Over 120,000 bricks dating back to 1882 have been rescued during the construction of a new primary school in Ealing, London, by BAM Construction.

The new ARK Academy Primary school is being built by contractor BAM Construction. As part of its commitment to sustainability, BAM commissioned a pre-demolition reclamation survey, because the new school is being built on the site of the old one.

Peter Maguire, BAM's senior site manager, said: "We were told that despite their age the bricks were fit for re-use as a material. We took the decision to salvage them along with the roof slates instead of crushing them. This preserves the heritage of these Yellow Stock bricks and reduces waste on site."

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The demolition contractor, Redhead Demolitions of Elstree, set up a reclamation area on site. The mortar was removed and the bricks cleaned by hand, at a rate of over 1000 per day, before being stacked onto pallets and removed for re-use later. BAM also discovered that Welsh roof slates could be reclaimed.

Mr Maguire added: "Being sustainable isn't really about a single dominant technology or technique. It is about paying attention to details and taking numerous small steps to act according to the principles you advocate."

(CD)