Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
(OP)
Does anyone know what the condition of 60 year old timber lagging might be, at 10 to 20 feet below grade, in what is most likely a clay till soil, and above any water table? The lagging original spanned 8 feet between steel soldier piles.
Might it still have some significant strength? Anyone ever investigated this? I suppose if we were to investigate we would have to core drill thru the reinforced concrete wall and into the lagging (taking care of course to located the rebar by GPR first).






RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
Is it possible it's still in great shape yes, likely no. It is possible it still has minor strength left, of course.
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
If it is below the low water line, may still be good... depending.
It's mostly about exposure to oxygen, dissolved in ether the air or the water.
Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.
WWW.amlinereast.com
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
BA
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
Indeed! In my experience, timber buried well below grade does not deteriorate, irrespective of the location of the water table. Timber at or near the surface can be a problem because it can be alternately wet and dry and is exposed to air and possibly sunshine.
There may be situations where chemicals are present in the soil which attack timber but that would be the exception rather than the rule.
BA
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
Now, would I rely on the lagging to act as a fail safe in the event of a concrete wall failure? Not likely
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
BA
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
www.PeirceEngineering.com
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.
WWW.amlinereast.com
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
to PEInc - We know from the original drawings from 1956, which we have in our microfilm archives of this building which the precursor to our current company designed, that there was lagging. We can also see the tops of the soldier piles in some locations, where they were cut off at the slab on grade within the building (it was originally constructed as 3 different buildings -- trust me on this, it is a bit complicated, and that is why I did not want to get sidetracked on all of this when I originally posed what I thought was a really simple question of what condition people have found old lagging in). We also know that the concrete wall was placed against the lagging since the building is on the city property line.
To reiterate my earlier elaboration, the reason for the question about the lagging condition is to try to get a proper understanding of what all the possible factors contributing to why some walls are horizontally cracked but most are not even though they all support essentially the same lateral earth pressure.
I agree that it would be foolish to rely on the old lagging to support the load. That was not my intent in asking the question. I do respect your concern though, to get the whole picture before answering.
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
BA
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
RE: Condition of 60 year old wood lagging
BA