an array of several closely spaced earth anchors, which, via grout-to-earth friction, work together in tension and bending resistance to ‘knit’ the slope’s soil together, consequently creating a self-supporting earth mass,” it says.

“Most soil nailing schemes include slope facing treatments anchored in place by the heads of the individual soil nails.” Geo-Foundations says it most commonly uses the application to stabilize slopes that are inaccessible to large conventional pile driving or drilled shaft boring equipment.

Anchored shotcrete – “Anchored shotcrete can be used to construct retaining walls, for temporary excavation support and to underpin structures,” the company says. “Universally constructed from the top downwards, anchored shotcrete retains, rather than replaces, the existing soil behind its facing.

“Anchored shotcrete walls can be permanent, stand-alone structures, or, as is more common, temporary excavation support built to enable construction of permanent, framed structures.”

Geo-Foundations’ anchored shortcrete projects have included Toronto Western Hospital and Lowe’s of York in York, Ontario.

Geo-Foundations also offers several types of grouting services, including hot bitumen, rock pressure, soil permeation and compaction.