Task: Set up and drilling commences
Kensa’s drilling sub-contractor, Geo-Drill, started work on site on Monday 25th July. They set off early from County Durham to reach site for an 8am start. All of the first day was spent setting up the site. The drilling rig and other equipment was delivered on a large low-loader lorry. Ashfield Court is in a well established residential area with narrow streets and on-street parking, surrounded by private housing. This meant the lorry had to park a little way from the site and Geo-Drill had to ferry all equipment on to site using the tele-handler.
There is a shed on site that is used by all residents to store garden equipment. This shed was blocking the route to the drilling location. So Mike Pogson, project manager from Kensa, attached some timber to the shed to act as handles. The glass panes were temporarily removed for safety and the shed was then manually relocated to a temporary area. The glass panes were then restored. Once all the ground works are completed, we will move the shed back into position again.
The welfare unit arrived on site at 5.30pm but again, the lorry was too large to deliver directly to site. So Geo-Drill towed this into position. After a long first day, everyone finally left site at about 7pm.
Drilling began on day 2, the 26th July.
Next week’s key project stage: Drilling continues.
Keep following our blog to stay up to date with this brilliant first project between Kensa Heat Pumps and Hanover Housing Association.
Project in brief:
- 22 flats – 21 are 1 bedroom and 1 is a 2 bedroom flat;
- Built in 1977;
- Heated by electric night storage heaters which have reached the end of their useful life and need replacing;
- Residents aged 55 +;
- A Kensa Shoebox ground source heat pump (6kW) to be installed inside each flat;
- New 150 litre unvented hot water cylinders in each flat;
- New radiators in each flat;
- New heating controls in each flat, which will be much easier for the residents to use;
- A ground source heat pump for the site office;
- 12 boreholes will be drilled with depths up to 154 metres to form a communal ‘micro district ground source heat pump system’.
Read more about the background to this first project between Hanover Housing Association and Kensa Heat Pumps here.
