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Welfare facilities at former Woolies HQ get a little help from Saniflo
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The former headquarters of British iconic retailer Woolworths located at 242 Marylebone Road in London, is a striking building constructed of red bricks with a facade of Portland Stone to the front elevation. It is currently being transformed into homes, offices and retail premises, including an events auditorium, rooftop bar, coffee shop, cyclist zone and health and wellbeing amenities. While the restoration is underway, the contractor has installed site welfare facilities, including several WC blocks, for the construction workforce.
Initially, the WCs relied on gravity drainage to discharge the waste to a soil and vent pipe some 40m away. However, blockages occurred and there were concerns that the situation would worsen as the full complement of workers arrived on site. An enquiry for a solution was lodged with the Saniflo technical team who swiftly visited the site to scope out the requirement and recommended a Zehnder Kompaktboy Duplex lifting station. The unit was able to installed below the WC blocks, in the basement, allowing for optimum gravity fall and pumping the waste back to the main sewer. The powerful, 3-phase pump, which can be integrated into the building management system if required, has two vortex pumps as a fail-safe precaution. This feature provides continuity of operation, which is critical to the building works.
Tim Pestell, Managing Director of Saniflo is delighted to be involved in another project in the Capital, which is preserving iconic and historical buildings for future generations. He says: “As a company we enjoy being involved with change of use projects such as these. Since the installation of the pump, the drainage issues have been solved and the refurbishment is going forward without the worry of failing WCs. Saniflo is often involved in ensuring important projects go ahead by providing pumps, lifting stations and macerators for site welfare facilities and for any number of building and renovation projects. There really is a Saniflo product for every job. Our technical team is always on hand to provide advice and it’s always advisable to speak to the team at the outset of project to avoid potential problems.”
