The Foundation Choice for Later Living Developments
Retirement and later living developments require foundation solutions that prioritise stability, efficiency, and long-term durability. Among the various options available, piled raft foundations are the ideal choice for these projects due to their ability to address complex site conditions, optimise costs, and streamline construction.
Later living and care home developments in the UK are increasingly challenged by sites with complex ground conditions, adding another layer of difficulty to an already demanding construction process. Many suitable development sites, particularly those in urban or previously industrial areas, present geo-technical issues such as contaminated land, high groundwater levels, poor soil quality, or unstable ground.
These conditions necessitate ground investigations, remediation work, and often bespoke foundation solutions. For care homes, where the structural integrity, accessibility, and safety of the building are paramount, there is little margin for error, and ground-related complications can have serious knock-on effects on programme delivery. A complete design-and-build foundation solution can alleviate all these concerns, while minimising risk and cost.
Bannister Road, Southampton, Later Living Development
Key Benefits of Piled Raft Foundations for Later Living Developments
- Efficient Load Distribution
For larger slab projects, piled raft foundations distribute structural loads between the piles and raft, reducing stress on the soil and ensuring even weight distribution. This makes them ideal for multi-story buildings typically found in retirement complexes and makes them more versatile and efficient than a typical pile & ground-beam, or deep strip footing design. - Cost and Material Savings
Piled raft foundations can reduce costs by up to 40%, typically they reduce the number of piles and materials required. For example, we delivered a cost-effective solution for the later living development in Farnborough Road, Nottingham by mitigating the requirement for heave precautions for over 50% of the site, offering huge cost savings to the client. - Streamlined Construction
Design-and-build solutions eliminate inefficiencies caused by over-complicated designs, late engagement of specialists and misaligned teams. Often, larger slabs can come with the risk of introducing too many piles into the design, with a lot of drainage and services leading to build-ability issues on site. A design and build foundation specialist will produce a more harmonious & efficient solution, reducing pile numbers throughout the design to create space for drainage and services, avoiding unnecessary complexities, making the project as easy to build on site as possible. - Adaptability to Challenging Conditions
Piled raft foundations easily handle weak soils, high water tables, and expansive soils. At Alton Care Home in Hampshire, we utilised this system to stabilise the building on challenging ground, meeting safety and durability requirements.
Nazareth House Later Living Development
Piled Rafts offer the ultimately flexibility in terms of pile placement, which make them a far more adaptable system than ground-beams.
- Compliance with Warranty Providers
In some instances, Later living developments must meet strict standards set by warranty providers like NHBC, LABC, Premier Guarantee, etc. When designed and built correctly by a specialist, piled raft foundations align with these requirements, avoiding design and non-compliance issues. - Sustainability and Minimal Disruption
Pile raft foundations significantly reduce the environmental impact by minimising excavation and using fewer materials. Additionally, faster installation means less disruption on-site, ensuring smoother project delivery and a more sustainable construction process.
Why Choose a Design-and-Build Approach?
From comprehensive ground investigations to tailored designs, opting for a design-and-build service package allows all project risks to be under a single provider. Design-and-build foundation services specialise in delivering solutions that save time, reduce costs, and eliminate common construction headaches.
For example, our unique design methodology avoids granular piling platforms when ground CBR’s are 2% or greater with our concrete blinding platform. This cuts cost & minimises environmental impact with temporary works calculations provided to give full compliance.
Kenn Road Care Home Piled Raft Foundation
Secure, Sustainable Foundations for Later Living
Piled raft foundations are the smart, sustainable choice for retirement and later living construction. They offer efficient load distribution, cost savings, and adaptability to complex conditions, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget. SPEEDECK’s reputation & expertise as market leader in design-and-build solutions guarantees the long-term safety and stability needed for these vital developments, creating secure, welcoming environments for residents.
A selection of our later living project case studies can be found here.
Want to discuss your next project with us to see what savings we can offer, drop us a message today.
