Did you hear the news? BRS has won the MA Group Property Claims Special Project Award this year due to our commitment on a large and complex project.
We are proud of our team in Scotland, as they have been proactive, hard-working, and managed this job with the utmost efficiency, especially considering the circumstances that our team was faced with this year.
Beginning of works
In 2019, BRS assisted MA Group with a category B listed building with historic significance in Leith, Scotland. This was a large and complex project as the scope involved repairing the Victorian clay pipes, organising repairs to a pipe in a 3ft thick stone wall and extensive tanking. Many parties were involved in this job, including a screeding company, a tanking company and Edinburgh Historic Scotland and Building Control. Project management is the predominant factor to keep everything as straightforward as possible.
But just when work was about to start& So did the Covid-19 lockdown.
Beginning of works& Again
9 months later, reinstatement works eventually started in June 2020 with Covid restrictions still in place. At that time our team was informing and updating the residents who were in alternative accommodation. And in addition to this, a second major flood of 3ft of water occurred. This must have felt like a set back to the residents who are at no fault of their own, involved in unfortunate circumstances and going home probably felt like a long way.� As a result, a second insurance claim was raised and managed by us and emergency works were carried out, as well as supporting and informing the residents of the property.
The clear out
Our team pumped out the contaminated black water and removed waste by hand, this was done by wheelbarrowing the substance up the stairs as there were limited options. The entire basement had to be excavated to remove the contaminated waste, and to protect the building from further damage, we constructed a protective timber framed screen through the property, whilst the waste and debris was removed. In total 24 cubic meters was removed and carried by hand to the main road.
However, our team needed to find a way to fix this issue, so they contacted the water company advising them that the manhole to the sewer was in the customer’s property and that this would be a good time to re-site it to the road. Unfortunately, the water company refused to move the manhole so we designed and formed a new concrete manhole chamber which would reduce the likelihood of a flood in the future, whilst keeping the required accessibility. A pump was installed in a fabricated one cubic meter cube pit, so we checked for other utility services in the vicinity that could be affected.
Opening a can of worms
Once the waste had been carefully removed, our team discovered that the Victorian clay pipes had ruptured, and they too would have to be removed and replaced. But just like everything else in this project, it was not a simple job. These pipes serviced the flats on either side of the property and ran through an external wall to the sewage system in the street. This is just another example of how our team faced complicated works head on, and how project management was key to keep the job moving forward.
The end result
As you can imagine we are in awe of the dedication our team had throughout this project. Even in normal circumstances a project like this would be cumbersome, but they have shown how a technical, large, and complex claim can be well-managed in even the most stressful of circumstances. The client rated us “10/10” once works were completed and project management was completed, rating the service they received as excellent. This is what the client had to say…
“This has been a very difficult and long process for all concerned but my partner and I have been guided through it by Paul, Billy & the team, and we’ve resolved issues together as they have come up. The complexity of some of the problems we’ve encountered has been frustrating at times, but we’ve managed to work together to put our home back together and find solutions to the issues at hand.”
Efforts were worthwhile as there was another flood in June 2021, but thankfully due to our teams foresight, planning and expert knowledge, the waste pipes, manhole cover and tanking prevented damage to the property; such preventative measures saved the insurer thousands of pounds.
Read MA Group case study of the works here.
