Bank Conversion, Worthing

Project
Bank Conversion, Worthing

Client
HSBC, Worthing


The Brief

  • The HSBC Bank branch in Worthing had recently been vacated, and the removal of a walk-in concrete safe was needed, in order to return the site to its original footprint.
  • The safe consisted of 300mm-thick heavily reinforced concrete walls and roof, with vertical reinforcements and helical bars wrapped around each vertical bar.
  • Hawes Construction Group were approached by HSBC to complete the work, because of our specialist expertise in diamond drilling.
  • With no access via the top of the safe, which was only 15cm away from the floor above, all of the work had to be undertaken from below, increasing the risk of the delicate operation.
  • As there were residential properties in the same building above the bank, noise had to be kept to a minimum, and residents had to be kept updated about the works.

Our Solution

  • After removing the heavy safe door, the team drilled into the roof slab so that it could be sawn into more manageable sections.
  • During this operation, it was discovered that the structure of the roof was more complex than anticipated, meaning that we had to increase the supports holding the roof in order to remove it in a safe and controlled manner.
  • A specialist track saw was then used to cut the concrete into sections, powered by a portable three-phase generator. The utmost precision was needed to cut around the weight props.
  • The front wall of the safe was removed, giving better access to the rest of the structure, which we were then able to safely saw into sections and remove.
  • By the end, we were left with 35 tonnes of concrete!

The Result

  • Due to the complexity of the task, we had the flexibility to extend our schedule so that we could safely complete the project.
  • The client was very happy with the work of Hawes Construction Group, and as a team we learnt a lot from this project.

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