241 
It’s no secret Toronto is a very built-up city, with buildings, bridges, roads and infrastructure covering just about every acre. More than that, however, is what you do not see. What may appear to be an empty lot ripe for easy excavation and digging prior to building upwards is in most cases simply a vacant lot sitting on top of a vast collection of underground infrastructure.
You name it and it’s probably down there. A network of electrical utilities and wires, a labyrinth of plumbing and pipes, as well as the ever-present groundwater, are just a few of the obstacles to deal with and most importantly, to be protected during development.
That protection is provided by companies such as Iron Shoring, which provides a necessary service to protect existing infrastructure during excavation of a property, along with existing roads and neighbouring buildings. Additionally, Iron Shoring provides permanent support for structures in unsuitable ground conditions through drilled shafts, reinforced concrete as well as cut-off walls for contamination or water.
Iron Shoring is part of the RONI Group of Concord, which began with RONI Excavating, founded by Giocondo Niro in 1984, and expanded with the additions of ORIN and IRON companies with Anthony Niro in 2000. Throughout its history, the group of companies has stayed abreast of the latest technological advancements to provide a suite of services which are quality and safety-focused, to its many clients.
In the shoring industry where Iron Shoring is a leader, these advancements have had a great impact on its work, according to Peter Cybart, Director with Iron Shoring. “Hydraulic drill rigs have built-in technology to allow us to monitor production, verticality and resource consumption,” says Cybart. “This gives us historical data to ensure the most accurate estimating for any given region.”
We are all familiar with seeing large pile drivers on construction sites hammering into the ground. This is part of the work Iron Shoring does, with steel members driven into the ground until they experience a specified resistance via skin friction and/or bearing capacity, measured by devices on the actual driving apparatus.
“Think of it as pushing a sharp object, like a steel spike, in the sand at the beach, how deep can it be pushed until you can’t advance it even deeper?” explains Cybart. “If you stood on the spike and it didn’t settle over time, then the friction of the sand coupled with the bearing resistance, or the body of the member, are sufficient to bear your body weight. Instead of your body weight, think of supporting bridges, buildings or dams in this manner supported by steel piles. Wooden or precast concrete piles can be used in pile driving as well, which can be done during the winter.”
Deep caissons underground is a service provided by Iron Shoring’s, and the sizes are impressive, used on projects with unsuitable ground conditions at subgrade to support structural elements. “Iron Shoring has completed drilled shafts ranging from 2 mm diameter at 12 metre drill depth, 1.5 mm diameter at 38 metre drill depth and small caisson, such as 600 mm with a 10 metre drill depth,” says Cybart.
A different type of pile in the excavation business are continuous flight auger piles, or CFA as it’s known in the industry. Auger cast piles is comparable to a screw with a hollow stem. The auger is ‘screwed’ into the ground until it reaches the desired depth determined by a geologist, with concrete then pumped through the stem, while the auger is slowly extracted.
“The auger is drilled to a high bearing capacity layer of soil, which loads can be transferred to,” says Cybart. “Typically, CFA piles are steel reinforced and used for permanent applications to support a structure, but can also be used for temporary shoring systems.”
Iron Shoring, working in both the GTA and Ottawa region, can be working on up to two dozen projects at a time. As usual, there is more to excavation and construction than meets the eye and Iron Shoring provides a key service in the unrelenting and complex development world, building a bigger and better Toronto through the skills of its experts playing a key role.
* * *
UrbanToronto has a research service, UrbanToronto Pro, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area—from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
