Latest Permanent Sheet Pile Basement Project Underpinned by Expertise
A long-awaited project in NW2, London, has finally got underway, with Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd reacting quickly, the moment the green light to finally proceed to site was given.
Our work on this project is fundamental to the creation of a new mixed-use development above a 22,555 square feet supermarket, operated by one of the Big Four supermarkets, on Cricklewood Broadway.
There, 97 self-contained apartments are being constructed, to create a six-storey development. Residents’ amenities, within architect, Stanford Eatwell’s plans, also include a car parking facility. This is where Sheet Piling UK’s expertise has been called upon.
Having constructed over 500 permanent steel sheet pile basement projects at developments across the UK and Ireland over the past 25 years, we were the ideal sheet piling partner.
The requirement was for permanent sheet pile retention on three sides of a sloping urban environment site. Our in-house design team engaged extensively with the contractor during the pre-construction period, to produce an effective, safe design solution embracing the various on-site situations.
Earthworks support was required to a varying height of between 2.5m to 6.5m and where the retained height was at its greatest, at the back of the site, further temporary support was provided.
This ensured deflection limits to the adjacent road were maintained, whilst also securing the vital temporary stability that allowed safe construction work, in the initial project phases, to be carried out. Safe working conditions, for both the sheet piling crew and those installing ground floor slabs, were assured.
The 335 Emirates Steel EZ19-700 sheet piles required were installed through a silent and vibrationless piling method. This utilised a Kowan ZU100 pile press, serviced by a 70Te Sennebogen crawler crane, with both vehicles coming from our in-house equipment pool.
This methodology was considerate of a busy urban environment, with many nearby properties and roads. By deploying this form of sheet pile installation, we met all of the terms of the statutory legislation imposed by the project’s contractual terms.
This phase of works took six weeks and was completed between December 2023 and January 2024. Once excavation has taken place in the sheet pile basement project, we shall return to apply clutch sealing weld to the exposed sheet pile locks. This will provide a robust, Grade 2 waterproofing solution, in accordance with BS EN 8102: 2022.
Other work will involve welding puddle plate on to the sheet piles, at the point of basement slab connection. In this way, our Design Team has added a horizontal waterbar, which will augment the waterproofing within the basement.
The efficacy of steel sheet piles as an earthworks support solution, and means to construct a waterproof basement, is now well-proven within British construction, with Sheet Piling UK having championed the use of steel sheet piles in this regard. The advantages of this solution over other alternatives can be found in our document SCI P275.
Once completed, this development will have flats surrounding a modern landscaped courtyard, over a second-floor podium. This area will be accessed via entrances at opposite ends of the site, allowing residents to reach a level from which to use stairs or lifts to get to their apartment. Whilst much aesthetic focus will be on what lies above the supermarket, it is the solidly engineered solution lying beneath that helps make this a viable development.
For details of how we could handle your permanent steel sheet pile basement project, please call us on 01772 794141.
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Sheet Piling (UK) Limited is one of the UK's leading piling contractors. Owning and operating a comprehensive range of specialist piling equipment Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd also carry extensive stocks of new and used piles enabling rapid reaction to any urgent requirements or emergency situations.