Clifton, Bristol
This project was part of a prestigious housing development by Cabot Homes to convert an old factory unit into new residential homes. The building site was the site of an old factory and all that was left was the concrete base. Due to the nature of the site there was significant concern regarding the potential for soil erosion.
We initially undertook the design and build responsibilities for the wall and excavated face. It required ground anchoring to retain the exisisting wall and soil nailing and shotcreting to stabilise the excavated face. We worked closely with a civil engineering company and as they excavated we put in rows of soil nails and ground anchors.
The worksite was surrounded by existing properties and required innovative solutions to maximise available space for infrastructure works and minimise disruption. The job required drilling through concrete and marl, which created a significant amount of dust, and as a result this project was nearly shut down by the local environmental officer until we were able to develop an innovative vacuum/water misting system to minimise the dust on the worksite.
After we completed the first stage, Cabot Homes asked us to stay on to carry out the piling work, the installation of a Gabion wall, the installation of the main drainage for the site and the laying of foundation slabs.
Technical Details:
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Construction of ground anchored retaining wall using Dywidag solid bar
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Difficult geological conditions with dipping marl overlaid by a layer of clay
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170 soil nails incorporated with sprayed concrete and phased excavation to create terraces for housing development.
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Special stabilisation techniques due to bordering existing properties
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Stabilisation of existing retaining walls
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Creation of new wall and terracing to provide sufficient building footprint and maximise available space for infrastructure works
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Used excavation, demolition, soil nailing, ground anchoring, steel reinforcement, sprayed concrete and gabions
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Used a rotary percussive drilling rig for the lowerlevels
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Used a 360º excavator with drilling mast to enable reaching higher levels
