Project: Warrington Temporary Market
Location:Warrington, Cheshire
Sector: Civil Engineering
System: Stylite EPS 70 Voidfill
Size: 1,000m3
Client: Warrington Borough Council
Problems
Warrington Borough Council’s flag ship Bridge Street Regeneration Project included plans to move the existing market into a temporary location whilst demolition of the old market building took place and until the new, permanent £10 million market hall was constructed. The land where the proposed temporary market was to be built was on two significantly different levels, with the existing level being approximately 750mm higher than the new land.
Client Requirement
The council wanted the temporary market to be all on one level to make it fully accessible, so a decision on the method of how to fill the void had to be made. The choices available to the contractor were traditional fill materials or a modern method of polystyrene voidfill. Consideration also had to be taken for cost implications, access issues and additional stresses to the underlying substrate.
Design Solution
The contractor chose to specify Stylite EPS 70 Voidfill at 750mm deep plus a 150mm Stylite EPS 70 flooring top sheet. The polystyrene voidfill was designed to bring the lower level up to the required height and the top sheet was designed to cover both the polystyrene voidfill and the existing concrete upper level. To complete the system a reinforced concrete topping was specified.
Benefits
The Stylite Voidfill system comprises of lightweight Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) which weighs only 1 per cent of traditional fill materials making it easy to deliver to restricted-access sites. It also has excellent compressive strength yet produces less vertical and horizontal stresses compared to traditional fill materials.
The blocks of polystyrene were delivered to site at (H)2400 x (W)1200 x (D)750mm and due to their light weight could easily be moved into position without the need for specialist lifting equipment. Where necessary the EPS could easily be cut on site with a simple hand saw to fit around service pipes. These benefits meant Stylite Voidfill was a highly cost effective system in terms of labour cost savings.
Result
The holistic design approach allowed the whole floor area to be constructed on one level, providing the council with a perfectly level and uninterrupted floor for the market hall which is accessible to all.
