Vencel Resil - For peat’s sake – no more settlement!
The large numbers of new homes being built on low
lying land, especially in coastal areas, has lead to a
growing problem of ground settlement in certain regions
of the country. Developers in areas such as East Anglia
and the South East are finding they need to take extra
measures to prevent settlement of roads and gardens on
new housing projects.
Landfast (Anglia) Ltd identified 7.5 acres of land that
was just right for development, close to Great Yarmouth
town centre and coast. Geotechnical investigations
indicated that the land was constituted of over 20
metres of alluvial clays and layers of peat – two of the
softest materials to build on and potentially every
developer’s nightmare!
Thousands of years ago the area formed part of a huge
estuary and the developer’s chosen site for 149 new
homes was right in the centre of a soft alluvial clay
river bed that was reclaimed hundreds of years ago from
marshland though an extensive drainage process. The
houses were to be solidly founded on driven piles to the
river bed gravels some 20-28 metres down, but the
developer faced the huge challenge of ensuring that the
roads, paths and gardens on the project were stable and
would not begin to settle. The pressure was on to find a
quick and effective solution to enable them to complete
the build in the shortest possible time.
Because the development was located below sea level, a
flood risk assessment recommended that the ground level
should be raised to protect the houses.
Breydon Park in Great Yarmouth was the first housing
estate in the UK to use expanded polystyrene for the
dual purposes of raising the ground level and addressing
the problem of settlement.
Landfast (Anglia) Ltd worked closely with Fordham Johns,
now part of Scott Wilson, which carried out geotechnical
surveys and engineering assessments to determine the
solution to the underlying materials at Breydon Park.
Bob Coe, project engineer for Fordham Johns, specified
Fillmaster by Vencel Resil to support the road.
Fillmaster, which is manufactured from expanded
polystyrene (EPS), was a more attractive option as it
meant being able to act quickly rather than having to
load the land and wait for a long period for it to
settle. In total, 1500m3 of Fillmaster was supplied,
ranging from 300mm to 1m in thickness, depending on the
alignment of the road.
Chris Brown of Landfast, explains: “There had been no
major construction on the land before, as the problem of
settlement is widely recognised in this area. Expanded
polystyrene made it possible to continue with our
building works here and we are absolutely delighted with
the results. There has been no settlement at all and you
would never know the site was built on such soft
ground.”
Chris Brown continues: “In last Winter’s heavy rains,
much of the surrounding areas experienced flooding, but
our development remained bone dry. It is really
satisfying to know the site has such a stable structure
underneath it that is protecting homes from flood
damage.”
Adrian Walker, technical sales manager for Vencel Resil,
explains: “Fillmaster provided a simple solution to the
problem because of its high strength to weight ratio
which means it is really effective in addressing the
problem of land settlement. It is also very easy to
handle and does not require heavy lifting equipment.”
Adrian continues: “Expanded polystyrene is a tried and
trusted fill material that has it has been specified on
many civil engineering projects, including motorways and
bridges, where stable surfaces are paramount. The fact
that Fillmaster is now also being widely used to support
housing developments is testament to the reliability of
the material and how well it has performed in preventing
settlement in a number of high profile projects. Because
of its lightweight properties, Fillmaster is also ideal
for use in the construction of steeper gradient
structures. With the current demands on land usage as
part of PPG3, this is a vital benefit for the new
generation of fill materials.”
Fillmaster is suitable for a wide range of applications
from landscaping, through to road construction,
retaining walls, rail and bridge embankments and noise
bunds. The product is HCFC-free, non-toxic and fully
recyclable. It also allows for rapid construction as
part of Modern Methods of Construction.
Email:
marina@dragonflypr.co.uk
Arundel Jones Associates Ltd
Hill Farm, Linton Hill, Maidstone, Kent ME17 4AL
Tel : 01622 745333
news@buildingdesign.co.uk
Registered in England and Wales No. 07334149
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