Steel Sheet Piling & Trench Sheets
HERMEQ supplies steel sheet piling for excavation support: overlapping trench sheets, interlocking trench sheets, and hot-rolled U piles and Z piles. The sheets shore up the sides of trenches and excavations and stabilize the ground around sitework, utility and civil projects. Trench sheets and piles are driven vertically into the ground, most often with an excavator bucket, and can also be vibrated in with a vibratory hammer or pressed in hydraulically in sensitive areas. The range also carries the accessories a sheeting crew needs to install, brace and recover a run: driving caps, pitching shackles, extractors, waler rails and adjustable trench struts.
Trench sheets, U piles and Z piles
Cold-rolled trench sheets divide by weight class and joint, and hot-rolled piles by the shape of their section, so the choice starts with how deep the dig is and whether the wall stays in the ground.
Standard lap trench sheets
Standard lap trench sheets are the lightest format in the range: cold-rolled steel pans that overlap their neighbor, so each sheet is pitched and driven on its own with an excavator bucket. They suit shallow utility trenches, pipe laying and short temporary retaining runs, where a crew wants to install, strut and recover the sheets with the same machine and move them on to the next dig.
Interlocking trench sheets
Interlocking sheets have a formed joint along each edge that hooks into the next sheet, so the run goes in as one continuous wall. L8 interlocking sheet piles are the light choice for trench lining, temporary retaining walls and bank edging. The FLP 600/3.5 interlocking trench sheets have a wider pan for shallow trenches that need lining quickly with fewer sheets.
Heavy duty trench sheets
Heavier gauge sheets take over when the excavation goes deeper or the ground pushes harder. Among the overlapping formats, KKD 600/6 trench sheets are the standard heavy duty choice for deeper excavations and structural retention, and the FKD 400/6 sheet piles are used for deep shoring, utility trenching and flood work where soil displacement has to be kept low. The KD6 600/8 trench sheets are the heaviest cold-rolled sheet in the range, for the most demanding excavations. Where a deep dig also needs a continuous wall, the FLP 600/6.0 heavy duty trench sheets combine the heavier gauge with an interlocking joint, and so do the MX500 interlocking trench sheets.
U piles
U piles are hot-rolled interlocking sheet piles with a deep U-shaped section, used for retaining walls, marine piling, flood control and deep excavation support. HERMEQ supplies two families: Larssen U piles in profiles L601 to L607 and GU U piles in profiles GU 7N to GU 23N. Within either family, the profile is picked to the bending load the design calls for.
Z piles
Z sheet piles, in profiles from EZ17 to ZZ46-700, have a Z-shaped section with the interlocks positioned for shear resistance and a high strength-to-weight ratio. They are chosen for long continuous walls in civil, coastal and marine work, such as bulkheads and quay walls, embankments, bridge pier protection and cofferdams, and are often combined with ground anchors and capping beams.
Trench sheets or hot-rolled steel sheet piling
Cold-rolled trench sheets are the right choice for temporary support, and hot-rolled U piles and Z piles are the right choice when a wall has to hold back substantial ground or water for a long period or permanently. Trench sheets are formed from thinner steel into shallow pans, which keeps each sheet light enough to pitch with an excavator, drive with the bucket and pull out again once the trench is backfilled.
Hot-rolled piles have much deeper sections and thicker steel, so they resist far higher bending loads and can be driven deeper, and they are handled by crane and installed with impact or vibratory piling rigs. They are the format for sheet piling retaining walls, cofferdams, bulkheads, flood defense and foundations that stay in place, and for temporary works too deep or too wet for trench sheets.
What sheet piling is used for, from trenches to walls
Utility trenches and pipe installation
Water, sewer, gas and duct trenches are usually shallow, narrow and moving, so the sheets have to be quick to pitch, strut and recover with one excavator. Light overlapping or interlocking trench sheets braced with struts suit this work, and individual sheets can be driven either side of a crossing service where a trench box cannot be lowered past it.
Sheet piling retaining walls
A retaining wall holds a difference in ground level, whether that is a temporary cut beside a haul road or a permanent wall along a property line or embankment. Temporary retaining runs can be built from trench sheets, either cantilevered or tied back with a waler and tie rods, while permanent walls are built from hot-rolled U or Z piles, often anchored and finished with a capping beam.
Riverbanks, canals and flood defense
Work beside water adds water pressure and long exposure to the wall, so the joint type and the steel finish both matter. Flood walls, riverbank stabilization and bulkheads that hold back moving water are built with U piles or Z piles, whose interlocks form a continuous wall with little seepage.
Trench sheet thickness, joints, steel and sizes
Dig depth and sheet thickness
Steel thickness across the trench sheet range runs from 0.14 in to 0.31 in, and it is the first thing to match to the job. The light gauge, shared by the standard lap, L8 and FLP 600/3.5 sheets, is for shallow utility trenches and light temporary retention. The heavier middle gauge of the KKD, re-rolled KKD, FKD 400/6, FLP 600/6.0 and MX500 sheets is for deeper excavations and longer drives into firm ground, and the KD6 is the step above for basements, ports and highway trench reinforcement. Soft or wet ground, surcharge loads close to the edge and longer sheets all push the choice one gauge up.
Overlapping or interlocking joints
An overlapping joint laps each sheet over the next without connecting them, so sheets can be pitched, driven and pulled one at a time and a run can step around obstructions. An interlocking joint threads each sheet into the last, which keeps the wall in line during driving, closes the gap between sheets and gives better resistance to running soil and groundwater seepage. Interlocking runs take more care to pitch, and guide walers or a piling frame keep them plumb.
New, re-rolled or galvanized steel
New sheets are the default for repeated use and for any work that stays in the ground. Re-rolled KKD trench sheets keep the KKD profile and its strength at a lower cost and are made for temporary, budget-driven excavations, while long-term installations and permanent structures call for new steel. Galvanized L8 sheet piles have a zinc coating for long exposure beside rivers, canals, harbors and marinas.
Effective width, length and sheet count
Effective width is the cover each sheet gives once it is lapped or locked to its neighbor, and across the range it runs from 13 in to 24 in. The sheet count is the length of the run divided by the effective width, plus sheets for corners and ends, and a wider sheet means fewer pitches and drives on a long run. Sheet length is the dig depth plus the embedment below the bottom of the excavation that the ground and the design require, with enough left above ground for the driving cap, edge protection and extraction.
Accessories for driving, bracing and pulling sheets
Driving caps
Trench sheet driving caps sit over the top of the sheet and take the blow from the excavator bucket or a vibratory or percussive hammer, which stops the top edge from splitting or curling and lengthens the working life of the sheet. Caps are made for specific profiles, with separate FKD and KKD caps among them, so each run needs a cap matched to the sheet being driven.
Pitching shackles and extractors
Pitching shackles lift and place sheets for driving, with certified D shackles and a secondary safety ring and rope against accidental release. They are for pitching only and must never be used to pull sheets out. Trench sheet extractors do that job with a D shackle and a failsafe secondary clip, and they must never be used to pitch. A crew that installs and recovers its own sheets needs both tools.
Waler rails and adjustable trench struts
The L8 waler rail runs horizontally along an L8 wall and is pre-drilled so tie rods can bolt it to the sheets in a tied-back wall. Adjustable trench struts brace across the trench between opposite sheet faces or walers, extended and locked in place to stop the walls moving inward.
Edge protection clamps
Sheet pile edge protection clamps fix the posts of edge protection barriers to the top of a trench sheet or pile wall, or to a narrow concrete edge, so people working beside the excavation are guarded from the drop.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The supported depth is set by the profile's section, the length driven below the bottom of the excavation, the ground and water conditions and the bracing. Deep or heavily loaded excavations are designed by an engineer for the site.
Trench sheets and hot-rolled piles used for temporary works are pulled after backfilling and reused from job to job, and the heavy duty profiles are built for repeat use. Their working life depends on how carefully they are driven and pulled and on how long they sit in wet or corrosive ground. In a permanent wall, the design sets the steel section and any coating needed for the required life.
The main factors are the profile and steel thickness, the length of each sheet and the number of sheets, which follows from the run length and the effective width. Re-rolled sheets cost less than new ones, and galvanizing adds to the price. Driving caps, lifting tools, struts and walers belong in the same budget.
Trench sheets are listed in set lengths that step through each product's range, and standard lap sheets can be supplied in custom sizes when a job needs them. Hot-rolled U piles are supplied cut to the length the design calls for.
Stack trench sheets in bundles of no more than six, staggered with timber spacers between them so they can be slung safely. Use at least two people to pitch sheets in windy conditions, never lift sheets over people, and watch trailing ropes for snags.