Case Study
Bluffton, Beaufort County, South Carolina
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Project Overview
This bulkhead wall project in Bluffton, South Carolina, aimed to construct a durable and visually appealing seawall using innovative engineering solutions. McSweeney Engineers, LLC provided the design expertise, while Coastal Services of Bluffton handled the installation. The project required a robust earth anchoring system to secure a fiberglass sheet piling seawall capable of withstanding environmental pressures such as tidal forces and soil loads. Platipus Anchors played a critical role by offering design assistance and supplying specialized anchoring systems.
Solution
Platipus provided B8 Percussion Driven Earth Anchors (PDEA®) paired with all-thread rod, ensuring high tensile strength and long-term performance. Coastal Services installed the anchors using a Cat 303 mini-excavator equipped with a 500lbs (225kg) Epicroc SBU 220 breaker, operating from a custom-fabricated barge. Installation rates averaged 1-2 anchors per hour for challenging placements and 2-3 per hour under smoother conditions. The fiberglass sheet piling system enhanced both durability and aesthetics.
Coastal Services praised the Platipus PDEA® system for its efficiency, stating “They would prefer it over conventional dead man tiebacks for future projects.”
