CONCRETE & STONEWORK
REPOINTING UNBOUND
‘ FLEXIBLE ’ PAVING
SAVE TIME & MONEY - GFTK VDW 850 +
Birchwood Business Park is owned by Warrington Borough Council , and it is one of the largest business parks in the Northwest , with many nationally important companies on the site . The park layout uses an interconnected network of paved pathways and pedestrian areas , linking communal seating areas with planting zones and water features . These are predominantly paved with butt-jointed , reconstituted granite stone blocks , together with some highlight areas of natural sandstone slabs .
The paving was originally laid as unbonded , flexible paving , meaning the granite blocks and sandstone slabs , were laid , butt-jointed , in sharp sand over compacted subbase ( e . g . MOT type-1 ), and the narrow joints (~ 5mm ), were filled with ‘ jointing sand ’. However , over longer periods of time , this is not particularly durable , as the sand can be washed out , and unsightly weed growth starts from seeds that are wind-blown and from bird droppings , germinating in the joints . After a few years at Birchwood Park , this weed growth needed to be removed , toxic weedkiller applied , and the joints refilled with sand , at least once or more every year , to keep the areas looking their best , and this was obviously increasingly expensive . Additionally , people working at Birchwood Park were not happy when their access and relaxation areas became unsightly , plus the necessary restrictions on their access and use of the areas whilst these noisy and dirty works were carried out , was very disruptive , generally in the Spring and Summer months when use of the paved areas was most popular . They were also not happy with the repeated use of the toxic chemicals in their environment .
These cleaning and refurbishment works were becoming more extensive , disruptive and the costs were increasing significantly every year , for the owners and their Facilities Maintenance Contractors , J . M . & M . Scanlon from Warrington . Therefore , back in 2017 they decided to see if they could find an alternative , less disruptive and non-toxic solution , to prevent plant growth in the joints , and to eliminate or reduce the need for such disruptive and expensive annual refurbishment works .
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