Weavers School, Wellingborough

Projects

Weavers School, Wellingborough, Case Study

Location
Wellingborough, Northants
Client
Weavers Academy
Value
£xx k
Sewer Connections - Building-Site-Scene - JW Clark

Objective

We were approached by Weavers Academy in Wellingborough, to lay an electric duct from an onsite substation, to a classroom block, for a new 3-phase connection. 

About the project

The work was done in the school holidays so as to minimise disruption to the school, and also with safety of the pupils and staff in mind. National Grid required that we lay 40 metres of 125mm diameter duct, which they supplied. A CAT survey was done to identify some underground services, we also dug some trial holes and lifted various manholes to ascertain a line of trench. 

The tarmac surface was covered with a fine 0-6mm gravel, which we swept to one side, to be put back later.

The trench was sawcut and broke out by one team, whilst a second team carefully excavated the trench 700mm deep. The 125mm pipe was laid in a soft sand surround, with warning tape to cover, and a draw cord pulled through.

The trench was backfilled with some of the excavated material, and then Type 1 MOT granite, all compacted in layers with a trench wacker. The tarmac was reinstated as 60mm base course and 30mm of 6mm topping, a bit more than was there previously. We swept the fine gravel back over the top, and the site was handed back to the customer 5 days after we started and ready for when the school opened the following week. 

Customer review

“I would like to say the crew we had on site were a credit to your company, very polite and aware of their surroundings especially working at a school, the crew we had really were spot on and as I said a real credit to the company, please pass on our thanks to them as I didn’t get to see them before the job finished.”

Timeline

Time taken to quote for the works: 24 hours

Time taken to do the work: 5 days

Irthlingborough Cemetery

Projects

Irthlingborough Cemetery, Case Study

Location
Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire
Client
Irthlingborough Town Council
Value
Circa £xx,000
Sewer Connections - Building-Site-Scene - JW Clark

Objective

Being based in Irthlingborough and with so many of our employees having grown up in the town, we were really pleased to be able to undertake this job for the Town Council. The cemetery paths at the back of St Peter’s Church had been in urgent need of resurfacing for many years.

About the project

The council were keen that the site be kept open in the main, whilst the works were taking place. But it was not practical to fence off huge sections off the cemetery, therefore we just closed sections of the path where we needed to. 

Some of the paths were in reasonably good condition, but with some trips here and there. We did minor repairs where we had to, and prepared these paths for resurfacing. Some of the older paths at the bottom of the cemetery were in such a bad condition that they needed taking out altogether and starting again from scratch. On these paths we excavated the existing tarmac enough for us to be able to construct new paths entirely.

We used 4×1 timber edging for the sides, as new edging kerbs would have been cost-prohibitive. These were fixed at regular intervals with 2×2 posts driven into the ground. Between these we laid geotextile membrane before laying and compacting 100mm of Type 1 Granite.

Our resurfacing contractors of choice, Edwards Surfacing, came to site a week after we started. They laid 60mm of base course in the paths where we had excavated the old, and then topped this with 30mm of 6mm topping. On the paths that were just being resurfaced, Edwards applied a bituminous spray, on top of which 6mm topping was laid. 

With the tarmac work complete and with Edwards having left site, we laid 10mm screened topsoil to both sides of the new paths throughout, and brushed in grass seed to finish. We also undertook some minor repairs within the church grounds as well whilst we were there. 

It was a pleasure to carry out these works for Irthlingborough Town Council, though this is not the first time we have worked for them. A lot of our employees live in Irthlingborough and some have done so forever! So it was a very special job for us, and in beautiful surroundings, despite the time of year, with lovely views across the Nene Valley.  

Build to dpc, Northampton

Projects

Build to dpc, Northampton Case Study

Location
Northampton
Client
Autohome Ltd
Value
Circa £15k
Sewer Connections - Building-Site-Scene - JW Clark

Objective

Having done many projects for Andrew Robinson & family over the last 15 years, we were pleased to be asked to carry out works for them at their company, Autohome Ltd, in Northampton.

The work was to construct a storage building to ‘dpc’ level, within their office car park.

About the project

We were given drawings by our customer which had been put together by Design & Build Projects Ltd from Towcester, whom we have worked with many times in the past. The drawings detailed a standard 1m trench foundation, standard oversight construction but with 200mm reinforced floor, & associated foul & rainwater drainage. 

The drawings didn’t ascertain where the surface water was to discharge and needed further investigation, so we met with Andrew on site and lifted various manhole covers, and were pleased to identify a dedicated surface water sewer on site. We checked with Building Control and they were fine for rainwater to be dispersed into this system. We lifted a few thousand block paviors where the build was to go, and put them aside for future use by the customer. The footing was dug to a depth of 1m over two days, and the concrete poured on the second day. We reduced the oversite to the required level on a third day and made preparations for our bricklayer to come to site to lay blockwork to dpc level.

The cavity was filled with Gen1 concrete the day after the masonry was completed, and we spent a few days completing the foul, surface water and some ductwork to the new building. We poured the oversite as a 200mm concrete slab using Gen 3 concrete, and with 1 layer of reinforcing mesh. At the front of the new building we created a ramp with some of the block paviors we had put to one side, after which the job was complete. 

With the groundwork complete, we handed the site back to the customer, for him to carry on with different trades to continue the superstructure. The job was quite a small one for us, but we were glad to undertake this work for a long-time customer of ours. If you have a similar project you’d like us to quote for you, please contact us using our online form, and choose ‘New Builds & Extensions’ from the drop-down list.

Customer Review:

Andrew was very complimentary of our work, leaving us the following 5-star review on Google:

“Excellent job as always, under the ever watchful eye of Mark”

 

 

Timeline

Time taken to quote for the works: Less than 1 week

JWC Leadtime until work could be started: 6 weeks

Time taken to carry out the work: Just over 2 weeks including work done by our subcontract bricklayers