Geopolymer injection technology is designed to strengthen the soil strata beneath building foundations, as demonstrated when Mainmark’s Teretek® resin injection technology was used to provide foundation support and successfully treat subsidence at Dulverton School in Kent.
The nursery building at the school, constructed in the 1960s, displayed signs of cracks both internally and externally. A survey revealed that these cracks were evidence of subsidence caused by shrinkage of the clay soil beneath the foundations. This was due to the long and dry summer of 2022, compounded further by trees extracting moisture from the ground. Kent council initially considered traditional underpinning; however, they ultimately chose geopolymer injection due to its shorter treatment timeline and minimal disruption to the school premises.
A feature by Building Magazine titled ‘How do we fix England’s crumbling school estate?’ shows that the challenges Dulverton school was faced with are by no means an isolated incident. It was reported that ‘700,000 pupils are now being taught in buildings that require major rebuilding or refurbishment’. According to figures from the National Audit Office (NAO) the UK’s independent public spending watchdog, there are over 10,000 school buildings dating back to the 1940s that are continuing to deteriorate. It is estimated that, across the whole school estate of 64,000 buildings, a concerning 38% are past their estimated design life.
The NAO report also included details about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) that has shown the huge impact that untreated construction issues can have on the education system. The report stated that the ‘DfE (Department for Education) had identified 572 schools that may contain RAAC. By May 2023, specialists had completed 196 assessments and confirmed the presence of RACC in 65 schools of which 24 required immediate action.
Whilst £5.3bn of funding was recommended by the Department for Education (DfE), for long-term maintenance between 2016-17 and 2022-23, only £2.3bn was spent by the DfE for school rebuilding, maintenance, or repair. According to the NAO, reasons for the slow progress include suppliers not taking up contracts due to the instability of the construction sector.