Clarkebond was commissioned to provide civil, structural and ground engineering services for the construction of a new 6,500m2 manufacturing facility at Midas Developments’ Torbay Business Park, Paignton.
The facility provides a variety of quality commercial features, factory space and two-storey offices with a turnkey Cat B fit out. The design was carefully future-proofed to accommodate potential changes in requirements.
Clarkebond engineers provided preliminary designs of all civil and structural engineering elements from initial concepts to granting of planning permission. We also produced the final design of external works, below ground drainage systems, retaining walls, building foundations and ground floor slabs.
The sloping site presented certain issues which we resolved, these included:
Challenging ground conditions | The building’s relatively large footprint on the sloping site meant we had to accommodate varying rock head levels in our foundation designs. We provided larger spread foundations on the weaker clay layers. This limited risks of differential settlements and enabled the contractor to complete the foundations without deep excavation which increased overall resource efficiency and reduced overall costs.
Karstic Limestone and Solution Features | The site is underlain by Karstic Limestone which is susceptible to solution features. Potential large voids present a risk to the bearing capacity of the ground. To counter this risk, we bored rotary cored probes at to identify the presence of such features.
No significant features were located, however the top of a solution feature was exposed. This was made safe and recorded to ensure any future maintenance or construction works are aware of the location and approximate extent.
Added value:
60 new essential, skilled jobs created in the facility, with potential to expand.
