Cutting of Lift Shaft in Great Yarmouth
Cutting of Lift Shaft Opening
Project: Diamond cutting opening for new lift to be installed
Location: Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Client: Scandia Ltd
Cutting of lift shaft with Cedima CF22E floor saw
Drill Masters Ltd were contracted to diamond cut a lift shaft opening in a reinforced concrete first floor slab to enable the existing building to be converted into new offices. Many old building are being renovated and converted into either residential properties or commercial office space. Converting existing buildings is a cost effective method as the structure is already in place saving time and money on building new. The downside of this is that the structure has to be modified to accommodate new technologies and regulations.
A key consideration is the need to meet with the Disability Discrimination Act of 2005 which ensures that all buildings are accessible to all. This requirement means installing ramps overs steps and incorporating lifts within the building to access all levels. With many older building being constructed of solid reinforced concrete floors and pillars the installation of a lift internally is not always straight forward. The benefit of this solid reinforced concrete structure is that it can support the forming of a lift opening without altering its structural integrity. The simplest most cost effective method of cutting of lift shaft opening is to employ a specialist concrete cutting company to cut a lift shaft opening.
This is exactly what happened on the Scandia site in Great Yarmouth. Drill Masters Ltd were contracted to cut a lift shaft opening through the first floor. The floor slab was 300mm thick of reinforced concrete and the opening was required to be 3.42M X 5.25M. An opening this size was to allow for not only a lift but stairs as well. The weight of the slab to be removed exceeded 16T so it was not possible or practical to just perimeter cut the area into one lump. Firstly a crash deck was installed below where the opening was to be formed, this was to ensure no objects or people could fall through once the area was removed. Drill Masters used a Cedima Cf-22 3 phase diamond cutting floor saw for the cutting of lift shaft opening into manageable sections which could then be hoisted up and moved away from the opening. Once all the sections had been cut and removed from the opening a part of the crash deck was lifted up to allow the reinforced concrete blocks to be lowered to the ground level and disposed in the skip. The project of cutting of lift shaft opening took 6 days to complete.
As well as undertaking concrete cutting in Great Yarmouth Drill Masters Ltd also undertake projects of Diamond Drilling Lowestoft area.
For more information on the Diamond drilling and concrete cutting services offered by Drill Masters throughout East Anglia please contact us here.
The concrete floor to be cut for new lift shaft opening
The area of cutting of lift shaft
3 phase floor sawing opening
The lift shaft opening taking shape
Completed opening
