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Preserving and restoring our country's history is an important undertaking; our historical buildings continue to teach future generations of our roots and where we as a nation have come from. In Delaware County PA, one couple has taken on the all-encompassing task of restoring their newly acquired Maywood Mansion. This historic property has been overlooked for some time. Repairs were needed throughout the main house and the carriage barn (along with much needed landscaping) to address the future stability of the structures. Daniels Consulting Engineers designed an underpinning and helical pile design that would help ensure this historic manor's future.
Maywood was originally sectioned from a local farmer's land. It was sold as a two-acre vacant parcel to four unwed sisters in 1851. The sisters built the original home around 1855 and has since been. The property also features a carriage house whose foundation dates back to I 844 and has been used as a garage in recent years. Though left in disrepair for some time, original features are still present throughout the manor and are set to be restored and preserved by the new owners. The current owners of Maywood have painstakingly created plans to restore and repair this historical gem so that generations may enjoy all the estate has to offer.
Repairs to the manor's foundation began in the summer of 2021, Daniels Consulting Engineers were contracted to address the major foundation problems. The main cause to of the foundation damage was caused by overgrown trees and their massive labyrinth root systems growing into rubble field stone foundation. This property was inundated with trees which were growing up the outer walls of the manor for decades. The trees would need to be mitigated to save the structure. Daniels designed a plan to preserve the original foundation while giving much-needed support to secure the building for years to come. Daniels specified CHANCE's SS5 grouted piles with 8", 10" leads and 5" digger plates to an 18' embedment with CHANCE's standard underpinning brackets.
Breslin Contracting, Inc. was brought in to complete the extensive repairs. They were first greeted with the complicated maze of roots which would need to be removed to complete the installation. The owners also brought in a tree service to remove the labyrinth of trees that were crowding the property. Mike Parodi, an owner and operations manager for Breslin, stated that "This property, just over an acre, has more trees than any property I have seen and allowed to grow wild, right up on the buildings." He continued to describe what he saw, "What stood out most was the terrible condition that this house was allowed to get into by previous owners ... the confidence that the new owners had in their vision for Maywood made the install that much better."
As the crew from Breslin began the process of removing root systems that were directly affecting the foundation, they were handed another obstacle. A large cistern was located in the crawlspace directly behind one of the underpinning locations. The cistern would have to be filled before work could continue. They used approximately 6-cubic-yards of flowable fill prior to being able to complete the install of the helical pile.
As the root systems and cistern obstacles were navigated, Breslin's crew were able to complete the pouring of concrete to stabilize the rubble field stone so they could install the twelve Standard Concrete Underpinning Brackets to stabilize the underside of the rubble foundation. To ensure the structure's stability they installed eight SS5 Pulldown piles with 8'' x IO"- 5ft. leads with 5" digger plates to 18ft. embedrnent.
With these interventions, the Maywood Mansion will stand for generations to come!
Breslin Contracting Installed (12) Helical Piles to Underpin an Historic Mansion with a Rubble Foundation in Delaware County, PA
Summer, 2021
