This is a recent project that we carried out for the Hampshire County Council during the school summer holidays. We installed a completely new pre-insulated heating system for which we undertook all the excavation works, installation of all the below ground pipework and subsequent reinstatement. This kind of installation has become far more common in recent years, with uses such as district heating systems which utilise one common boiler system to provide multiple houses or entire schools with both heating and hot water.
This is a set of pictures that identify the site before we commenced our excavation work.
As you begin to see from this set of pictures, this was a fairly large project with over 150 metres of required trench work. We also had to contend with a number of other services, for many of which there was no record. However, as always, extra care was taken and we managed to avoid any damage to existing services.
There are many types of pre-insulated pipework, which use various methods of jointing. In this instance we have used Flexenergy pipework, which you can see in this set of pictures. Flexenergy pipework uses a method of electro fusion to heat a metal coil inside the fitting. This, in turn, melts and seals the joint and actually makes it stronger than the pipe itself - when installed correctly, that is! Other methods include mechanical jointing with some requiring specialist equipment for the process. Over the years we have installed most of the variations, which all have their pros and cons.
Now starts the backfill process. For this we use selected surplus and if required, imported stone. This is all compacted in layers to prevent the ground from sinking in the future. Marker tape is incorporated to help anyone who may have to excavate in this area, at a later date, to identify the pipe below it.
Now the finishing touches begin and we work towards the completed project. CPI Moling pride ourselves on our site reinstatement and always endeavour to make the client question whether any work has been carried out at all.
Now here are comparison pictures of the site after we had fully completed our side of the project. As you can see from some of the photos, the concrete areas are still wet, but once a few months have passed you will barely be able to see the difference. The client was very happy with all the work which we carried out, but you can make the comparison yourself.
