1201 S. Hope
Cefali redesigned the shoring for the five-level garage at 1201 S. Hope and used Revit to coordinate three tieback rows at a reentrant corner near Pico Station. The shoring contractor tested the tiebacks.
Specialty structural engineering
Temporary Shoring Design
Temporary support for basement and foundation excavations, including the stages before the permanent structure can carry the load.
How it works
Temporary shoring changes as the excavation gets deeper
Temporary shoring supports the excavation while foundations, basements, and other permanent work are built. Where the retained height, loads, and movement limits allow it, a wall may work in cantilever without anchors or braces. Deeper stages may need tiebacks behind the wall or rakers and cross-lot braces inside the cut. The suitable arrangement depends on geotechnical criteria, adjacent structures, property rights, and the available working room.
Each stage has to work before the permanent structure takes over. Walers and braces can cross a future slab or block the truck route into a basement; ramps and cranes can add loads at the shoring edge. The structural design therefore needs the proposed excavation and access sequence, while the contractor remains responsible for its construction methods.
Site conditions
Shoring that leaves room to build
A deep cut beside a building or property line may need several levels of support, each installed as excavation advances. Cefali develops the wall and support layout around the available anchor rights, nearby structures, and the space the contractor needs for excavation and permanent construction.
- Depth and sequence
- Retained height can change as excavation advances, making the timing of anchors, braces, and foundation work important.
- Neighbors, utilities, and anchor rights
- Existing buildings, buried services, and transit structures can restrict pile or anchor locations and allowable movement. Where internal bracing replaces tiebacks, it needs room inside the excavation.
- Construction logistics
- Ramps, truck routes, cranes, and staging can load the wall or conflict with braces and walers. Those members also need to clear the foundations and slabs that will replace the temporary support.
Engineering services
Engineering from the first excavation plan through field changes
Cefali & Associates can develop a shoring concept for bidding, prepare detailed drawings and calculations, or assess changes to a system already under construction. The proposal identifies the stages of work included.
- Early concepts
- Shoring concepts show how the proposed excavation can be supported and where anchors, braces, and access routes will fit.
- Detailed design
- Piles, anchors, walers, and rakers are designed to support the excavation as it deepens and the permanent structure is built.
- Changed conditions
- Deeper cuts, buried obstructions, or different ground conditions can require revisions to the shoring. Construction support can include evaluating the change and designing the revised support.
We agree the drawings, calculations, and support during construction with you in the proposal.
Design considerations
Construction loads and access can change the shoring
A shoring layout has to work with excavation access, equipment, staging, and the permanent foundation. Those constraints often determine whether a proposed system can actually be built.
- Construction loads
- Cranes, pumps, haul routes, and temporary platforms can load the shoring edge or occupy space needed for braces. Their positions and loads affect the design.
- Obstructions and changes
- An existing foundation or unexpected ground condition can prevent installation of a pile or anchor where it was designed. The affected support needs engineering review before the contractor changes the arrangement.
- Removing temporary support
- Braces and ramps can conflict with permanent foundations. The design sequence accounts for when they can be removed and how the permanent structure takes over the support.
If you are comparing engineering teams for a constrained excavation, read the guide to choosing a shoring engineer.
In practice / 6th & Bixel
The design in practice.
At 6th & Bixel, soldier piles and tiebacks supported a garage excavation. When contaminated soil was found below the planned excavation, additional tiebacks and walers allowed the work to continue deeper using the original piles.
See the 6th & Bixel projectMore project examples
Wilshire Grand Center
At Wilshire Grand, shoring installation advanced with demolition of the old basement. Cefali designed a sled for tieback drilling from the existing concrete decks and coordinated support near Metro tunnels.
Intuit Dome
At Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Cefali and Malcolm Drilling worked on temporary and permanent shoring around a court more than 30 feet below existing grade. Cantilever and tieback-braced soldier piles served much of the below-grade work. At the entrance tunnel, tieback agreements were unavailable, so cross-lot braces were placed above truck traffic to keep the construction route open.
Related project work
Projects involving temporary shoring design
See the systems, site conditions, and construction details from these projects.
Before you begin
Common questions
When should a shoring engineer join the project?
Before the excavation and access plan is fixed. Early drawings, geotechnical information, and records of neighboring structures allow the team to compare feasible support options.
Does temporary shoring need to account for contractor access?
Yes. Construction ramps, equipment, staging, and the sequence of excavation can change loads and available space, so they should be discussed during design.
What usually changes the temporary shoring scope?
Excavation depth and geometry, geotechnical criteria, neighboring foundations, utilities, tieback rights, equipment loads, access, and construction sequence can all change the amount and type of engineering required.
Can the shoring change after excavation starts?
Yes. At 6th & Bixel, petroleum-affected soil required a deeper excavation, and additional tiebacks and walers supplemented the original soldier piles. Whether installed piles can be reused on another project depends on engineering review of the changed excavation.
Is a contractor’s excavation sequence needed before design?
A preliminary sequence helps establish where ramps, equipment, braces, and foundation work need space. It can be refined as the design develops.
Discuss your project
Tell us what you are planning.
Send the drawings, reports, and site information you already have, along with your schedule and the work you need help with. You do not need a complete design package to get in touch.
- Excavation plan, sections, and target elevations
- Geotechnical report and groundwater information
- Adjacent building, basement, transit, and utility records
- Proposed excavation stages, ramps, and equipment locations