Seaton Deleval Hall Ground Improvement

Client: Historic Properties Limited

Background

Seaton Delaval Hall is a Grade I listed country house on the coastline in Northumberland, England, situated between Seaton Sluice and Seaton Delaval, It was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1718 for Admiral George Delaval, now owned by the National Trust and more recently opened to the general public.

Over many years the soils beneath the property had compacted and washed out in places. A solution was required that would remediate the soils without any excavation or damage to the historic building.

Geobear Solution

Following a number of engineering meetings and a detailed proposal delivered by Geobear, our non-intrusive geopolymer injection was chosen as the ideal solution for the works.

We were required to improve the strength of the ground beneath the foundations to the west wing of the historic house, where significant cracking and movement both internally and externally to the property has been present. Site investigations revealed various treatment depths ranging between 1.5m to 7.0m below ground level.

Our geopolymer material was injected at 1.0m intervals around the affected area down to the firm ground, with ground strength verified post-works through a series of DCP tests. All works were successfully completed within two weeks ensuring there were no delays or alterations required to our clients programme of works.

Alternative solution

The traditional alternative would have been either underpinning or a piled solution.

With these methods the existing soil would need to be removed and concrete used to underpin or piles used to strengthen the foundation. Typically, this undesirable option could take months to complete affecting the buildings use.

Why Geobear

Our solution requires no excavation so closure of the building would be minimised to days. Additionally the closure would only be necessary for an isolated area of the building.

Furthermore, our geopolymers could be removed by future archeological excavations if required.