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Vencel Resil - Prevent settlement with EPS
The increase in the number of homes being
built on regenerated areas or brownfield sites has lead to a
greater need for fill materials that will not result in
settlement. The weight of traditional fill materials can, in
certain cases, have a detrimental effect on stability and can
cause vertical and horizontal stresses in the underlying soil.
Often these problems do not become apparent until many months
after the site has been completed and settlement has occurred,
however the effects can be dramatic and very expensive for
developers to correct.
The number of claims for compensation for roads and gardens that
have “sunk” has increased significantly in recent years.
Although their homes are quite secure on their concrete piles,
unhappy residents feel understandably concerned as they see
their gardens or pathways shifting alarmingly downwards.
Fillmaster, an Expanded Polystyrene product (EPS) manufactured
by Vencel Resil, is providing developers with a more robust and
reliable solution to solving site settlement problems. EPS by
its very nature is a lightweight material which has a high
strength to weight ratio. This means it is very easy to handle
and does not require heavy lifting equipment, but still provides
sufficient strength to create a secure and stable landscaped
surface.
Adrian Walker, Technical Sales Manager - for Vencel Resil,
explains: “EPS provides a tried and trusted solution for
developers as it has been specified on many civil engineering
projects where secure surfaces are paramount.
“The fact that EPS is now 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.”
Fillmaster has been specified both in the initial construction
of housing developments, but also as part of remedial works, as
at Finney Park Drive in Preston.
Finney Park Drive is a small development of 30 detached
properties, which were built on a site with no previous
construction activity. Fillmaster was used to provide remedial
support for both the road and garden areas where settlement had
occurred after the site was completed. The houses themselves had
been unaffected because of the piling used in their foundations.
Steve Rawlinson, Contracts Manager for Cheetham Hill
Construction who carried out the remedial work, explains:
“Originally an imported clay fill material was used to raise the
ground level on the externals so that the drainage system would
work efficiently. However, what we subsequently discovered was
that there was a layer of peat in the ground below the imported
clay fill. As the dense clay fill was added it gradually
squeezed the water out of the peat, resulting in severe
settlement on site.”
Cheetham Hill subsequently purchased the site with a view to
undertaking remedial work and making the development habitable.
Steve continues: “One of our engineers had used Fillmaster
before and was confident that it would put the problem right and
prevent any further settlement in the future. Our first task was
to calculate how much of the imported clay fill material we had
to remove and then replace with the expanded polystyrene
Fillmaster. Removing the clay fill reduced the weight on the
underlying layer of peat which minimised the ‘squeezing’ effect
on its water content.
Replacing with Fillmaster, which is an extremely strong but
lightweight material meant that we could achieve the same effect
as the clay fill but without all the compressive weight on the
layer of peat.”
In the end, Cheetham Hill Construction removed between 600 –
2400mm depth of clay fill and replaced it with two types of
Fillmaster - type 150E was used under the gardens and Type 350E
was used under the roadways. Soil was placed on top and the
roadway subsequently reconstructed on the Fillmaster blocks. The
total project required 4,000 cubic metres of EPS, which was
effective in reducing the compressive action on the peat, whilst
retaining the necessary strength to hold the landscaped surface.
Fillmaster from Vencel Resil is available in a range of grades
that allows the appropriate compressive strength to be chosen to
suit bespoke applications.
Its closed-cell structure means it inhibits water absorption and
has an extremely stable construction. As it is also resistant to
insect, bacterial and fungal attack, Expanded Polystyrene is
extremely robust and represents a long term solution.
Because of its lightweight properties, Fillmaster is 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 applications, 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