Henry Whipple School went through a dramatic transformation with numerous of Metals and Plants specialised services coming into play. The School required a partial demolition with localised areas of the redundant building initially requiring concrete sawing to separate it from the live School and in turn allow a safe demolition. The buildings which were being reinstated required a full soft furnishing / mechanical strip out and enabling ground works to allow the contract to progress safely. The remaining buildings then had a substantial reconfiguration to the framework of the structure with approximately ten new double doors being formed (including fitting of lintels). Then more critically the removal of eleven 0.3m thick structural brick walls, each requiring two 8m long (450kg) steel beams to be fitted to help keep the structural integrity of the building and help avoid collapse. Working alongside structural engineers Metals and Plant were able to formulate and them implement an in depth propping system for each room to allow the safe removal of each structural wall.
With such dangerous works being undertaken when the school was live with children and teachers present, it is testimony to our highly trained workforce and site managers that all work were completed on schedule and without incident.
