This document discusses various methods of timbering trenches, which is the use of wood planks and struts to temporarily support the sides of deep or unstable trenches during excavation. The main methods described are:
1. Stay bracing for trenches up to 2m deep using vertical planks and struts.
2. Box sheeting for trenches up to 4m deep using interlocking vertical planks supported by horizontal wales and struts.
3. Vertical sheeting for very deep trenches up to 10m using staged excavation with offset wood walls and horizontal bracing.
4. Runner systems which use thick wood planks driven ahead of excavation in extremely loose soils.
5
This document discusses various methods of timbering trenches, which is the use of wood planks and struts to temporarily support the sides of deep or unstable trenches during excavation. The main methods described are:
1. Stay bracing for trenches up to 2m deep using vertical planks and struts.
2. Box sheeting for trenches up to 4m deep using interlocking vertical planks supported by horizontal wales and struts.
3. Vertical sheeting for very deep trenches up to 10m using staged excavation with offset wood walls and horizontal bracing.
4. Runner systems which use thick wood planks driven ahead of excavation in extremely loose soils.
5
This document discusses various methods of timbering trenches, which is the use of wood planks and struts to temporarily support the sides of deep or unstable trenches during excavation. The main methods described are:
1. Stay bracing for trenches up to 2m deep using vertical planks and struts.
2. Box sheeting for trenches up to 4m deep using interlocking vertical planks supported by horizontal wales and struts.
3. Vertical sheeting for very deep trenches up to 10m using staged excavation with offset wood walls and horizontal bracing.
4. Runner systems which use thick wood planks driven ahead of excavation in extremely loose soils.
5
This document discusses various methods of timbering trenches, which is the use of wood planks and struts to temporarily support the sides of deep or unstable trenches during excavation. The main methods described are:
1. Stay bracing for trenches up to 2m deep using vertical planks and struts.
2. Box sheeting for trenches up to 4m deep using interlocking vertical planks supported by horizontal wales and struts.
3. Vertical sheeting for very deep trenches up to 10m using staged excavation with offset wood walls and horizontal bracing.
4. Runner systems which use thick wood planks driven ahead of excavation in extremely loose soils.
5
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 6
i.
Timbering -is a method of providing temporary support to the side of the trench and is sometimes called planking and strutting
ii. Strut – it’s a piece of wood used to support sheeting/walling with two walls of a trench and to maintain a certain distance between the Wales and the main line of the trench.
iii. Trench -is a deep and narrow hole, or ditch, in the ground.
iv. Battering: This is the term used to describe the protection given to sides of excavation by sloping the sides to a safe angle to prevent collapse.
v. Polling board-A flat wooden plank which is in direct contact with the soil of the trench and is arranged in an vertical position on the side
vi. Sheeting is the process of holding a polling board or plank together or using a sheet instead of a plank
vii. Wales or walling-The component attached to the trench wall, the sheeting to support the polling board, or the component which is perpendicular to the polling board and parallel to the trench wall.
viii. Bracing -The diagonal straightening used between the walls to reinforce the timbering framework
Introduction.
When the depth of trench is large, or when the sub-soil is loose, the sides of the trench may cave in. The problem can be solved by adopting a suitable method of timbering. Timbering of trenches, sometimes also known as strutting consists of providing timber planks or boards and struts to give temporary support to the sides of the trench.
The strength of the timbering used for this purpose necessarily depends upon the nature of the soil, the depth of the excavations, and the length of time it is likely to be kept open.
Methods of timbering
When the depth of trench is large, or when the sub-soil is loose, the sides of the trench may cave in. The problem can be solved by adopting a suitable method of timbering. Timbering of deep trenches can be done with the help of the following methods:
A. Stay bracing. This method is used for supporting the sides or a bench excavated in fairly firm soil, when the depth of excavation does not exceed 2 metres. The method consists of placing vertical sheets (called sheathing) or polling boards opposite each other against the two walls of the trench and holding them in position by one or two rows of struts. The sheets are placed at an interval of 2 to 4 metres and generally they extend to the full height of the trench. The polling boards may have width of about 200 mm and thickness of 44 to 50 mm. The struts may have size 100 x 100 mm for trench up to 2 m width and 200 x 200 mm for trench up to 4 m width. Figure 1; stay bracing
B. Box sheeting. This method is adopted in loose soils, when the depth of excavation does not exceed 4 metres. diagram (a) shows the box like structure, consisting of vertical sheets placed very near to each other (sometimes touching each other) and keeping them in position by longitudinal rows (usually two) of wales. Struts are then provided across the wales.
Another system of box sheeting, shown in diagram (b), is adopted for very loose soils. In this system, the sheeting is provided longitudinally, and they are supported by vertical wales and horizontal struts. If the height is more, braces are also provided along with struts. Figure 2; box sheeting
C. Vertical sheeting. This system is adopted for deep trenches (up to 10 m depth) in soft ground. The method is similar to the box sheeting except that the excavation is carried out in stages and at the end of each stage, an offset is provided, so that the width of the trench goes on decreasing as the depth increases. Each stage is limited to about 3 m in height and the offset may vary from 25 to 50 cm per stage. For each stage, separate vertical sheeting, supported by horizontal wailings and struts are provided. Figure 3; vertical sheeting
D. Runner system. This system is used in extremely loose and soft ground, which needs immediate support as excavation progresses.
The system is similar to vertical sheeting of box system, except that in the place of vertical sheeting, runners, made of long thick wooden sheets or planks with iron shoe at the ends, are provided. Wales and struts are provided as usual. These runners are driven about 30 cm in advance of the progress of the work, by hammering. Figure 4; runner system
E. Sheet piling. This method is adopted when
(i) Soil to be excavated is soft or loose
(ii) Depth of excavation is large
(iii) Width of trench is also large
(iv) There is sub-soil water.
Sheet piles are designed to resist lateral earth pressure. These are driven in the ground by mechanical means (pile driving equipment). They can be used for excavating to a very large depth.
There are two types of sheet piles:
1. Wooden sheet pile: Used to a depth of 10 m.
2. Steel sheet pile: Which is used up to a depth of 30 m. Steel sheet piles are used in different shapes and sizes. Fig 1.11
