An ingenious temporary underpinning solution
Client: Building Insurers via their consulting engineer
Pembridge Square, London W2
By using two sets of temporary shoring, our team was able to work continuously and efficiently to complete the contract.
Purkelly engineers designed the solution for this ingenious temporary support which was essential to the underpinning of a Victorian 'flying' conservatory at a private house in Pembridge Square W2.
The conservatory, built on a steel frame supported by six cast iron columns, was subsiding due to moisture extraction from the clay subsoil by tree roots.
To make underpinning possible, a temporary works system had to be designed to support the columns and the building whilst the underpinning itself was carried out.
The Purkelly design solution involved a series of temporary pad foundations spanned by steel beams placed between the pads on each side of the cast iron columns. The beams were clamped in place using timber and folding wedges - then ACRO props were installed between the temporary beams and the steel frame on top of the columns. These were arranged and braced so that they gave both vertical and lateral support at each column location.
As the underpinning was finished on each column, the temporary support was dismantled and moved to the next column in the sequence until the whole operation was completed.
By using two sets of temporary shoring, our team was able to work continuously and efficiently to complete the contract.
