Project Snapshot
- Type: Residential new build
- Location: Chorlton-cum-Hardy
- Client: Porthouse Dean Engineers
- Piles: 23 x 168mm
- Beam: 41 metres
- Concrete: 9.2 cubic metres
THE CHALLENGE
On this particular project, our team arrived on site to discover the trench had been excavated, but not sufficiently cleared from the islands in-between. This made moving around the site tricky and dangerous, so extreme caution was required.
Another factor that came into play was in the design: a curved gable wall that meant some custom-made tie bars would need to be made.
WHAT WE DID
Piling
Our Piling Operators Sam, Liam and Rion got to work straight away with driving these 168mm piles using a Grundomat pneumatic mole, to depths of 3-5 metres. The piling process is much quicker with an experienced team, and the first 7 were driven to set on day 1.
Making excellent headway on days 1 & 2, and with an extra operative to the usual 2-man team, they were able to begin tying-in the ring beam while the remaining piles were being driven. In most cases on projects like this, tying-in the ring beam can be the most tedious and time-consuming. With some quality teamwork and forward-thinking, half a day’s work was saved in order to prepare the site for a completed foundation.
Steel Ring Beam
With over 40 metres of steel to go in, the team had to make two trips to the site to bring all the required pre-fabricated ring beam to site. The trickiest part: successfully installing the steel in the curved gable section.
The team quickly made a total of 28 curved tie bars to make this possible. Bending them by hand, and repeatedly checking the angle against the steel inside the footing, the team were able to use one tie-bar as a reference to bend the rest to the same angle.
The result meant that the straight beams could fit correctly in the curved section of the footing, and still allow for the required 50mm clearance on all sides of the beam from the footing itself.
Concrete
We employed the help of Rhino Concrete to bring this project to a close on day 4, where they delivered a total of 9.2 cubic metres of grade C35 concrete. A quantity this large meant two journeys, with installation beginning at 11am and finishing at 1:45pm (due to the concrete wagon needing to be reloaded). The further sections of the footing required the use of wheelbarrows, but 70% of the footing was a straight pour from the chute.
THE OUTCOME
This project was completed within the timeframe we agreed with the customer, and they were very happy with the end result. From Monday to Thursday, this site went from being a risk of crumbling ground to a sturdy piled foundation, ready for brickwork to commence.
Rhino Piling: We Get You Out Of The Ground!
Phone: 0161 706 0365 | Email: enquiries@rhinopiling.co.uk
