Tieback anchor installation in Los Angeles
Ford Foundation Drilling LLC drills, grouts, tests and locks off tieback anchors for shoring walls and permanent retaining walls in the Los Angeles area.
Our president, Shawn Ford, ran more than 50 tieback projects as a foreman and project manager between 2016 and 2022, before founding the company in 2023.
What a tieback does
A tieback is a steel anchor drilled at a downward angle through a wall into the ground behind it. The far end is grouted into stable soil or rock. The near end is tensioned against the wall. It lets a soldier pile wall or retaining wall hold a taller cut than it could as a cantilever, without braces crossing the excavation.
How we install them
- Drill the anchor hole through the wall at the angle and length on the shoring plans.
- Install the steel tendon.
- Grout the bonded length and let it cure.
- Load-test the anchors against the engineer's test schedule.
- Lock off at the design load and record the results for the engineer and inspector.
What we install
- Temporary tiebacks for basement and hillside shoring
- Permanent tiebacks for retaining walls and slope repairs
- Tiebacks on limited-access and hillside sites
- Rakers, where tiebacks are not allowed or not practical
Tiebacks under a neighbor or a street
Tiebacks often extend past the property line. Under a neighboring lot they need that owner's permission. Under a public street they need approval from the city. Sort this out before the shoring design is final. When permission is not available, the wall can be braced from inside the excavation with rakers.
Where we work
We work across Southern California, with recent projects in Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Malibu.
Get a price
Send the shoring plans and soils report to info@fordfoundationdrilling.com or call 1-626-804-8517, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.
Common questions
When does a wall need tiebacks?
When the retained height is more than the piles can carry as a cantilever. The shoring engineer makes that call from the soils report and the loads next to the cut.
Are tiebacks tested?
Yes. Anchors are load-tested against the engineer's test schedule before they are locked off, and the readings go to the engineer.
What is the difference between a tieback and a raker?
A tieback anchors the wall into the ground behind it. A raker is an inclined brace inside the excavation that props the wall against a footing. Rakers are used when anchors cannot extend past the property line.
Are temporary tiebacks removed?
Temporary tiebacks are typically de-tensioned once the permanent structure carries the load. Whether they stay in the ground is set by the shoring plans and any agreement with the neighbor or the city.
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