Let There Be Light

01 September 2010

When Graffiti Print Limited brought two underground reservoirs they contracted D-Drill for their wire-sawing expertise to help convert the concrete tanks into printing workshops.

The larger tank of the two measures 30ft x 50ft internally and is 13ft high. It is constructed from reinforced concrete and lined internally with Marland brick. This tank was designed to hold 150,000 gallons of water and so the walls are constructed in a pyramid fashion; thicker at the base and narrowing towards the top. The walls are 5ft (1600mm) thick at the bottom and 2ft (600mm) at the top. However, the construction of the other unit is completely different and comprises of a series of arches inside.

D-Drill were contracted to cut the holes for the windows and doors in the tanks, using a diamond wire cutter. Firstly 50mm holes were drilled in the corners of the proposed opening ready for feeding the wire through. Using a continuous length of diamond-studded wire, tensioned on a series of hydraulically operated pulleys, the wire was fed through the holes and sliced from inside to out.

The first cut was 1700mm deep by 1000mm wide and took about an hour to complete. The pieces that came out weighed up to four tonnes each and therefore needed to be cut down for removal into smaller chunks weighing up to one tonne.

The windows and doorways were all successfully cut and removed on time and in budget. Owner of the site Simon Deighton said, “Many thanks to John Barber and his team, they gave us loads of useful advice and I would recommend them to anyone.”

Back to news