Specialist cutting to remove failing riverside flood wall

Colemans applied specialist cutting techniques and designed an innovative platform deck to enable the removal of 71 metres of brick cladded and concrete wall alongside the River Tame in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham.

The flood wall section, around 1.2 metres high and 1.3 metres in thickness, was known to have been undermined by river action, resulting in movement of up to 100mm. It had started to fail and collapse during works to reinforce sections of the river, creating a serious issue which needed immediate attention.

Our client Jacksons turned to Colemans’ specialist cutting team to develop the method statement and subsequent works needed to complete the removal safely under challenging conditions – working near a major river, on a failing structure, close to overhead power lines, with flooding within the work area and a risk of increasing the flood risk to surrounding communities and businesses.

This project was named winner of Project of the Year Under £1million in the British Demolition Awards 2023.

We used all of our experience in specialist cutting to agree and proceed with a six-step process:

1. The client first removed soil situated between the wall and new sheet piling and backfilled with type 1 hard core to provide a good working ground condition
2. Colemans drilled lifting core holes between the sheet piles and the wall
3. We designed an innovative deck and lifted it onto the sheet piles – more about that below
4. Our team removed brickwork cladding using hand tools
5. We used diamond core drilling to drill 50mm holes which would enable wire saw cutting for the required cuts
6. Wall sections were then cut into manageable sections and lifted out with a crane, to be removed from site and disposed of

The thickness of the wall called for 136 linear metres of diamond wire sawing and 500 linear metres of core drilling. These methods required the use of water to cool the machinery and supress harmful concrete dust, as a result serious consideration had to be given to slurry capture to avoid polluting the River Tame.

The success of this project relied on innovative temporary works design, notably a modular, two-storey working platform from which our team worked.

The deck covered 11.2 metres of wall, or around 15% of the total length to be removed. Our engineering specialists designed it so it could be lifted into position, used as a platform for the team working on site, then lifted onto the next section of wall as required.

Using our specialist diamond drilling and sawing techniques, the wall was cut into 50 pieces and lifted out with a crane. The 270 tonnes of redundant concrete was then transported to a local specialist recycling facility, where it was crushed and recycled for reuse within the construction industry.

Collaborative working between our cutting and engineering specialists made sure that the work was completed safety, with all necessary permitting, traffic management and waste management included in the method statement.

Colemans and the client also worked closely with the Environment Agency to manage site constraints and risks.

In addition to the River Tame, the site is close to the M6 motorway, with overhead power lines that had to considered within the method statement.

To achieve 100% slurry control, bunds were created on the working platform. The slurry was contained in these bunds to ensure there was no risk of contaminating the river, before being recycled on site using our SFP 8 L GOLZ Slurry Fox Machines; two were employed on the project, with each machine being able to recycle 400 litres of concrete slurry per hour.

The Slurry Fox machines were able to separate the solid particulate matter from the slurry. These solids are formed into “bricks” that are collected from the machine and recycled with the concrete and hardcore, avoiding sending to landfill. The filtered water was then collected and reused as coolant and dust suppression for the specialist diamond drilling and sawing equipment.

Using this method, Colemans were able to recycle 1,500 litres of slurry per day on the project, saving 45,000 litres of water and recycling material that otherwise would have been sent to landfill. It also prevented the risk of polluting the River Tame, confirming our commitment to green, energy efficient and safe working practices.

Daily weather report checks and water level checks were also completed to make sure it would be safe to operate alongside the river. Through careful planning and maximising our experience in complex cutting techniques, Colemans completed work within the agreed 13-week programme, with no incidents.