Exeter Road Bournemouth

The Challenge

The ground conditions predominantly consisted of Made Ground overlying the non-cohesive Bagshot Beds. The requirement is to produce a retaining wall requiring minimal propping for the construction if the basement box. The scheme was additionally challenging due to the varying ground levels surrounding the site and the need to retain an existing gravity retaining wall running along Exeter Road. 

The Solution

Franki Foundations worked closely with the client and the temporary works engineers to design a scheme that required only a single level of temporary propping for the maximum dig height of 11m. The scheme made use of a careful monitoring and dewatering approach to satisfy the local authorities involved on the project. 

A technically challenging aspect of the project is installing full depth 16m cages into the piles in ground conditions which cause the concrete to cure almost instantly upon being pumped into the pile. To counter this effect Franki Foundations liaised with the concrete supplier to develop a bespoke mix which delayed this curing and allowed the installation of a 16m cage for up to 30 minutes after the pile is concreted.