Hilltop IV Condominium Association
Hardscape Installer: Pickering Valley Landscape Inc
Location: Borough of Brookhaven, Delaware County, Pa
Owner: Hilltop Condo Association
Retaining wall replacements can be very challenging with the scope of work extending far beyond the normal new construction project. The situation was urgent as a failing timber wall was applying pressure to a pedestrian bridge support.
"One thing we feel separates us from the typical landscape maintenance contractor bidding this type of work is that we have 8 wall crews out the door on a daily basis" Explains Jon Calle, General Manager. We also have an experienced office staff churning out 30 plus wall quotations a month. Wall work is what we do day in and day out and there are only a handful of companies in the region that can say that."
It was December of 2010 and there were concerns over the urgency of the situation and ability to replace the wall during the winter months. PVL worked with the general contractor, property manager, and engineer to provide a turnkey quotation with a guarantee that homeowners on both floors of building EE would have full and safe access to their homes throughout the project.
The engineer provided a design incorporating the use of segmental retaining wall blocks and geogrid. PVL was able to provide a quote with 3 key recommendations allowing
the project to proceed as needed in January: 1st was to export all excavated soil and import all 3⁄4” clean gravel for backfill in the reinforced zone. This would eliminate work stoppages if backfill soils were frozen and unable to compact and inspect to engineer’s requirements. 2nd was to bury only 1 block below sidewalk grade rather then proposed 2 blocks to eliminate potential unraveling of stone beneath the concrete sidewalk and potentially the need to replace. 3rd to take the additional row of block and add it to the top of wall to lessen the slope grade and provide a more manageable grade for long term maintenance considerations.
PVL handled the following within their scope of work: Permitting and contractor license with local borough, Utility Notification, Temporary Bridge Support, Tree removal, Tearout and Excavation, Safe removal of timber and on site soil, new wall construction, borough and engineer inspection scheduling, PVC fence installation, final rake and seed. Project took a 4 man crew a total of 12 working days to complete including final asphalt/ concrete patch repair and raising a buried storm water septic lid. Company owned equipment included a CX75 Case excavator and TL150 skidsteer, both with rubber tracks to minimize collateral damage. PVL also used one of their dumpster can trucks to export timbers and excess fill while efficiently importing block and stone footing and backfill material on the backhaul.
