Shoring & Temporary Works
The structure that
holds it up meanwhile.
Engineered shoring, underpinning and temporary bracing for excavation, demolition and renovation work. Sealed plans for contractors across VA, MD and WV.
Temporary works are permanent enough to kill someone. That is the whole argument for engineering them rather than assembling them from experience and available material.
The temporary condition is very often the most demanding one a structure will ever see. A building being underpinned, a floor being removed, a wall being opened, an excavation next to an existing foundation. In each case the load is going somewhere it was never designed to go, and only for a while, which is precisely when people stop paying attention.
Sequence is the design
Shoring is not a static problem. What matters is the order of operations, what is carrying load at each stage, and what gets removed only after something else is in place. The drawing has to communicate that sequence, not just the final arrangement.
Designed for the site, not the catalogue
Access, headroom, available equipment and what the contractor already owns all shape the answer. A shoring scheme that is technically perfect and cannot be installed in the space available is not a design.
Typical scopes
- Temporary shoring for demolition and structural alteration
- Underpinning design for foundations adjacent to new excavation
- Excavation support and protection of adjacent structures
- Needle beams and temporary support during wall removal
- Bracing for partially demolished or damaged structures
- Sequence of operations drawings showing what carries load at each stage
- Reshoring for concrete construction
Common Questions
Straight answers
Does shoring have to be engineered?
For anything beyond the trivial, yes, and often it is a contractual or regulatory requirement. It is also the point of the job where the consequences of being wrong are most immediate.
Can you design around the equipment we already have?
Where it is safe to do so, absolutely, and you should tell us what you have at the start. A scheme built around your existing posts and beams is faster and cheaper than one that requires a rental package.
How quickly can you turn this around?
Shoring is frequently urgent by nature. Call and describe the situation and we will tell you honestly what is achievable.
Do you do emergency stabilisation after a failure or collapse?
Yes. Emergency bracing and stabilisation, and forensic investigation of what caused it, are both within the practice.
Temporary condition you are not comfortable with?
That instinct is usually right. Get it engineered.