At a glance

  • Beautiful development of 5 new family townhouses
  • 10 boreholes, over 200m each, located directly below buildings
  • 95m of steel casing left in permanently to protect probes during excavation of building basements
  • Site located just 50m from Harrods and the Piccadilly underground line
  • Drilling works completed 10 days ahead of schedule

Objective

Working for an existing client, Nicholls Boreholes were commissioned to install two GSHP boreholes under each of the 5 houses in the development prior to the excavation of the basements. Due to space restrictions, the heating requirement of the houses and the proximity of each borehole to one another, we designed a fewer number of deep boreholes to achieve the desired heat output.

The Project

The site was located just opposite Harrods, giving its own set of logistical challenges. The geology at 90m BGL (below ground level) is extremely unstable and therefore required 95m of steel casing to be installed, to allow the boreholes to be drilled to the required depths. Our experience gained from installing over 100 GSHP boreholes in London allowed us to complete the project 10 days ahead of schedule, allowing the main contractor to accelerate their program of works.

“Having used Nicholls for many years on complicated construction projects we were able to rely on them to support us with this scheme, especially with such a tight drilling programme.”

Client