Berlin and micro-Berlin walls — retaining excavations and deep digs
Berlin and micro-Berlin walls: basements, car parks and excavations on property boundaries.
A Berlin (soldier pile) wall holds back the ground during excavation: new basements, car parks, digs against a neighbouring building or a road. Its micro-Berlin variant, made of micropiles, is drilled with a compact rig where a piling rig cannot go.
Excavating safely, even on a property boundary
What is a Berlin wall?
A Berlin wall consists of vertical elements installed before digging, steel sections or piles, and lagging placed between them as excavation proceeds: reinforced shotcrete, timber or panels. Excavation is carried out in shallow lifts, so the ground is never left unsupported.
In a micro-Berlin wall, the vertical elements are closely spaced micropiles drilled with a compact rig: it suits courtyards, existing basements and narrow lanes. Beyond a few metres in height, the wall is held by a waler and ground anchors, or by struts. Its design is governed by French standard NF P 94-282 (retaining walls, embedded walls).
What a Berlin wall makes possible
Each wall is designed for earth pressure, nearby surcharges and the excavation sequence.
Digging next to a neighbour
The wall retains the ground right up against a neighbouring house or a road.
Tight sites
The micro-Berlin wall is drilled with compact equipment: courtyard, basement, narrow passage.
Excavation in lifts
Lagging follows the excavation, lift after lift.
Temporary or permanent
A wall for the works only, or part of the final structure with a permanent facing.
Walers, anchors, struts
For deep excavations, the wall is anchored or strutted at each level.
Movement monitoring
Survey targets on the wall and neighbouring buildings during excavation.
Our expertise
Know-how in special works
We build Berlin and micro-Berlin walls for new basements, extensions and construction on sloping or shared-boundary plots.
- Berlin and micro-Berlin walls
- Micropiles
- Ground anchors and propping
- Shotcrete (lagging)
- Excavations on constrained urban sites
How a Sirianni Travaux project unfolds
Retaining design
Earth pressure, neighbouring structures and excavation sequence, based on the geotechnical study; condition survey of neighbouring buildings before works.
Vertical elements
Drilling the micropiles or installing the steel sections, before any excavation.
Excavation and lagging
Excavation in lifts, lagging as it proceeds, waler and anchors where needed.
Monitoring and acceptance
Measuring the movements of the wall and neighbouring buildings until excavation is complete.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a Berlin wall and a micro-Berlin wall?
Can a basement be built against a party wall?
Is the wall permanent?
Are ground anchors needed?
How are neighbouring buildings protected?
Related services
Shotcrete
Dry-mix or wet-mix shotcrete: nailed walls, rock faces, slopes and structural repair.
ViewMicropiles
Drilled and grouted micropiles: underpinning, extensions and building on low-bearing ground.
ViewUnderpinning
Underpinning with micropiles: cracked houses, settlement, drought damage on clay soils.
ViewA consolidation or foundation project?
A no-obligation exchange: outline your situation and we will suggest the appropriate technical answer after reviewing the context.