Arcus Developments, Smethwick

Overcoming differences in ground levels at a Business Park development using a King Post Wall

Soldier Piles installed at old Glassworks

Crystal House Business Park is located on the site of an old glassworks in Smethwick, four miles from the centre of Birmingham.

This redevelopment site will be home to a new warehouse and associated service yard, housing a 4,900m² storage and distribution centre.

To overcome changes in ground levels, Ivor King installed 60No. soldier piles to form the basis of a king post retaining wall to the Northern and Eastern site boundaries.

Using a powerful but compact Leader Rig

Using our state-of-the-art ABI Mobilram TM13 Telescopic Leader Rig, the ground was pre-augered at specified design intervals ready to accept universal columns of between 5 metres and 9.5 metres in length. Then, using a vibratory hammer attachment, the rig installed the vertical H beams to level. To ensure all beams were installed exactly in line, a temporary horizontal guide beam with anchors was deployed. At Ivor King, we believe in continual investment into the latest piling technology – the TM13 rig is equipped with a 209kW EU Stage V engine, bringing optimised power delivery, coupled with unparalleled levels of fuel savings and the benefit of ultra-low emissions.

Once the soldier piles were in-situ, our client added pre-stressed concrete panels between the steel columns to form a king post wall. The area behind the wall could then be backfilled to design level ready for building work to commence.