fisher island duo
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Two Fisher Island Condominiums - Palazzo del Sol and Palazzo del Luna
- Holland Pump West Palm Branch Project
- Pump Consultant – Chris R.
- Scope: foundation dewatering for both condominiums
Palazzo del Sole
Dewatering Scope
Palazzo del Sol was already under construction with several floors completed.
- Challenge 1: the general contractor did not construct the basement floor slab before going vertical and its elevation was about a foot below sea level at high tide. At high tide, the ground would be completely saturated.
- Response: The water table needed to be lowered in order to construct the basement floor slab. Heavy equipment could not enter the basement because of the ground saturation therefore any work done had to be completed by manual labor.
- Step 1: Chris recommended a wellpoint system for the initial lowering of the water table.
- Step 2: Chris added a second wellpoint system installed parallel to the primary system but about three feet below ground.
- Step 3: He transferred the pump to the second buried wellpoint system.
- Step 4: He remove the system that was above ground, leaving the second system to become the primary dewatering system. This system would eventually be permanently buried and abandoned once the basement slab was constructed.
- Challenge 2: The low head clearance, unstable ground, darkness, mosquitos and manually moving material for several days pushed Chris and his team to levels they had never experienced.
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Palazzo del Luna
Dewatering Scope
Palazzo del Luna was a new construction next door, almost identical to del Sol. Palazzo del Sol dewatering was well underway when Holland Pump was hired to provide services for foundation dewatering.
- All foundation structures were below the water table so extensive dewatering was required.
- Response: Repeat what was done at Palazzo del Sol.
- Challenge 2 Removed: For del Luna, the building had not been constructed yet, so there was not a clearance issue.
- Challenge 3: Early mornings, long lines and waits to get on the ferry to and from the island. We were on this project from the beginning this time, and the project lasted over a year.
- Chris’ Key Takeaway: the experience and challenges I faced helped me grow in this field and prepared me for other tough projects to come.
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The system at the top was removed each time, and the system at the bottom became the primary system and was buried.