§ 27-694 Capping and bracing of piles.
AC § 27-694
(a)Capping of piles.
(1)EMBEDMENT. Tops of all piles shall be embedded at least three inches in concrete caps. Such concrete shall conform to the provisions of article five of subchapter ten of this chapter and shall extend at least four inches beyond the edge of all piles. Alternatively, and only where the piles project above the future grade and will be readily accessible for visual inspection at all times, the tops of the piles may be capped with timber or steel caps, which shall be connected to the piles. Cap plates will not be required for steel H piles embedded in a reinforced concrete cap. Inspection of pile caps shall be as required in section 27-722 of article thirteen of this subchapter.
(2)UPLIFT. Where piles are subject to uplift, they shall be anchored into the cap to resist at least one and one-half times the amount of such uplift without exceeding the basic allowable stresses as established in subchapter ten.
(3)REINFORCEMENT. Reinforcement shall be placed to provide at least three inches of clear cover, measured to the surface of the pile cap that is in contact with the ground. All reinforcement adjacent to timber or concrete piling shall have a minimum of one inch of concrete protection. Reinforcement shall extend to within four inches of the edges of the pile cap.
(4)DESIGN. Except as modified above, concrete pile caps shall be designed in accordance with the provisions of reference standard RS 10-3.
(b)Bracing of piles. Except for short piles as described in subdivision (c) of this section, every pile shall be laterally braced to conform with one or more of the following provisions: (1) RIGID CAP. Three or more piles connected by a rigid cap shall be considered as being braced provided that the piles are located in radial directions from the centroid of the group not less than sixty degrees apart (within a tolerance of three inches in location of the pile.) A two-pile group, in a rigid cap, shall be considered to be braced along the axis connecting the two piles.
(5)FLOOR SYSTEM. Single-pile or two-pile groups or a single line of piles may be considered to be adequately braced if connected to, and braced by, a self supporting floor system provided: (1) that the details and dimensions of the floor and the wall or pier are of adequate strength to resist lateral displacement of the pile cap under conditions of maximum eccentricity of the applied load; and (2) that the wall or pier is braced until connection of the floor framing is made and the flooring (or slab) is in place.
(6)SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BRACING BATTER PILES. The provisions of paragraphs one through five of this subdivision above shall apply. In addition, provisions shall be made to oppose the lateral thrust resulting from the pile inclination.
(c)Bracing of short piles.
