Scaffold anchoring - Tadworth House, Surrey

REQUIREMENT

When Tadworth House in Surrey, a hospital for sick children, underwent a major refurbishment it required the entire building to be encased in scaffolding and covered with protective sheeting. To prevent the wind from lifting this temporary structure the scaffolding needed to be reliably secured to the ground.

The large six storey building required an extensive and elaborate arrangement of scaffolding with metal sheets forming the roof some 70ft above the ground and Monorflex plastic sheets on all four façades. To ensure the safety of residents and workmen and minimise the risk of uplift damage resulting from strong winds, D & R Scaffold (London) Ltd specified mechanical ground anchors.

SOLUTION

Following a rapid response by WT, D & R were able to install the anchors just two days after ordering them. Some 50 mechanical ground anchors DN138 were rapidly driven 1.5m into the silt and clay soils, using portable, lightweight, hand-held hydraulic breaker. The polyester tendons were each load locked to a 10kN working load and then secured to the scaffolding using rope grips

The easily installed mechanical ground anchors provided a rapid, cost-effective means of securing the scaffolding and sheeting to allow the refurbishment of Tadworth House to proceed in safety.