SIS Plus Maintenance remove penetrating tree roots

The Client - Coventry School Foundation

Coventry School Foundation engaged SIS Plus to address penetrating tree roots that were causing damage to their hockey pitch at Bablake Playing Fields in Coventry.

THE BACKGROUND

Tree roots had penetrated the hockey pitch, causing significant deviations that rendered the surface unsafe.

WHAT WE DID – ROOT REMOVAL AND SURFACE REPAIR

SIS Plus tackled the issue with a multi-step process:

Surface Excavation – Sections of the carpet, insitu shock pad, and porous macadam were removed to expose the aggregate base.
Root Excavation – Excavated to a depth of 250mm to uncover and remove the tree roots.
Root Barrier Installation – A root barrier membrane is inserted to prevent future growth.

Once the roots were addressed, the team proceeded to restore the pitch:

Backfill: Refilled the area with clean, graded stone.

Surface Restoration:

Levelled and compacted the stone.
Installed a new 40mm porous macadam layer.
Re-paved a new section of the insitu shockpad.
Repositioned and glued the original carpet to restore the playing surface.

To prevent the issue from recurring, an 80m-long, 1m-deep root barrier trench was added to the perimeter of both hockey pitches. This effectively prevents tree roots from infiltrating the surface again.

The Outcome

Safety Restored: The pitch was transformed into a safe and playable surface.
Cost-Effective Solution: Instead of requiring a completely new pitch, the existing surface was successfully renovated.
Quick Turnaround: The project was completed within one week, minimising downtime.

This was a large and complex project for our maintenance team, but one that we are certainly equipped to deal with. We have built an excellent relationship with John and the team at Bablake and are delighted to have been able to assist in getting their pitch back up and running.

Luke Edwards, SIS Plus Director

We’re really pleased with the work SISPlus did for us at Bablake Playing Fields. When we first noticed the protruding roots on our hockey surface we worried we would need a whole new pitch. However, the SIS team has done a fantastic job by completely renovating the space into a useable pitch again. You’d never know they had been here!

John Robson, Head of Estates, Coventry School Foundation

Sports Surface Maintenance

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