How TECHNO-CRETE® Proved to Be Sustainable and Easily Transportable
Our eco-friendly post mix TECHNO-CRETE® was the ideal option during a recent challenging installation for Siemens on the Northern City Lines re-signalling project at Drayton Park.
The NCL project is the start of the wider East Coast Digital Programme, and SEVA Rail Services was tasked with undertaking the civils elements which included the construction of a new REB (Relocatable Equipment Building) and associated works at Drayton Park railway station, based in Highbury in the London Borough of Islington.
“Working on behalf of Siemens, this project pledged to push for sustainability through the design, planning and construction phases of all works undertaken.
“Moving away from a mass-pour concrete slab as the main REB foundation to skid foundations, reducing the amount of concrete used, and only procuring timber from sustainable sources were just a couple of examples of this. By far the most innovative of these methods was the use of TECHNO-CRETE® for all of the GRP handrail foundations.
“As an estimate, the teams on site could have used up to 100 bags of post crete to install the full run. The use of TECHNO-CRETE® didn’t just improve the sustainability by that nominal amount, the transportation of bulk materials to this site was extremely challenging. The only way in and out for materials was by RRV (Road Rail Vehicle) or many man hours of site teams having to manually carry materials through the Drayton Park Sub Station access, down flights of stairs and a long walk to site. Neither method was particularly sustainable or safe. All of the TECHNO-CRETE® required to complete these works came to the site in two cardboard boxes, and just two sachets was enough for one foundation!”
Exclusively distributed in the UK by CCS and stocked by our partners Scott Parnell, TECHNO-CRETE® — developed by Strucsol — is a two-part, high-density hydrophobic polyurethane based on a blend of reprocessed oil from the catering industry and sustainably grown rapeseed oil. Once the two parts are mixed, the mixture foams to form a structurally robust, solid foam that securely holds posts or rails in place.
Supplied in easy-to-handle 1.8kg packs, TECHNO-CRETE®’s two-pack system is hand mixed. It doesn’t need water, and one 1.8kg pack typically replaces three 20kg bags of concrete post mix. It therefore significantly reduces transportation costs and the risk of personal injury from manual handling. When using TECHNO-CRETE® instead of cement-based concrete in 1,000 holes, 300 x 600mm diameter, over 10 tonnes of CO2 emissions are saved from entering the atmosphere, the equivalent of over ten return flights from London to New York.
“As always with Scott Parnell, the procurement process and service for both the TECHNO-CRETE® and all other materials was first class on this job. They even headed out to site to demonstrate how best to install the TECHNO-CRETE®. That alone speaks volumes of the quality and confidence they have in a great product. I will now be recommending the use of TECHNO-CRETE® for similar applications on all projects we work on going forward.”
For more information about TECHNO-CRETE®, contact our technical experts at CCS or our UK stockist Scott Parnell.
This article was originally published by Complete Composite Systems.
