H or I-Beam Shoring also known as soldier pile walls are the most common type of shoring that usually encountered in a construction project. It is constructed by driving prefabricated steel I or H sections into the ground. Soil conditions may allow for the sections to be vibrated directly into the ground instead of the pre-drilling of the soil before installing the beam. Sometimes pre-drilling also required due to very dense soil or weathered rock.

The full wall is formed by installing a pre-cast concrete panel / steel sheets / wooden logs between the driven steel beams to construct the shoring walls. H or I-Beam Shoring was used to support an excavation ranging from 1.2 to 5.0 meters deep These can be cantilever excavation shoring systems or supported by ground anchors or internal bracing.  its toe length ranges from 10 meters to 12 meters depth from 0.00 levels. it can go beyond 5 meters provided that it is properly designed and calculated to sustain the given surcharge load along its outside perimeter.

This type of shoring is bests to use when it is required to isolate excavation from the bodies of water specifically a creek, a pond or on a sea-side. Although it can be used to retain soil to soil excavations in close proximity of buildings and roads in urban areas. It is commonly seen in a port and harbour construction. Similar to soldier piles, it can be constructed by driving prefabricated Z or U steel sections into the ground using a Vibro hammer. The full wall is formed connecting the Z or U steel sections or the sheet piles. Depending on the depth of excavation, the end of the sheet piles if not long enough can be welded together to reach the desired depth in the ground.

Contiguous or Tangent Pile Shoring is composed of closely spaced piles wherein the faces of the piles are almost touching or tangent with each other. This is used in areas where water is not significant or the water pressure is very minimal.  This is usually proposed in clay soils and can use to retain dry granular material or fills.

Although water seepage between the gaps of the pile is more likely to occur when used in water-bearing granular soils, it can be prevented by grouting these gaps to form a water-tight retaining wall.

This type of shoring is not recommended to use in high ground water table without dewatering works. Construction of contiguous pile is very similar to that of the secant piles as prior to the installation, a guide beam should be constructed to serve as a guide for the contiguous wall to install in place.

Secant Pile Shoring is usually used in deep excavations. Secant Pies are the best choice to use when there is no room for open excavation or when space is limited because of an existing structure that was too close in proximity. In this case a surcharge loads due to the neighbouring structure is considered in the design.
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Secant Pile Shoring is formed of intersecting two combinations of piles.“un-reinforced pile” or primary pile or soft pile. “reinforced pile”, or secondary pile or hard pile. Both piles are interlocking each other to form a continuous wall.

A guide beam is constructed first prior to installation to keep the alignment in place. After casting the “primary” pile, the temporary casing is extracted while the concrete has not fully set and the heavy casing is then driven into the intervening pile location cutting into the fresh concrete of the adjacent piles. The “secondary” piles are then immediately drilled. The steel cages of the “secondary” pile are inserted and the structural concrete is poured to form a continuous wall.