TIMBERINGTOTRENCHES

Retainingthesidesofatrench

Attimesitmaybedifficulttodigorworkintrencheswithoutsupport(retaining)thesideoftrenchasthesoilson
[Link]
ventsoilfromcollapsingbackintothetrenchduringexavation

Themethodtobeadoptedwilldependuponthefollowingfactors;

 Thenatureofthesoil.
 Thedepthoftheexcavation.
 Thetimetheworkmaytake.
 Thecostofthesupportingmaterial.
 Presenceofgroundwater.
 Presenceofsoilheaps.

Reasonsfortimbering

Thereasonforprovidingthissafetyprecautionare;

 Tosupportthesidesoftheexcavationsothattheydon'tcollapse.
 Tosafeguardandprotectthelivesoftheworkers.
 Topreventdamageswhichwouldoccurtoadjacentbuildings,roads,trees,e.t.c.
 Tosavetimeindoingdouble.
 Economiselabour.

Methodsusedtoretainthesidesofanexcavation.

 Timbering/shoring.
 Batteringthesides.
 Steelmetalsheeting.

TIMBERINGMETHOD

Thisisacommonmethodusedtosupportthesidesofatrenchin;

 Firmsoil
 Moderatelyfirmsoils.
 Loosesoils.

Eachoftheabovetypesofsoilrequiresdifferenttypesoftimberingtothesidesofthetrenches.

Firmsoilrequireopenboardingtypeoftimbering,moderatelyfirmsoilrequireopenboardingwithnumerou
snumberofpolingkeptinplacebytheintroductionofawalingboardandloosesoilsrequireclosedboardingor
sheeting.

Advantageoftimbering

 It'sfairlycheapastimberiseasilylocallyobtained.
  Easilycuttosuitablelength
 Adoptabletovariousshapeofthetrench.
 Veryefficientifproperlyconstructed.
 Timbercanbereusedifproperlylookedafter.
 Canbeconvenientlyusedtoconfinedsites.

Disadvantagesoftimbering

 Requiresmuchskillsandclosesupervisionduringitsconstructionanduse.
 Becomesexpensiveandwastefulifnotreused.
 It'sreliabletoweatherdamages.
 Hastobeinspectedbeforeandafterworkasitspartscanbeloosened.

Componentsintimbering.

Polingboards.

Theseareverticalboardsputagainstthesidesofthetrenchandtheirsizescanbe19_38mmthickand150_225
mmwide.

Walingboard.

Thesearehorizontalboardsputnexttothepolingboardstostopthemfromfallinginmoderatelyfirmsoilandt
heloosesoil.Theirsizescanbe19_38mthickand150_225mmwide.

Thestruts.

Thesearecrossmembersthatspanthewidthofthetrenchandtheirsizecan7575mmor75100mmor100100
mmincrosssection.

Foldingwedges

Thesearetimberingcomponentsthatareputattheendofthestrutsandtheirpurposeistotightentheconstru
ctionortheycanbedefinedasVshapedpiecesputbetweenthestrutsandwallingtotightentheconstruction.

Timberingtofirmsoils
Timberingtomoderatelyfirmsoil.

Timberingtoloosesoil
 a) Usingsheetings

b) Usingpolingboards

CloseboardingorSheeting

DEEPTRENCHES

[Link]
mayinclude:pages,runners,walingboards,struts,foldingwedges,puncheons,strutlips,trenchprops,soldi
ersandsheetings.

[Link]
sare:

Pages:Thesearewedgesusedfortighteningpolingtowalings.
Runners:long,[Link]
nddrivendownwardasexcavationproceeds.

Puncheons:Verticalmembersfastenedbetweenwalingstopreventtheirdownwardmovement.

StrutLips:Shorttimbersectionfastenedoutofthestrutsandrestingonthewalingstopreventthestrutsfromf
allingintothetrench.

Trenchprops:Screwableadjustablecomponentthatcanbeusedinsteadofastrut.

Soldiers:Shortverticalsupportsforsheetingthatareheldapartbystrutsortrenchprops.

Sheetings:[Link]
arekeptinpositionbysoldiersandstruts.

Timberingtodeeptrenches.

Layingconcretefoundation.

Proceduresoflayingconcretefoundationsinvolvethefollowingsteps.

Bottoming

Thisisthecuttingofthehighportionsofthebedexcavation,fillingthelowplacewithintheexcavationandcom
[Link].

Pegging

Thisisthedrivingofpegsinthebedoftheexcavationwhichmaintainaneventhicknessoftheconcretetobepo
[Link].
Wetting

Thisisthepouringofwaterinthefoundationconcreteduringhotseasontocontrolthesanctionratethatwoul
[Link],theconcretewilldevelopfalsesettin
gproducingaweakfoundation.

BATTERINGMETHOD

Slopingthesides

Thesidesoftheexcavationareslopedorbatteredsothattheslopeisequaltotheangleofreposeofthesoil.

Angleofrepose

Thisistheanglethatthesoilwilltendtomakewiththehorizontalplanewhentippedandallowedtoadoptitsna
turalshape.

[Link]/sandispouredfromatipperlorry.

Note:

Theangleatwhichthesidesmaybeslopedwilldependon:

 Thetypeofsoil.
 Themoisturecontentofthesoil.
 Theareaofthelandavailablethatcanbeusedtoaccommodatetheslope.

Advantagesofbattering.

 Largesavingintimberingandshoring.
 Nospecialskilledlabourtoperformthesupport.
 Moresaferthantimberingandmetalsheeting.

Disadvantagesofbattering
  Agreatdealofextraexcavationisrequiredwhichhastobefilledbackandcompactedwhenworkisco
mpleted.
 Expensiveastimeandlabouriswastedexcavatingextraspoil.
 Needsalargestorageareaforthespoil.
 Itmayrequireexcavatingequipment.
 Backfillingandrammingmaydisturbthewalls.

SAFETYREGULATIONSGOVERNINGEXCAVATIONWORK.

 Soundandadequatequalityandquantityoftimberorothermaterialshouldbeused.
 Timbermustbeerectedandsupervisedbyonlycompetentpersonnel.
 Allpartsofthesupportshouldbeexamineddailybeforeandafterwork.
 Nopartoftimberingmustbeusedasameansofaccesstotheexcavation.
 Abarriershouldbeprovidedtoanyexcavationmorethan2mdeepandthisshouldbe1maway.
 Heavymaterialslikeearth,blocks,bricks,hardcoresorequipmentsmustnotbestackedorheapedn
eartheedgeofanexcavation.
 Meansofaccessmustbeprovidedbyastepladderplacedatasafeangleandpeggedatthebottom.
 Signalorothermeansofwarningtothepublicmustbegivenandtightenedatnight.

STEELMETALSHEETINGMETHODS.

[Link]
driveninthesoilbytheuseofhydraulicmechanicalpowerbeforediggingstarts.

Asthedigginggoeson,theexposedmetalsheetsarestruttedwithadjustabletrenchprops.

Note:

 Themethodisquiteexpensive.
 Themetalsheetsmayeasilybeaffectedbysulphatefoundinthesoilandwater.

Steelmetalsheetingmethods.
Advantages

 Minimalamountoftimberisrequired.
 Initialcostsarehigh;timeofserviceislonghenceitscheapness.
 Drivenintothesoilasworkproceeds.

Disadvantages

 Initialcostsarehigh.
 Sheetingsareeasilyaffectedbysulphatesinthesoilandwater.