'We made long days, for the shortest possible inconvenience period'

With the installation of the pile foundations, the first work on Dune Hotel Breezand began in October 2018. The work was carried out by Pit Beton.

Director Leo Walraven explains that his company was involved in the project earlier. "We also had a role in the preliminary process and, at the request of Bouwgroep Peters - a regular client - we contributed our knowledge to the best possible execution, fitting within the available budget. For example, a basement was planned under the building. This was eventually dropped, which had consequences for the foundation. Together with the structural engineer and others, we came up with a new plan with longer piles for that." In the end, he says, the specific knowledge of the various parties in the preliminary process led to an optimal solution.

According to Walraven, the surrounding area had to be taken into account when driving the piles. "Near the construction site there are a number of houses and another hotel. We therefore decided to make long days, to keep the inconvenience period as short as possible. We installed the piles within two weeks, which is extremely fast."

A total of 214 piles went into the ground, some of them 12 meters, some of them 16.5 meters. The square piles had three different sizes: 250 mm, 290 mm and 320 mm. That the installation of the foundation went smoothly was partly due to the good preconditions, Walraven concludes. "Logistically, everything was well organized, the construction site was easily accessible and there was sufficient space."