The War Memorial in Abingdon, built on infill soil, had been gradually subsiding, tilting a few millimeters each year. Abingdon Town Council decided last autumn that the time had come to prevent any damage to the structure.
At Geobear, we deal with buildings and structures of all kinds and are known for being as quick and unobtrusive as possible – this made us very well-suited for a job which concerned something as important as a war memorial.
“We’d monitored the movement over five years, and took advice from local structural engineers,” says Stephen Rich, Project & Technical Manager for the Council.
“We’d considered dismantling and moving the memorial and piling the ground, but we weren’t sure what damage might be done to the memorial as no plans existed to say exactly how it had been constructed.
“The engineers said there would be no need to move the memorial, as Geobear could strengthen the ground using polymer resin. That approach was also far cheaper, so in terms of the ratepayer this was also the better of the two options.”
Geobear treated the ground underneath the memorial in early December, installing PowerPiles along 12 linear metres and to a depth of 3.8 metres through soft alluvium. PowerPiles are expandable cases that are inserted beneath subsided structures and filled with geo-polymer resin. When the resin expands, so do the piles and the subsided area is restored.
Stephen says: “The work was undertaken quickly and cleanly, there was no mess left and the Council were pleased with the outcome.”
It is evident that clients are very satisfied with the work we do. If you are concerned that a local monument in your local authority area is suffering from ground subsidence then please get in touch with us and we will send in our team to survey the site and work out the perfect solution.
