Drilling services for a BBC Children in need project

Roots Foundation Wales is a volunteer-led charity supporting young people in care, care leavers, children in need and adults transiting to independent living. The charity runs workshops on finance, cooking, healthy relationships and employment. Until 2017, the charity worked out of a small community centre in Swansea. However, the building was not suitable for their growing needs, so it applied to the Children in Need Fund. DIY SOS: The Big Build BBC Children in Need Special took on the challenge to build a new centre for the charity.

DIY SOS: The Big Build BBC Children in Need Special was a combination of Children in Need, the UK charity that raises money for disadvantaged children and young people, and DIY SOS, a British television series that enlists the help of local tradesmen, suppliers, etc., to redevelop homes for deserving families, usually over a short timeframe. Over 11 days, the team constructed a bespoke building for Roots with four studio apartments and a music room.

Coal seams underneath the site necessitated a ground investigation before construction. Structural Soils, an RSK company, provided the rotary drilling rig and specialist crew that drilled boreholes. It concluded that coal seams and evidence of unrecorded mine workings were not present within 75 m of the ground surface. The service and rig, usually worth £20,000, was provided free of charge. When initial investigations proved insufficient, the team worked over the weekend to ensure the project was completed on time.