Ramsgate Spar Design Project

This is the retaining wall / cliff strengthening at the seafront side of the site. Compare and contrast this with similar measures at the Grange just along the promenade. The collapse at this point was related to the undeground workings attributed to Pugin.

I have just been exploring "Thant Underground" at http://thanetunderground.blogspot.com/2006/06/home-page.html

Quite useful on a number of fronts; it gives an insight into the nature of the chalk rock that you will be building on (in?); it is suggested that Pugin had a hand in building underground at the Grange which is just a short walk from the spa site, a ballroom is referred to. There is also reference to cliff instability and collapse and may be the reason for the large slab of concrete wall at the cliff face.

Vibro-compaction video

Construction Drama on the Drama Site

The strengthened ground is capped with a mat of steel reinforcement which is then encapsulated with concrete seen being pumped in the background. There is no sign of a waterproof layer under the reinforced concrete slab. The slab sits or floats on the treated ground and is therefore referred to as a raft.

The new drama building at UKC gets a firm footing with some vibrocompaction. Drive a steel tube with a pointed shoe 5m into the ground, pull it out and pour in some stone then prod and vibrate the stone to compact it. The stone squeezes out at the side of the hole and compresses the soft clay on this site. Continue until the stone column is complete, then start again a few metres away. The drawing shows the plan of action and the footprint of the new building. Work started on 13 Nov 2008.