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Digging the Road
17/04/2002
A lot of work is involved in preparing the site for the turbine and for the necessary plant vehicles required in the construction of the foundations. Here, the site access track is being widened and made sure with hardcore, excavated from the foundation pit.
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Looking up to the site
17/04/2002
The site is viewed here from the bridleway which runs past the site to the north west. At this early stage of construction very little can be seen from below. DVCWP carried out a full Environmental Assessment for this site which considered, amongst other factors, the visual impact of the turbine on the surrounding area.
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Foundation Pit
18/04/2002
CAT Engineer, Clive Newman, measures the newly dug foundation pit which must be dug to measure 6m by 6m and 2m. Beneath the clay topsoil the excavator must remove mostly slate which will then be used to firm up the area surrounding the pit.
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Looking north across the site
08/05/2002
Three weeks later and the foundations are really starting to take shape. The pit has been dug to size and the surrounding ground levelled and shored-up. A steel lattice is under construction which will play a vital role in strengthening the foundations.
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Reinforced steel foundation grid
08/05/2002
The lattice has been built on top of an initial layer of pre-foundation concrete. This steel structure will reinforce the concrete foundations meaning that less concrete need be used overall. The top of the steel column, seen here in the centre, will eventually be at ground level.
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Filling In the Gaps
08/05/2002
Final preparations are made prior to the arrival of the ready-mixed concrete. Here breeze-blocks are used to fill in spare capacity.
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Concrete Pouring
08/05/2002
The concrete pouring begins. 8 truck loads of locally sourced ready mixed concrete are required to fill the lattice base
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Concrete Proofing
10/05/2002
Wooden shuttering is put in place around the side walls of the pit in order to contain the concrete. Here CAT Engineering Volunteer, Katie Brown, is painting the shuttering with concrete proofing so that the wooden boards can be easily removed once the concrete has set.
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The Right Conditions
10/05/2002
The glorious weather makes the whole process a lot simpler but the concrete must still be tested during pouring to check its strength and consistency.
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Poking
10/05/2002
With the large mass of concrete it is necessary to use a poking machine which ensures that the concrete is spread evenly and does not contain air pockets that could weaken its structure. Here Elwyn Pugh is poking the concrete.
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