With the housing market being one of the hardest hit sectors in the UK since 2008 the government has been pushing to increase construction of new homes over the last few years. This includes the development of new sites, such as an unused wharf next to a canal in London.
Part of the ownership of the development site includes the canal wall itself, prompting CSD to be contacted to conduct a condition survey to assess the long term maintenance requirements. This involved surveying a long section of canal wall, during the second week of June, which consisted of 200m of Larssen sheet piling with an area of cast concrete. The survey involved the use of surface demand diving equipment (SDDE) to receive photographic and video footage above and below the surface, along with the use of an ultrasonic thickness (UT) meter, to assess the corrosion of the sheet piling.
The survey was conducted whilst working around other contractors on a busy construction site therefore requiring an even greater awareness of health and safety than usual, as we had to be aware of not only our operations but also those of the contractors working around us. As such we hold Constructionline and CSCS accreditation to ensure CSD conform to site safety requirements.
With completion of the survey CSD will be providing the developers with a full written and photographic report of our findings, along with CAD drawings to give an accurate representation of the area. This is the first of a number of high profile surveys at housing developments for CSD in the coming year.
