Are you planning a property extension or new build? No matter the nature of your structure, many aspects come together to make it a success. Key among these are the foundations below the ground supporting the weight of the superstructure above. A poorly managed foundation installation represents a short- and long-term hazard. Substandard results could lead to expensive, disruptive rectification work, without which your structure could face subsidence or, in extreme cases, even collapse.
Gibbons Groundworks are groundwork contractors covering Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Our team is the trusted choice for foundations in local and regional areas such as Hemel Hempstead, Hitchin, Luton, St Albans, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City, to name a few.
The installation of foundations falls within the groundworks phase of your project. As such, it’s one of the first operations to take place on your site. This means the foundations we install quickly become a solid base for the rest of your job. However, because works progress at a rapid rate, your chosen building contractors will soon build over them.
To guarantee long-term success, then, you must hire time-served groundwork contractors with a proven track record. This is what makes Gibbons Groundworks the go-to choice for foundation laying. Our workforce shares over 50 years of industry experience. You can rest assured, we have completed installations of every kind multiple times.
We lay these structural features in line with meticulous calculations. With a full range of equipment and machinery too, we ensure millimetre precision for everything from foundation levels and trench depths to drainage falls.
Because we operate to exacting standards, we eliminate the risk of rectification work on foundations which already support the load of a building’s structure. As a result, we play our part in delivering your project on time, within budget and to the highest standards.
With Gibbons Groundworks, you get the complete foundation installation package.
For optimal cost-effectiveness, we can manage every other aspect of your project’s groundworks, including the drainage installation.
Whether you’re in Luton, Stevenage or any of the surrounding areas, call us on 01582 945615 or 07480 791150 to schedule an initial consultation.
All foundations have the same purpose: to evenly spread a structure’s weight over a carefully calculated surface area so that the subsoil below doesn’t move.
Strip Foundations
We lay these foundations to support load-bearing walls. The width of the strips varies between 450mm and 600mm, while the depth can reach a maximum of 200mm. The final figures depend on the type of structure you are building and how many floors it has. Consisting of concrete, the finished foundations take the form of a single, continuous strip.
If we need to dig further down to find suitable ground, we design deep strip foundations. If your site has soft soil, wide strip foundations help to spread the load over a larger area.
Trench-Fill Foundations
This kind of foundation installation is self-explanatory. When at your site, we excavate to a depth where the ground has sufficient load-bearing qualities. Our groundwork contractors then dig out a trench network to the same depth before filling it with concrete.
If your site has trees growing on it, or there are some nearby, we assess whether they represent a threat to the integrity of the foundations. If they do, we reinforce the concrete with steel for extra resistance.
Piled Foundations
During these installations, we drive columns 2m to 3m in length into the ground. We use a reinforced concrete beam to join the individual columns together. Depending on the nature of your job, we can either pre-fabricate these columns or build them on site.
Having installed the columns, we then build a suspended ground floor over them. The entire process produces a foundation with incredible strength. Pile foundations can withstand the weight of large buildings.
Raft Foundations
Gibbons Groundworks uses these foundation installations in weak/expansive soils, such as soft clay and peat. The name itself comes from the fact that these foundations allow a building to ‘float’ on the soil.
During construction at your site in Luton, Stevenage or the surrounding areas, our groundwork contractors pour reinforced concrete into a large slab. In turn, this helps to spread the load of the structure over a wide area.
