Screw Foundations for The Hut of Wellbeing, Scotland

Overview

Building the base for a remote escape

Reforesting Scotland reached out to RADIX to help provide a low-impact foundation solution to support their community project, The Hut of Wellbeing.

A concept pioneered by Reforesting Scotland member, Tony Carter, The Hut of Wellbeing provides those with life-limiting conditions and demanding caring roles a quiet place to go and have a break.

Falkland Estate’s owner, Ninian Stewart, was keen to support Reforesting Scotland and the project, knowing first-hand the benefits of having an escape into nature. Agreements were made to provide the land to support The Hut of Wellbeing, as well as a number of other small timber-built huts as part of the Hutters Community.

Involved in the design and planning for the project, Duncan Roberts, a Northumberland architect, has been replicating the Scandinavian model to provide a small timber-built hut in a forest setting.

The Hut of Wellbeing project was managed and built by Jodie Adamson and Laura Jaap, carpenters collaborating on natural building projects together and specialising in using local materials in the building of small off-grid structures, especially woodland huts.

Everyone involved wanted to ensure that The Hut of Wellbeing would be built with minimal impact on the natural environment. Located within a secluded woodland area in Fife, it was critical that the foundations cause no damage to the surrounding mature trees and their root systems.

Additionally, The Hut of Wellbeing is sited over an area of sloping and soft ground, so a foundation solution that would bring up levels without extensive excavations that would damage the natural habitat was required.

Solution

A low-impact, sustainable foundation solution

We were delighted to support Reforesting Scotland’s project as part of our commitment to supporting local communities and our county’s carers, providing the RADIX Ground Screws and labour free of charge.

RADIX Ground Screws were installed by pre-drilling holes and driving them into the ground with our powerful hand-turning machines, delivering a low-impact foundation solution that avoided any digging or causing damage to the surrounding trees and their root systems.

Our team installed a total of 16 RADIX Ground Screws and Extendable Screw Piles to support the 7.2m x 3.6m woodland hut, which comprises a sleeping area, a small kitchen, a toilet, and a surrounding decking area to enjoy the natural beauty of Falkland Estate.

A combination of 6 RADIX PRO Ground Screws and 10 RADIX Extendable Ground Screws with 1200mm tips and 1000–1500mm extensions allowed us to reach the load-bearing depths to provide a robust and level base over the area of sloping and softer ground.

Once the foundations were installed, the team behind the Hut of Wellbeing was able to begin building on the ground screw foundations immediately and according to their project schedule.

The Hut of Wellbeing

A group of hutters, architects and builders have worked together to produce a hut design tailored to the needs of the site in Falkland Estate and its range of users. Having raised the money to build the hut from a crowdfunding campaign, a National Lottery grant, and donations from local trusts and local businesses, The Hut of Wellbeing is going ahead to be built over the course of the summer 2023.

Learn more about the Hut of Wellbeing and its development on their website, at www.reforestingscotland.org