Highlighting its unique advantages over traditional techniques, leading ground engineering and asset preservation specialists, Mainmark UK, has completed a large-scale project in Canterbury to support the installation of a new mezzanine floor in a recently opened Next clothing store.
The £70K project involved reinforcing 50 foundation points to support columns to support the mezzanine floor. Over the course of just one week, Mainmark, utilised its sustainable, high-quality patented Teretek® geopolymer resin injection to enhance the load-bearing capacity of these 50 foundation points to support loads up to 283kN.
The process was undertaken during construction with minimal disruption to other ongoing contractors and activities on-site, owing to Teretek®’s speed, adaptability, and flexibility during its installation. Unlike traditional underpinning techniques, geopolymer resin technology enables areas to be fully underpinned and secured within hours using minimal equipment, thereby avoiding project delays.
David Hedley, head of commercial and infrastructure at Mainmark UK, said: “This was a great project to showcase resin injection’s advantage over traditional ground improvement methods, highlighting the speed and simplicity of installation. Within a fraction of the time, we were able to provide extra support to 50 separate locations on-site where the columns will eventually be constructed.
“We were able to circumvent almost all access issues due to our compact machinery. The expanding resin technology means the process takes up far less space before application compared to traditional solutions, allowing for greater manoeuvrability during application. This allowed other contractors to continue to easily work around us without having to make space concessions.
“This project was a result of a recommendation from consulting structural engineers Cundall, who we have worked with previously on a similar job in Crawley. This speaks volumes about the trust our customers place in our expertise and products.”
As part of the project, Mainmark also completed validation testing of the site accurately mapping the load-bearing strength across the whole breadth of the previous Mothercare store both before and after installation.
George Frost, Regional Project Manager South at Next, said: “Without Mainmark’s expertise and resin injection technology, project progress would have been severely impacted with the entire first-floor construction and fit-out being delayed until the ground was stabilised. They stepped in and delivered exactly what was needed. We look forward to working with them again in the future.
To learn more about Mainmark and its industry-leading services, visit here: www.mainmark.com/uk