Uniquely Sized New Build Mat Pro Makes its Mark in Homebuilding Sector
Long-established market leading timber access mat provider, Birketts Bogmats, has launched a new European mat into the market called the Build Mat Pro, which is proving an ideal solution for housebuilders and developers.
The new 5m x 1m x 85mm European mat was developed as the solution to a regular dilemma faced by contractors and building firms not knowing whether a 70mm-thick or a 100mm-thick ground mat was right for their project.
With homebuilders generally just using bog mats to support lighter equipment, such as telehandlers and concrete mixers, there was a clear market requirement for a mat with a thickness somewhere between the two available options. Using its 40 years’ experience in the sector, Birketts determined that an 85mm-thick mat was the answer.
The competitively priced mats, available to developers across the country from Birketts depots UK-wide, have already been successfully used at new home developments, where they have proved popular due to their quality, both sale and hire options, and next-day delivery when required.
Build Mat Pro used by Galion
One such project was at Galions’ LakeView development in Keinton Mandeville, Somerset, where 27 unique 3, 4 and 5-bedroom properties are being built on a tranquil site, close to the medieval village centre.
The underlying principle of this development is to work with the landscape, rather than against it, with each bespoke home built in local Blue Lias stone and in such a way as to complement the environment. The development will have a specially created wildlife meadow and orchard within its surrounding features and is being designed with a low carbon footprint and the needs of local wildlife in mind.
For these reasons, when a temporary haul road was required to enable site traffic to traverse waterlogged land and water-retaining earth, and enhance site safety by improving vehicle stability, a solution other than topsoil excavation and imported stone was sought.
Galion turned to British family firm, Birketts Bogmats, using a substantial number of its new, robust and long-lasting 85-mm thick mats, the Build Mat Pro to lay a value-for-money, temporary access road to the site.
The choice was swayed by the fact this would have a low impact on the substrata and there would be no need to waste materials by later removing stone. The lightweight and maintenance-free bogmat solution will allow the haul road to be simply lifted up, after use. By minimising the impact of work vehicles, some habitats will also have been saved.
Galion Homes’ Tim Barnes, says: “We are always seeking to do things in a more sustainable and lower-impact way and Birketts’ bog mats enabled us to avoid using the stone we would typically lay down, to form a haulage road.
“Without these mats, we would have struggled to form a haul road without incurring ongoing refurbishment costs and would have always had the potential for the road to fail as a possible on-site issue. By using Birketts’ ground mats, we have created a robust haul road that will be easy to remove at the end of its use.”
Birkett Bogmats’ managing director, Juanita Watts, says: “We are delighted to hear that our new-sized bogmats have been such a success on the Galion Homes site. We know that this homebuilder has an ethos that revolves around “embrace the unique” and that is what they have done by using our 85mm-thick mats, which are a true industry first and very much focused on making the life of homebuilders simpler.
“We hope to supply our new and unique mats to many more home developers, backing our product’s credentials with the superb and personal customer service on which we have built our reputation and offering developers a constant supply of mats, due to our considerable volume of stock across our product range.
For more information about the Build Mat Pro – mats for construction, please click here.
