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Calcimator

Shoring Design Calculator

Determine OSHA-compliant shoring requirements including slope ratios, shoring type, sheet pile quantities, and cross-brace counts.

Inputs

ft
ft
ft

Results

Shoring Required

1

Max Slope Ratio (H:V)

1:1

Shoring Type Code3
Sheet Pile Needed200 LF
Cross Braces26
Total Cross Brace Length104 ft
Max Lateral Pressure480 psf
Lateral Force per LF1,920 lbs/ft
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Trench Depth in feet — OSHA requires shoring for trenches over 5 ft deep.
  2. Select Soil Type per OSHA classification: Type A (stiff clay) is most stable, Type C (sand/gravel) is least stable.
  3. Enter Trench Length to size the total shoring system.
  4. Read Shoring Required (yes/no) and Max Slope Ratio — a 1.5:1 ratio means 1.5 ft horizontal for every 1 ft vertical.
  5. Note Sheet Pile Needed (LF) and Cross Braces to plan material procurement.

What each input means

Trench Depth
Depth of the trench. OSHA requires protection for trenches deeper than 5 ft.
Soil Type (OSHA)
OSHA soil classification determines allowable slope and shoring requirements.
Trench Width
Width of the trench at the bottom.
Trench Length
Total length of the trench requiring shoring.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Trench Depth = 8, Soil Type (OSHA) = 3, Trench Width = 4, Trench Length = 100 = 4 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Shoring Required
    Shoring Required
    1 = 1
  3. Calculate Max Slope Ratio
    Max Slope Ratio
    1 = 1
  4. Calculate Shoring Type Code
    Shoring Type Code
    3 = 3
  5. Calculate Sheet Pile Needed
    Sheet Pile Needed
    200 = 200

Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.

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