Groundworks at Foresters Coming on Apace

Despite the forecast of a cloudy morning, it was already bright even before my arrival at the Jarvis Foresters site where Toureen Mangan’s groundworks are entering their final stages.

Foundations elsewhere on the site are now being worked upon, as work on the central structure is nearing completion of the groundwork stage; the concreting of the floor of the basement area is now finished. Several staircases have their reinforced concrete completed, and brickwork and blockwork is well underway. The crane is moving iron reinforcing rods from storage areas to where it is needed, and shuttering is being removed.

I was amused to see how Acro jacks and panels were being moved from the first floor to the ground. Around the site skips are filling, and soil spoil is being put onto lorries for removal from the site. A heavy duty angle-grinder was carving its way through concrete like butter showering both water and sparks. There was a lot of varied activity to be captured.

Foresters Harpenden, 8th February Visit

The morning began as promised by the forecasters – brilliant sunshine from the start. I gathered my camera gear together and set off for Harpenden. The shuttering I witnessed on the last visit was now a slab of reinforced concrete. Some of the foundations of earlier buildings were being excavated and piles cut back, and one digger was shifting the spoil around.

I watched the preparation of some of the ironwork, the removal of shuttering panels from completed columns, and took several shots in the basement area as this is really taking shape with staircase shuttering being prepared, and the last few areas were now being prepared with a black plastic membrane for the remaining areas of concrete.

With each new visit I see different facets of the construction, it is really interesting work; if the site was a book, it would be described as episodic. Jarvis and the groundworks teams of Toureen Mangan have been doing a good job and I have found everyone helpful and friendly.

Toureen Mangan, Harpenden 31st January Visit

After a frosty night, Harpenden was blessed with sunshine, and when I arrived on site after just a week, it was up another level, and work was being carried out in all four corners. Aluminium staircases replaced ladders in several areas.

Shortly another level of concrete will be poured, the shuttering was under construction and the reinforcing would soon be down. By the entrance a JCB was filling a truck with spoil, and in the basement area, much of the ground area was now covered in concrete. The far end of the site was a vast open storage area.

Sun Greets the Workers Return to Harpenden Site

After the snow, frost and Christmas, work resumes pouring concrete in sunshine for most of the morning. The site was alive with everyone working hard to make up for lost time. Toureen’s site office cabin had been transferred over to the slab, re-inforcing steel rods were being bound together, shuttering being prepared, concrete being poured, levelled and smoothed; the levels being assessed from the concrete already laid using a Laser Leveller.

After one area had been smoothed, the compressor and water spray were lifted by crane to a new location, to keep the concrete watered whilst being levelled and smoothed. I am sure the sunshine helped to keep spirits up, but certainly back in Caddington by the afternoon the rain had arrived.

Harpenden Site Visit - Shuttering for Ground Floor

On the vague suggestion the sun might come out, I took a chance to visit the Jarvis Development, as the Project Manager had said they were preparing the shuttering for the later pouring of concrete for the first floor.

Sean Mooney was on a break when I arrived, but I met up with him in Esporitos, and he very kindly bought me a cup of tea and we discussed the stage he had reached. He was far less optimistic over sunshine and he was proved right, but I went ahead to capture this stage as this would soon be passed, and once the concrete was in place what is below would be lost.

I covered the whole site on this visit, from every conceivable angle, I think on future visits I will need to go part way up the tower to capture meaningful angles.