Basin Head Fisheries Museum, PEI Helical Foundation Systems

THE PROBLEM

The Basin Head Cannery Building is one of last authentic lobster canneries left on Prince Edward Island and was nearly destroyed by the infamous “Boxing Day Storm” of 2004, when the violent waves and storm surge floated the building off of its timber pilings and drifted it ashore.  Engineers needed a new piling system that could be installed from within the confines of the building without moving it and risking further damage to the structure.

THE SOLUTION

The MacLean-Dixie Helical Foundation System was the  piling system of choice and was custom designed to support the building loads in very poor soil conditions.  The modular aspect of the piling system allowed the piles to be installed deeply into the soil from within the confines of the building using small equipment.  The Helical Piles were terminated with U-shaped brackets to support the new floor joists and encased in grout with a plastic casing to prevent ice jacking.