Case Studies Archives

August 5, 2024

CSMANLTD Underpinning and Basement Construction London

CSMANLTD expertise in underpinning and basement construction London has enabled us to successfully complete a wide range of challenging projects across London. Our case studies demonstrate our ability to deliver complex, high-quality solutions that enhance the stability, functionality, and value of properties. Below are some of our standout projects in underpinning and basement construction, highlighting our commitment to excellence, innovation, and client satisfaction.

Residential Basement Extension in Fulham

Project Overview: A homeowner in Fulham wanted to extend their living space by adding a basement level to their Victorian terraced house. The project required careful planning and execution to ensure the stability of the existing structure while maximizing the new space’s utility and aesthetics.

Challenges:

Working within the tight confines of an existing structure.
Ensuring the stability of the neighboring properties during excavation and construction.
Integrating modern amenities and design elements in a historically significant building.

Solutions:

Precision Underpinning: Our team used a phased underpinning approach to stabilize the existing foundation before beginning the excavation. This method ensured the safety and stability of the structure throughout the project.
Advanced Excavation Techniques: Utilizing state-of-the-art machinery and careful planning, we minimized disruption and efficiently excavated the new basement space.
Customized Design: Collaborating with the homeowner, we designed a basement that included a home theater, gym, and additional living areas, blending modern design with the home’s historical character.

Outcome: The project was completed on time and within budget, resulting in a beautifully integrated basement extension that significantly enhanced the living space and value of the property. The homeowner was delighted with the transformation, praising the seamless integration and high-quality finish.

Commercial Basement Construction in Soho

Project Overview: A commercial property in Soho required additional space for a new restaurant and bar. The client wanted to construct a basement level that would house the kitchen, storage, and additional seating, all while maintaining the building’s structural integrity and minimizing disruption to the busy area.

Challenges:

Excavating and constructing a basement in a densely populated, high-traffic urban area.
Ensuring minimal disruption to neighboring businesses and pedestrians.
Meeting stringent health and safety regulations for a commercial kitchen and public space.

Solutions:

Innovative Underpinning: We employed advanced underpinning techniques to support the existing structure while excavating the new basement. This ensured the building’s stability and minimized risk.
Efficient Project Management: Careful planning and scheduling allowed us to work efficiently, coordinating with local authorities and stakeholders to minimize disruption and maintain safety.
Compliance and Quality: Our team ensured that all aspects of the basement construction met health and safety standards, providing a safe and functional space for the new restaurant and bar.

Outcome: The new basement was successfully integrated into the commercial property, providing the client with a spacious, functional area for their restaurant and bar. The project was completed with minimal disruption to the surrounding area, and the new establishment quickly became a popular spot in Soho.

Underpinning and Basement Conversion in Hampstead

Project Overview: A family home in Hampstead required underpinning and a basement conversion to create additional living space and address foundation issues. The project involved stabilizing the existing structure and converting the damp, unused basement into a habitable area.

Challenges:

Addressing existing foundation issues and ensuring long-term stability.
Waterproofing the basement to create a dry, comfortable living space.
Maintaining the aesthetic and structural integrity of the property.

Solutions:

Comprehensive Underpinning: Our team conducted a thorough assessment of the foundation issues and used advanced underpinning techniques to stabilize and strengthen the structure.
Effective Waterproofing: We implemented a comprehensive waterproofing system, including tanking and drainage, to ensure the new basement space was dry and habitable.
Quality Finishes: The basement conversion included the creation of a new living room, bedroom, and bathroom, all finished to a high standard to match the rest of the home.

Outcome: The underpinning and basement conversion project was a success, providing the family with additional, high-quality living space and ensuring the long-term stability of their home. The new basement area is dry, comfortable, and seamlessly integrated with the rest of the property.

Large-Scale Underpinning Project in Kensington

Project Overview: A large, multi-story building in Kensington required significant underpinning work to address subsidence issues and ensure the structure’s stability. The project involved extensive planning and execution to stabilize the foundation and prevent further movement.

Challenges:

Addressing severe subsidence and ensuring the building’s stability.
Coordinating a large-scale project in a densely populated urban area.
Minimizing disruption to residents and nearby properties.

Solutions:

Detailed Assessment and Planning: Our engineers conducted a thorough assessment of the subsidence issues and developed a comprehensive underpinning plan tailored to the building’s specific needs.
Phased Underpinning Approach: We used a phased approach to underpin the foundation, working systematically to stabilize the structure while minimizing disruption.
Ongoing Monitoring: Throughout the project, we monitored the building for any signs of movement, ensuring that the underpinning work was effective and the structure remained stable.

Outcome: The large-scale underpinning project was completed successfully, stabilizing the building and preventing further subsidence. The project was managed efficiently, with minimal disruption to residents and neighboring properties. The building is now secure, with a stable foundation that ensures its longevity.

Conclusion

CSMANLTD’s expertise in underpinning and basement construction has enabled us to deliver outstanding results across a range of challenging projects. Our commitment to quality, innovation, and client satisfaction is evident in every project we undertake. Contact us today to learn how our underpinning and basement construction services can enhance the stability and value of your property.

CSMAN LTD0 commentBasement Construction, Case Studies, Construction, Main, Underpinning

August 25, 2023

Alternative segment lift for HS2’s Colne Valley Viaduct minimises local disruption

Construction of High Speed 2’s (HS2’s) 3.4km long Colne Valley Viaduct has reached a major milestone with a key 40m long span lifted into place over a local road during a three week closure of the route.

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CSMAN LTD0 commentCase Studies, Civil Engineering, Construction, Construction Management, Design and Build, Foundations, Industrial, Piled Foundations, Steel Frames, Structural Engineering, sub structures, Superstructures

August 25, 2023

Marathon’ bridge build completed on HS2

Contractors on HS2 have completed a ‘marathon’ bridge build at Streethay near Lichfield involving 18 specialist construction companies.

Work involved excavating 14,000 tonnes of earth, building a 140 metre retaining wall and moving a 2,600 tonne bridge deck 130 metres into place under the South Staffordshire freight railway.

The work was carried out during a 10 week blockade. It was completed by HS2’s civils contractor in the West Midlands, Balfour Beatty VINCI, and designers Mott MacDonald as part of a Design Joint Venture with SYSTRA (MMSDJV), together with teams from 18 specialist supply chain companies.

At the end of July, the 2,600 tonne bridge deck, which had been cast on land adjacent to the railway was moved 130 metres into position using self-propelled modular transporters.

Since then, each side of the bridge was backfilled, the rail tracks were reinstated, with the railway line was successfully handed back to Network Rail last week and now reopened.

The 25 metres long and 18 metres wide Streethay overbridge sits within HS2’s Streethay cutting and will enable HS2 trains to travel under the existing railway between Birmingham and Crewe.

Through design development, Mott MacDonald engineers were able to reduce the total length of wall structures for the railway at Streethay from 1.6 kilometres to 420 metres, meaning 80% less concrete is needed – saving around 420,000 tonnes of carbon, supporting HS2’s ambition to cut carbon on the project.

The Streethay bridge sits on top of the larger 420 metre long retaining wall structure which will have two additional bridges crossing it – the south bound A38 slip road bridge, and the Rykneld Bridge which carries the A38 north bound slip road and the A38 north and south bound carriageway.

At its peak, over 150 people worked on the complex construction operation, with teams from 18 specialist companies, delivering design, surveys, piling works, bridge build, concrete pouring, crane operations, reinforcements, modular transportation, track and systems removal and reinstatement.

The work was delivered in parallel to the construction of the nearby Fulfen Wood bridge, which involved moving a giant 6,200 tonne single span structure under the West Coast Main Line – the UK’s heaviest drive to install an intersection bridge.

David Millar, Rail Interface Manager at Balfour Beatty VINCI said: “The successful delivery of this complex and challenging piece of engineering near Lichfield is another proud moment for Balfour Beatty VINCI on the HS2 project.

“It’s only been possible thanks to the skill, dedication and support shown by the project team over the past few years, including our supply chain. Together, we’ve had to work around existing transport infrastructure, including the South Staffordshire freight railway and the A38, making this achievement even more rewarding.”

Prior to the railway blockade, retaining walls were installed on either side of the railway, enabling the areas to be excavated. The bridge deck was constructed on land adjacent to the existing railway, 130 metres from its final position.

Once the railway was closed to freight trains, the track and embankment were removed. Bachy Soletanche Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering joint venture then installed an additional 76 secant piles measuring 1.3 metres diameter and 30 metres deep, linking to the piles they installed prior to the blockade, to create two retaining walls which act as the walls for the bridge.

A concrete capping beam was installed over the retaining walls, then the bridge was moved into place using self-propelled modular transporters with 344 wheels. Concrete was poured to attach the deck to the capping beam, the embankment was back filled using 2,500 tonnes of structural backfill, on either side of the bridge, before the railway line was reinstated.

The 18 companies which delivered the project were:

J. Murphy & Sons constructed the bridge deck and the concrete elements during the blockade
Bachy Soletanche Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering JV (SB3) undertook all piling works, both before and during the blockade
The bridge parapets were made by Explore precast
Podtrak and RSS Infrastructure delivered rail systems work
Balfour Beatty VINCI delivered earthworks
Pile break-down was by Pile Breaking Systems UK Ltd
Trackway supplied by TPA
Jacking the structure and modular transportation by Mammoet UK
Survey works track monitoring by Aecom
Crane supply by King Lifting supported by BBV lifting teams
Concrete provided by CEMEX
Reinforcement by ROM – specialist reinforcement manufacturers
Temporary works by RMD
Permanent works design by Design JV (Mott Macdonald and Systra)
Temporary works design by Taylor Woodrow

CSMAN LTD0 commentCase Studies, Civil Engineering, Concrete Frames, Construction, Construction Management, Design and Build, Factory, Foundations, Industrial, Piled Foundations, Planning Applications, Steel Frames, Structural Engineering, sub structures, Superstructures

August 25, 2023

Meet the company using discarded oyster shells to cut energy costs and keep France’s buildings cool

Cool Roof France has found an innovative way to use the 130,000 tonnes of waste oysters produced every year in France.

As heat waves continue to scorch Europe, many of us are looking for cheap and innovative ways to keep our homes or workplaces cool.

While air conditioning often proves effective, its environmental cost contributes further to the climate crisis.

So what if we look into the past and to other parts of the world for inspiration and startpainting our roofs white?

“This technology is just pretty old actually, but this is quite innovative to make it so technical,” says Julien Martin Cocher, deputy CEO of Cool Roof France.

But does having a white roof really make a building cooler?

What is oyster shell roof paint?

Cool Roof France (CRF) is on a mission toreduce the ambient temperature inside buildingsin a sustainable and cost effective way.

Traditional paint is made up of calcium, solvent and water.

In France, more than 130,000 tonnes of oyster shells are thrown away every year. CRF takes a few tonnes of thiswasteand uses the outer part of the shell – which is made from calcium – to replace the traditional calcium in its paint.

“The oyster was at the beginning just to use a waste that we are finding quite easily in the west part of France and to replace this calcium that we are usually finding [in paint],” Julien explains.

Its innovative team of scientists soon discovered that the oyster shell maximises the paint’s performance and makes it more durable.

Can white paint make my home cooler?

CRF’s oyster-enriched, thermo-reflective roof paint is applied in three layers. The first two layers make it a durable product which will last for around 20 years.

By adding the third layer, the paint is able to reflect 90 per cent of the sun’s rays away from a building.

This results in an average temperature reduction of six to seven degrees Celsius.

“Usually companies areusing ACand when they are using AC, that means that if we are lowering the temperature, we manage toreduce the AC use.

“By reducing the use, we are also dropping down the energy consumption for the AC,” Julien adds.

“So that means, when we are getting minus six, minus seven degrees Celsius we manage to demonstrate that we are getting between30 to 50 per cent less energy consumption, which is huge.”

Cool Roof France has already painted many shop, hospital and office roofs and the results are astounding.

In France, the company has worked closely with the police and government to paint the roof of a sniffer dog handling unit. The ambient temperature of the building was reduced by 10 degrees Celsius.

Last year, schools across Europe wereforced to close because it was too hotfor the children to be inside.

“We shouldn’t fall into this kind of situation,” Julien says.

“We have 1 billion AC (air conditioning units) today. We estimate that we may get 5 billion in 2050.AC is a solution that is making some cold inside the building by making some hot outside.So we are all impacted by this kind of crazy solution.

“Today with a white paint, this is super smart and so easy to implement.”

Can I paint my own roof white with Cool Roof France?

Currently, Cool Roof France mainly works with businesses, schools and hospitals to reduce the temperature inside buildings filled with hundreds of people.

Its staff are able to paint the roof of an office building much quicker than the same area across multiple homes.

By painting many large roof areas white in an urban environment it helps to fight against theurban heat island effect. This is whencities suffer from much higher temperaturesas the heat is contained by tall buildings and large amounts of asphalt. Cooling down bigger buildings can help reduce the overall temperature of a city or town.

But fear not, if you do like the idea of a white roof for your home (and have a love of DIY), CRF also sells its thermo-reflective roof paint via its site.

Using white paint for good around the world

With every building they paint, Cool Roof France monitors and evaluates its product’s performance. It is constantly innovating when it comes to paint.

The company also uses 10 per cent of its profits to help fund projects to support people living in heat vulnerable areas.

“Last year we went to Senegal, painting 30,000 square metres of buildings, schools, hospitals, individual houses and just to help people because this is part of our DNA,” says Julien.

“We just want to make sure that we are going beyond because today we are all suffering from thesedaily heatwaves.”

Watch the video above to learn more about this innovative roof paint.

CSMAN LTD0 commentArchitectural Design, Case Studies, Civil Engineering, Construction, Construction Management, Design and Build, Foundations, Industrial, Innovation, Planning Applications, sub structures, Super Structures, Superstructures

August 25, 2023

FIRST LOOK FCBS completes makeover of world’s first iron-framed building

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios has adapted the Grade I-listed Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings into a £28 million social enterprise hub for Historic England after first being engaged on the project nearly 20 years ago

The Grade I-listed Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings was built in 1797 and was the world’s first iron-framed building, a technology developed to give better fire protection.

For nearly a century the site operated as a steam-powered flax mill and was later converted into maltings. During the Second World War the site was used as a temporary military barracks. Following the closure of the maltings in 1987, the future of the site was uncertain before it was bought by Historic England in 2005.

Historic England made it a flagship heritage regeneration project and the former maltings has been gently adapted into a workspace, leisure destination and social enterprise hub.

The project has also introduced a new ground-floor teaching space, which tells the story of the mill’s role in the industrial revolution and world architecture, alongside a café. Above, four floors of offices provide workspaces for 360 people, circulation and meeting space within the former kiln for commercial tenants, as well as access for visitor tours to the restored Jubilee Tower.

The cast iron frame, which had suffered cracking due to settlement and was under-engineered to today’s standards, has been reinforced by strengthening the masonry around the existing iron to enable it to act as an alternative load path in the event of failure. The entire frame has been put back to work through the addition of a hidden steel grillage and six new columns at ground floor level.

Putting the building back to work required comprehensive repairs to the existing fabric and insertion of new core facilities. A light-touch conservation approach was employed to preserve its character.

The pyramidal Malt Kiln, which has many level changes internally, has been converted into a new entrance. This has been left unheated to reduce energy use.

A total of 110 former windows have been reopened. This move, and refitting with new metal windows with high-performance solar glazing, reintroduces natural light and ventilation.

Thermal upgrading of the existing solid masonry walls was researched through on-site trials and hygrothermal modelling. As a result, wood fibre insulation was used to reduce heating costs.

The name ‘Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings’, painted in 2m-high lettering across 50m of the principal elevation, was chosen by the community following local consultations.

A heritage skills programme was delivered during the construction works, using the site as a space for learning.

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios has been working on the project as strategic advisers and architect to Historic England and Shropshire Council since 2003. The scheme won initial planning in 2010. In 2012, the redevelopment (initially costing £52 million) won Heritage Lottery Fund backing.

Client’s view
The commitment, design creativity and attention to detail from FCBS has been impressive throughout the project. Working in close collaboration with Historic England, FCBS has delivered a fine, conservation-led solution. There is now a real sense of pride, and a positive future ahead.
Duncan Wilson, chief executive, Historic England

Project data

Location Shrewsbury
Completion September 2022
Gross internal floor area 5,596m²
Net internal area 4,181m²
Construction cost £28 million
Architect Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Client Historic England
Project manager Historic England
Structural and civil engineer AKT II
Mechanical and electrical engineer E3 Consulting Engineers
Landscape architect LT Studio
Quantity surveyor Gleeds
Archaeology University of Salford
Ecology Middlemarch
Catering Cooper 8
Acoustics ION Acoustics
Main contractor Croft Building and Conservation
Embodied carbon New build elements 113 kgCO2e/m² (retained elements kept 886.4 tCO2e)
Predicted annual energy use 136 kWh/m²

CSMAN LTD0 commentArchitectural Design, Case Studies, Civil Engineering, Construction, Construction Management, Design and Build, Factory, Foundations, Industrial, Innovation, Iron Frame, Steel Frames, Structural Engineering, sub structures, Super Structures, Superstructures

August 25, 2023

Common Household Waste Product Can Make Concrete 30 Percent Stronger

The potential here is massive and could make civil construction significantly greener.

The use of fine sand in concrete is expensive and unsustainable, but researchers in Australia have found an ingenious solution that is far greener and most of us have it in our houses.
Image credit: ungvar/Shutterstock.

Researchers in Australia have used spent coffee grounds to make concrete 30 percent stronger. Simply by replacing a percentage of sand with waste coffee, something common to many households, it is possible to make construction more efficient and greener.

“The inspiration for our work was to find an innovative way of using the large amounts of coffee waste in construction projects rather than going to landfills – to give coffee a ‘double shot’ at life,” lead author Dr Rajeev Roychand, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at RMIT, said in a statement.

Because spent coffee consists of fine particles, they were proposed as useful resources for civil and commercial applications. To test the idea, the team collected spent coffee grounds from cafes in Melbourne, Australia, and then dried them. The coffee was then heated through a process called “pyrolysis”, which involves heating organic material, such as a biomass, in the absence of oxygen. This turned the coffee grounds into biochar.

The team then designed 12 mixes to compare the effects the grounds had when made into concrete. This consisted of spent grounds that were untreated (raw), and grounds that were heated to 350°C (662°F) or 500°C (932°F), respectively. These different products were then added to Portland cement at different percentages volumes (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 percent volume) as a replacement for sand.

The concrete is then molded and cured at room temperature for 24 hours before being demolded and cured in water tanks to be tested for its compressive strength (to see how far it can be stressed before it fractures) and performance potential. This mix was then analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopes (SEM).

The results show that a mix consisting of 15 percent pyrolyzed grounds at 350°C significantly improved the structural properties of concrete – around 29.3 percent improvement in compressive strength.

More work needs to be done to continue developing and testing this method, but it is already showing promise and gaining interest.

“Several councils that are battling with the disposal of organic waste have shown interest in our work”, Roychand added.

“They have already engaged us for their upcoming infrastructure projects incorporating pyrolysed forms of different organic wastes.”

A wakeup call for the construction industry

According to the joint lead author, Dr Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch, a Vice-Chancellor’s Indigenous Postdoctoral Research Fellow at RMIT, the results of this study have significant implications for the construction industry across the world.

“Inspiration for my research, from an Indigenous perspective, involves Caring for Country, ensuring there’s a sustainable life cycle for all materials and avoiding things going into landfill to minimise the impact on the environment,” Kilmartin-Lynch explained.

“The concrete industry has the potential to contribute significantly to increasing the recycling of organic waste such as used coffee.

“Our research is in the early stages, but these exciting findings offer an innovative way to greatly reduce the amount of organic waste that goes to landfill.”

Importantly, the use of biochar in construction projects will relax pressure on the need for fine sand, which is a scares resource across the world. Sand is among the most extracted solid materials on the planet and the second most used resource after water. Moreover, the continued extraction of sand is extremely harmful to the environment.

“The ongoing extraction of natural sand around the world – typically taken from river beds and banks – to meet the rapidly growing demands of the construction industry has a big impact on the environment,” team leader Professor Jie Li explained.

“With a circular-economy approach, we could keep organic waste out of landfill and also better preserve our natural resources like sand.”

The study was published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

CSMAN LTD0 commentBasement Construction, Basement Construction Under Existing House London, Case Studies, Concrete Frames, Construction, Design and Build, Foundations, Industrial, Innovation, Piled Foundations, Steel Frames, sub structures, Super Structures, Superstructures, Underpinning

August 25, 2023

HS2 will bury two Tunnel Boring Machines at Old Oak Common

Two of HS2’s large tunnel boring machines are to be buried into the site at Old Oak Common next year so they can wait there until a decision is taken about how to build Euston station.

The two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are needed to dig the two railway tunnels linking Old Oak Common to Euston, but when construction of Euston station was paused earlier this year, there was also the decision taken to delay the two connecting tunnels as well.

Although there’s no practical reason that delaying the Euston station build would require the two connecting tunnels to be delayed, with Euston station effectively on lockdown at the moment it would require the station site to be partially reopened to allow the tunnel portals to be constructed for the TBMs to arrive.

HS2 has also said that delaying work on the Old Oak Common to Euston station tunnels allows them to focus on the section up to Birmingham. There’s also a vanishingly tiny chance that the tunnel’s alignment could be changed to meet up with a redesigned Euston station.

So the two tunnels are also on hold, but to reduce disruption when the two tunnels do start being built, HS2 will drop the two tunnel boring machines into position at the eastern end of Old Oak Common station in readiness for when they are needed.

The two tunnels were expected to start being constructed next year, and as there’s a long lead time on ordering the TBMs, they will be arriving anyway, and installing them into the underground chamber where they will be needed also reduces the headache of storing them somewhere else and then assembling them later.

Placing the TBMs in situ also avoids disrupting Great Western mainline railway in the future, as it will widened as part of the station build, and happens to be running over the top of where the underground chamber needs to be built.

Although it sounds like a major intervention in the plans, and while it is unusual to put a TBM in the ground and leave it there, it’s not unusual to build empty concrete boxes in the ground years, or even decades before they’re needed.

When the Elizabeth line was being built, it made use of the Moor House shaft which was built in 2004 specifically for Crossrail, even before Crossrail was given approval in 2008. There’s also a space under an office block in Victoria ready for when Crossrail 2 opens, and plenty of other examples of holes in the ground being built long before they are needed. All because it’s considerably easier and cheaper to build them early and leave them empty than build them later*, and if they aren’t needed, then there’s a large empty space that will find a commercial use anyway.

The government has committed to opening the extension to Euston, so the TBMs will be switched on. Eventually.

Meanwhile, work carries on to complete Old Oak Common station, with six platforms for HS2 trains and eight at the surface for mainline and Elizabeth line services. Also, an ex-Crossrail tunnel boring machine is about to start digging a tunnel next to the station so that spoil removal and deliveries can arrive without using the roads. Although always required, the logistics tunnel will have added value when the Euston tunnel works start as they will be able to minimise the disturbance to the fit out of the Old Oak Common station.

When Old Oak Common station opens in 2029-33, as it will be the terminus, it’s expected a large percentage of HS2 customers will switch to the Elizabeth line, and TfL is in discussions with the government to secure orders for additional Elizabeth line trains to cope with the large influx of extra passengers.

The date that a modified Euston station will eventually open is not known, but it’s now not expected to be until 2040 at the earliest.

I could add that building the structure for an 11-platform station at Euston and leaving a third of it empty would be a lot cheaper than building a 7-platform station in full and then trying to bolt on a few extra platforms later.

CSMAN LTD0 commentBasement Construction, Basement Construction Under Existing House London, Case Studies, Civil Engineering, Construction, Construction Management, Foundations, Industrial, Innovation, Structural Engineering, Super Structures, Superstructures, Superstuctures, Tunnel

Case Studies

CSMANLTD Underpinning and Basement Construction London