Best of Both Worlds

The Hammerman Equipment - Plastic Piling Company Limited News and PR from The Hammerman Equipment - Plastic Piling Company Limited - Published 15 December 2015 Combining hard and soft engineering, combining natural and made materials, this sort of combination will often result in the best solutions
It is well established now that plastic sheet piling is a viable alternative to steel trench sheeting, sheet piling, timber and geotextiles. In common with steel piling and trench sheeting once installed the major critic is that it does not look natural.

The choice therefore seems to be between a natural looking but short lived structure vs a hard engineered long lasting one.

This need not be so and for the last 9 years we have uniquely promoted a range of plastic sheet piles that are driven in conjunction with timber posts. Benefiting in terms of cost, longevity and ease of installation.

The patented concept uses sustainable softwood where it will last, and plastic piling where it would not.

This combination offering the best carbon footprint of our range and so combining soft and hard engineering is feasible.

Moving on from this such plastic piling can be used below water level, with the post extending above, ready to received coir rolls. This provide a visual appearance of soft engineering, but benefits from the unseen, long lasting hard engineering structure below.
For those that prefer to look of timber paneling, a recent trend is the use of a timber cladding on the front of the plastic piling. This way when the timber rots, it is only the fascia, not the piling that needs replacing and so is much simpler cheaper maintenance.

Plastic piling does have in the short term a fairly smooth and shiny surface and so in addition to the vertical wall design can appear artificial. This is perhaps why our most popular colour for plastic piling is brown.

There is now much development of how to circumvent this issue with research ongoing and new product surfaces trialed. Some examples of this are below, and show great promise in providing a more natural appearance without emulating a wood grain pattern.

It is important to constantly improve and develop new ways to improve the longevity of retaining structures, revetments and erosion control structures. The greenest approach is surely one that requires little to no maintenance and once installed last a very long time.

In this vane also check out our JETFilter products - The maintainable weephole filters that eliminate hydrostatic pressure, whilst preventing back erosion of soil fines.

Our contact details are below for information on our unique and original product portfolio.

www.plasticpiling.co.uk 01543 677290
The greenest approach is surely one that requires little to no maintenance and once installed last a very long time.

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