en.Wedoany.com Reported - National Pile Croppers has supplied Quad and CFA pile croppers to Alwoodley Civils for a hotel project in York city centre. Leeds-based Alwoodley Civils is assisting in the construction of a new hotel, which requires preserving the original 1920s facade of an old building on Piccadilly in York city centre.
While constructing the new hotel in the city centre, much of the old building must be retained as a historic site, and most of the local area is protected. The original building's facade will be preserved, with the new hotel built behind it. Due to the presence of many walls dating back to Roman times, construction requires extremely delicate operations. Alwoodley has been commissioned to undertake all civil works down to the foundations, a challenging task requiring experience and specialized expertise.
The construction of the new hotel complex is highly sensitive, using 350mm concrete piles that need to be cut to the correct size. The site itself has height restrictions, and its historic nature demands precision and sensitivity. After a site visit, Alwoodley adopted the Quad and CFA pile croppers recommended by National Pile Croppers.
The Quad cropper is best suited for piles with debonded reinforcement, designed with a small footprint to access tight spaces and suitable for cutting secant and contiguous pile walls with spacings as close as 100mm. The equipment uses four fully synchronized cylinders and specially designed blades to cut piles, while the cropper safely clamps the cut pile sections for transport to designated safe areas.
Scott Fitchett, Sales Director at National Pile Croppers, stated that the Quad has two key advantages over other croppers: synchronization provides a more consistent and uniform break, and specially designed chisels produce a high-quality surface. Through product development, health and safety have been improved, and the Quad is the only cropper that can safely clamp broken concrete sections within its body. Combined with these features, it offers higher productivity, faster speed, and better efficiency.
Fitchett added that on the York site, the CFA cropper is used alongside the Quad. This is a traditional modular link cropper that can be adjusted according to the required pile size. Using the hanger provided by National Pile Croppers offers the advantage of minimal restrictions, which is crucial for the project. The CFA cropper is designed to cut circular augered concrete piles with diameters from 300mm to 1200mm. Its modular design allows adjustment to different pile sizes on site, with easy 100mm adjustments per step by adding half links, without the need for hydraulic intervention.
The National Pile Croppers team worked closely with Alwoodley to ensure pile cutting was carried out safely, accurately, and efficiently. With experience, despite the constrained city centre site location, cutting of the 350mm piles progressed at a rate of 10 to 15 per day. Work on the new hotel is ongoing, with Alwoodley expected to complete operations by August 2026, showing care and respect for York residents as well as historical monuments and heritage. The preserved facade will connect the precious history with the modern features of the new hotel.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
