30” x 51’ Foundation Drill with Rocky Soil Conditions – North Hollywood, CA

Summary

This project consisted of drilling a single 51-foot foundation hole at a commercial site in North Hollywood. After completing a job walk it was determined the site conditions were open and flat enough to efficiently utilize the LLT drill truck.

By the time we returned for the scheduled start date, site conditions had changed. Rebar and PVC had been laid across portions of the work area, which required additional maneuvering and careful positioning to safely access the drill location. While not a major obstacle, it did increase setup time and required extra coordination to avoid damaging materials on site.

Soil conditions were favorable in the upper section, allowing steady production early on. However, during the final 30 feet, conditions changed significantly as the material became moist and increasingly rocky. On the first day, it was drilled to 50’8” of the required 51 feet. Upon returning the following morning, the hole had sloughed and measured 50’1”, resulting in a 7-inch loss overnight. 

Approximately six additional passes were made, pulling increasing amounts of rock each time, and ultimately drilled to 52’4” to meet the final depth requested by the customer’s team.