Can the civil engineering pile foundation drawings be produced before the structural drawings?
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Recently, I encountered a situation where, due to the tight deadline for a project, the client requested that the design firm provide the pile foundation plans for the factory building ahead of time so that construction could begin, with the structural plans to be provided after one month. However, the civil engineering staff at the design firm insisted that the pile foundation plans could only be prepared after the design of the upper structure was completed; it was not possible to prepare those plans first! The property owners believe that some courtyards are just formed in this way, which creates a lot of contradictions. From a technical perspective, is it possible for the pile foundation drawings to be prepared before the structural drawings?
This issue needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis; if it is a fully fabricated device or a standard factory building, it is completely feasible, otherwise it is necessary to wait until the structural design is completed.
Personally, I think that as long as there is an approximate load, the piles can be calculated.
Generally, the pile location plan and foundation plan are produced first, followed by the superstructure plan. The superstructure needs to be further refined under conditions where the loads do not change significantly. The foundation can enable an enlarged linear design under heavier load conditions, with the structure being combined in subsequent calculations. If that’s what the design institute says, then they deserve to be scolded.
In the buildings I construct, pile foundation plans are usually prepared first. The design institute only needs to determine the foundation type and the maximum load. The pile foundation construction drawings can be designed by the geological survey and design institute.
We can produce the pile foundation diagram first; our institute has done this before
The common practice among designers is to proceed with the design of the pile foundation first, since the superstructure design and calculations have already been finalized, thereby meeting the project timeline requirements
Yes, once the superstructure is roughly finalized (for example, when the column positions remain unchanged and the loads don’t change significantly)
As long as there are no significant changes in the loads, it is entirely possible to produce the pile foundation drawings first. This is exactly what we do for many clients in the southern region; pile driving is a slow process, and doing this this way can save a lot of time
That’s exactly what our department does; we have no choice!
As mentioned on floor 7, the superstructure design and calculations have been approved, so the pile foundation drawings can be prepared first to meet the construction schedule requirements.