Thursday, July 31, 2014

Six caissons are now in the ground, and the driller needs to excavate four more holes. Ten in total are required to support the cantilevered sections of the Jackman Law Building along the curve of Queen's Park and particularly on the south end of the design.

 

Close up of caisson driller bit

 

With crew members visible in the following shots, you can see how large the caisson driller really is.

Close up of caisson driller bit

 

 Looking down onto the caisson driller bit from second storey

 

The crane uses this piece of equipment to push down the caisson sleeve into this ground hole, which contributes to the vibrations felt across the site, not just in Flavelle House, but also in Falconer Hall.

Caisson sleeve being pushed down into ground hole

 

At a certain point, the crane had to step back and allow the caisson driller below to get into and dig down to retrieve mud that was holding up the sleeve from being completely inserted.

Mud being retrieved by caisson driller from the ground hole

Then anyone too close, especially those with cameras, were told to step way back, as the drill bit reversed its rotation to whip off the retrieved mud. U of T videographer James Poremba took some footage for archival purposes.

caisson driller bit shaking off mud retrieved from ground hole

Alumni can contact Sean Ingram if they wish to book a group tour of the site.

 

Photos: Lucianna Ciccocioppo