Projects

Mount Pleasant Eco Park

This rammed earth retro-fit was envisioned and created by Tim Stirrup. This exciting project to provides environmentally friendly working premises for his own business and others. Starting with a 40 acre piece of farm land with a 50m x 7m open sided concrete block shed Tim has transformed what was once a thriving working mine into a thriving ecological business park. Using soil dug on the site Tim started by asking us to arrange testing of the material, and then to build a full trial wall. We provided the know how, Tim provided the team and over two days we built a 3m x 2.4m x .4m wall in two sections. Chris Massey the structural engineer then organised the lateral load testing to ensure the walls would withstand the expected 105mph winds the exposed site experiences. After loading the walls with half a tonne (see images) and producing a 3.6mm deflection, Chris calculated that was the equivalent of a 350mph wind!

So everything could then be put in place to begin building, funding and permissions had be given. Again we went and worked with the team to ensure formwork, soil mixing placing and compaction were all well understood.

Using his own digger and soil Tim reckoned to build for less than the cost of concrete blocks, and create buildings which are both durable and very much in keeping with the rugged Cornish landscape.