We were asked to provide our specialist expertise during the redevelopment of Shell Fulham into the company’s first ever all-electric forecourt. Our client Toureen Group had discovered an issue on the project where the outgoing drain (interceptor) was blocked with historical debris, which needed unblocking and the old interceptor rat trap removed. After further investigation we had found that the existing interceptor plus four metres of the existing main had be filled with concrete by a previous contractor – something nobody had expected.

At first we tried a method of coring out the concrete from the existing pipe. This worked, but at an extremely (and unacceptably) slow pace due to the concrete being of such high strength. Our only option was to remove the defective pipe and replace with new; this was achieved by driving a timber heading within a new shaft.

Once complete, and the pipe replaced, we installed a new 1200mm diameter pre-cast concrete chamber, constructed to Sewers for Adoption 7th Edition standards.

Finishing off the job properly, we used MOT type one crush, compacted in layers and given the correct number of passes with a petrol trench rammer and reversable wacker plate, to guarantee that the reinstatement will not fail when inspected at a later date. After the crush we installed steel starter bars and mesh, finishing off with concrete to match the existing surroundings.