Grand Design House Keeps Feet Dry With AquaCell

When faced with the decision which drainage system to use at house being build on a site which is part of an old, filled-in quarry, AquaCell was chosen as it was easy to install in restricted space.

Unusual building designs can prove to be difficult to realise.

When Cambridgeshire based building design company ICD Dzine Ltd was asked to project manage the construction of a private house of special design near Cambridge it soon found that it had to come up with special solutions for some of the problems it was facing, including drainage.

AquaCell from Wavin Plastics proved to be the perfect solution.

Carl Dodd, designer at ICD Dzine Ltd explains: "This project is a great challenge for us.

The owners of the house wanted to fulfil their ambition to build their dream home.

The design is very special and sophisticated." The 400m2 house is being build on a site which is part of an old, filled-in quarry.

This, together with the unusual shape of the plot presented its own problems, especially for drainage.

Space restrictions meant traditional drainage systems could not be installed.

Carl Dodd: "The house is partly built into the hill.

During planning and construction we had to overcome several issues with levels.

Being an old quarry, we could not always dig as deeply into the ground as we would have needed to install adequate drainage in the traditional way." Space restrictions meant there was only room for a long straight trench between the house and the boundaries of the property.

Carl Dodd: "This was a special project and there was nothing we could do to change the shape of the site or the ground conditions.

So we decided to use the best available technology and material to make the design work.

"When faced with the decision which drainage system to use we chose AquaCell as it was easy to install in the restricted space.

Because of the modular make-up we could fit AquaCell into our trench, rather than having to fit the trench around the drainage system.

The system's excellent capacity meant we did not need to dig a deep trench and still get the rainwater storage capacity required." AquaCell's exceptional load bearing capacity was an extra bonus for the space restricted building site.

As soon the crates were covered and the trench filled in, construction equipment could operate on top.

The AquaCell Stormwater Management System comprises individual infiltration modules assembled together to form an underground structure which can either be used for stormwater storage or as an NHBC approved alternative to domestic soakaways.

It is suitable for areas prone to flooding such as those that are remote from a public sewer or watercourse, and within fully sewered urban regions to limit the impact of run-off.

The modular principle allows total flexibility to ensure the assembly configuration can be tailored for any site, from major development projects to smaller limited area locations.

Carl Dodd concludes: "We are extremely proud of this project.

Despite the restrictions and special conditions it took only 11 months to build the house.

At the moment we are preparing our entry for the Federation of Mater Builders' "Builder of the Year" competition.".

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