What are Vertishores?

Vertishores, or vertical shores, are one of the quickest and simplest ways to safely shore a shallow trench in cohesive soils.

Let’s take a closer look at our Vertishores, what they are, what applications they are suited for, how they’re installed, and some of the benefits they offer.

What is a vertical shore?

Vertical shores are a unique shoring solution that uses small panels connected with hydraulic struts braced directly against soil and spaced out linearly throughout the trench.

They are ideal for supporting the side walls of a trench through the use of hydraulic pressure, or ‘soil arching’.

Soil arching is created by the hydraulic pressure from the Vertishore rams, creating “fingers” of pressure in the surrounding soil. To learn more about soil arching, its benefits, and how many Vertishores it takes to achieve it, check out this blog post.

Generally, a Vertishore consists of 2 rails and 2 cylinders, but there are certain situations where a different number of cylinders may be required with special approval by our engineers.

With our range of rail lengths, trenches can be shored up to 3 metres in depth, while widths exceeding 2.7 metres can be achieved using our variety of hydraulic cylinders.

What are Vertishores suited for?

Aluminium Vertishores are an excellent option for general construction and utility contractors. They are designed for shoring vertical trenches and tricky and less uniform excavations. They can also be used for spot bracing and production trenching and offer versatility when restrictions are imposed by space or crossing utilities. In stable soils, Vertishores can be used directly against a trench face instead of requiring sheeting.

Vertishores must be used in stable, cohesive soil conditions.

What are the benefits of Vertishores?

One of the biggest benefits of vertical shores is that they are incredibly safe. Vertical shores are often considered the safest way to shore an excavation because they can be installed completely from above ground, by one person beside the top of the trench, eliminating the need for workers to be in an unshored trench and their exposure to trench collapses. 

Using our Vertishores also contribute to major cost savings thanks to their lightning-fast setup and installation time, along with their compact and easy-to-transport size. Made from lightweight aluminium alloy, the system is both highly durable and portable.

How are Vertishores installed?

Vertishores are incredibly quick and simple to use, and can be installed safely by one person from beside the top of a trench using a hydraulic hand pump with gauged pressure, ensuring even load allocation to walls.

Installation is carried out using our installation tool, then pressurised using the hydraulic hand pump. By using a system of 3 Vertishores, a trench up to 2.4m in length can be safely shored in minutes.

This simple method of installation means that a trench can be safely shored while the excavator continues to dig at full capacity, maximising efficiency, and productivity on your job site.

For more information about our complete range of vertishores services and equipment, visit your nearest branch, email [email protected], or call our friendly team of experts at 1800 UR HIRE.