


What is Earthwork and Grading?
Earthwork and grading is the process of preparing a site for construction by reshaping, leveling and compacting the soil.
Construction sites must be graded so that water can flow away from buildings and other structures to avoid flooding. It also ensures even ground levels for constructing foundations. Earthwork is often accompanied with grading of landforms such as ditches, berms or embankments which are used to channel water flow away from an area. A ditch could be dug across a slope to carry surface runoff into a nearby river or stream; an embankment might be built near a roadway where it intersects with another slope in order to hold back floodwaters during heavy rainfall events. A berm may also be constructed along a shoreline next to undeveloped land in order to hold surface runoff water out of the way during construction activities.
Grading road surfaces can involve scraping or brushing off loose particles so that new bitumen, asphalt, concrete or stone aggregate can be added and compacted to form a strong, dense bond.
What is grading a site?
Grading a site involves the process of leveling the ground and moving soil to create a surface that is more even. This creates a flat construction site where a foundation for a building will be able to be laid. It also ensures water drains away from buildings and other structures to avoid flooding. Grading landforms such as hills, berms, or embankments can be done in order to channel water away from an area.
Earthwork and grading helps make construction sites safe, even, and functional for anything from residential homes to industrial plants.
What is a site grading plan?
A site grading plan is an initial plan for building a construction project. The site should be graded so that all dangers are assessed and according to regulations. The site should also be graded so that water can flow away from buildings and other structures to avoid flooding.
This includes reshaping, leveling, compacting, and preparing for construction by grading the soil in order to create a flat surface where foundations will be able to be laid. Earthwork is often accompanied with grading of landforms such as ditches or embankments which are used to channel water flow away from areas.
What is the grading process?
The grading process is the process of leveling the ground and moving soil to create a surface that is more even. This creates a flat construction site where a foundation for a building will be able to be laid.
The grading process is the process of leveling the ground and moving soil to create a surface that is more even. This creates a flat construction site where a foundation for a building will be able to be laid.
Earthwork and grading helps make construction sites safe, even, and functional for anything from residential homes to industrial plants.
What is the difference between grading and earthwork?
A site needs to be graded so that all dangers are assessed and according to regulations prior to construction taking place. Earthwork involves the process of reshaping, leveling and compacting soil to create a flat surface for building foundations.
What is the difference between grading and land shoring?
Land shoring is typically categorized by supporting excavation walls with wooden planks or steel piles that are driven into dirt or clay. Land shoring is limited in the amount of support it can provide. Grading and land shoring often go hand in hand, with grading done before land shoring takes place and vice versa.
What is the difference between site grading and soil erosion?
Site grading helps make construction sites safe, even, and functional for anything from residential homes to industrial plants. Soil erosion is a natural process or human-induced process of soil removal from one location on the landscape. It often leads to serious land degradation and is exacerbated by deforestation, drought, flooding, desertification and poor agricultural practices.
What is a good soil for grading?
A good soil for grading is free draining with a low water table. A sloping topography helps to divert water away from buildings and other structures.
Types of soil:
A site grading plan is an initial plan for building a construction project. The site should be graded so that all dangers are assessed and according to regulations. Before starting any type of earthwork it is key to first determine the types of soils on-site. There are three types of soils:
- Cohesive Soil - Type of soil where particles adhere together and can hold its shape when removed from the ground, also referred to as sticky soil.
- Granular Soil - A type of soil that is composed of small round pieces or particles and does not stick together in a mass when it is removed from the ground.
- Fragile Soil - A type of soil that can be easily removed in large quantities when it is dry, however when wet it becomes very strong and clay-like.
About Hinckley, IL
Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in the administrative county of Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough.
Hinckley is about halfway between Leicester and Coventry and borders Nuneaton in Warwickshire. Watling Street forms part of the Hinckley/Nuneaton border and the two towns are contiguous.
Hinckley proper was recorded as having a population of 34,202, in the 2021 census. Hinckley is contiguous with the village of Burbage. The population of the combined urban area of Hinckley and Burbage was 50,712 in 2021.
In 2000, archaeologists from Northampton Archaeology discovered evidence of Iron Age and Romano-British settlement on land near Coventry Road and Watling Street.
Hinckley has a recorded history going back to Anglo-Saxon times; the name Hinckley is Anglo-Saxon: "Hinck" is a personal name and "ley" is a meadow. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, Hinckley was quite a large village, and it grew over the following 200 years into a small market town—a market was first recorded there in 1311. There is evidence of an Anglo-Saxon church – the remnants of an Anglo-Saxon sundial being visible on the diagonal buttress on the south-east corner of the chancel.
Hinckley is around 4 miles (6.4 km) to the south of what is believed to be the location of the Battle of Bosworth, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, which occurred in 1485, and resulted in Henry Tudor's forces defeating those of King Richard III.
In the 17th century, the town developed a hosiery industry, producing stockings and similar items. Hinckley played a prominent part in the English Civil War. Its proximity to several rival strongholds—the royalist garrisons at Caldicote, Ashby de la Zouch and Leicester, and those of the Parliamentarians at Tamworth and Coventry—and the presence of parties of troops or brigands occupying several fortified houses in nearby Warwickshire, led to frequent visits by the warring parties. The local townsfolk were forced to decide whether to declare their allegiances openly or attempt to remain neutral—with the risk of having to pay levies, ransoms, and fines to both sides. In March 1644, Hinckley was occupied by a group of Royalist troops, though they were soon driven out by a force of Parliamentarians, who took many prisoners.
The Civil War years were a particularly unsettled time for the clergy in and around Hinckley. Parsons with parliamentary leanings like Thomas Cleveland, the vicar of Hinckley, suffered sequestration by the Leicester County Committee, like some of his "malignant" neighbours accused of visiting royalist garrisons or preaching against Parliament.
The town was visited by both parliamentary and royalist troops from the rival garrisons, particularly parliamentary troops from Tamworth, Coventry and Astley Castle in Warwickshire. Troops from Coventry garrison were particularly active in the town, taking horses and "free quarter" and availing themselves of 'dyett and Beere', and taking some of the inhabitants hostage for ransom. Royalist troops raided the town to threaten those with parliamentary sympathies. The notorious Lord Hastings of Ashby de la Zouch is recorded to have "coursed about the country as far as Dunton and Lutterworth and took near upon a hundred of the clergymen and others, and carried them prisoners … threatening to hang all them that should take the Parliament's Covenant". Parliamentary newssheets record that on the night of 4 March 1644, Hastings's men brought in "26 honest countrymen from several towns" intending to take them to Ashby de la Zouch, along with a huge herd of cattle, oxen and horses from the country people and a minister named Warner. These prisoners were herded into Hinckley church and asked "in a jeering manner, 'Where are the Round-heads your brethren at Leicester? Why come they not to redeem you?'"
The Parliamentarians responded in a memorable "Skirmish or Great Victory for Parliament". Colonel Grey with 120 foot-soldiers and 30 troopers from Bagworth House rushed to Hinckley and retook the town, routed the Royalists, rescued the cattle and released their imprisoned countrymen. No doubt the inhabitants of the town were as relieved as any when Ashby finally surrendered, as Vicars records, "a great mercy and mighty preservation of the peace and tranquility of all those adjacent parts about it."
At the time of the first national census in 1801, Hinckley had a population of 5,158: twenty years later it had increased by about a thousand. The largest industry in the early 19th century was the making of hosiery and only Leicester had a larger output of stockings. In the district, it was estimated around 1830 that 6,000 persons were employed in this work.
Joseph Hansom built the first Hansom cab in Hinckley in 1835.
In 1899 a cottage hospital was built to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria two years earlier. Money was raised by the local townspeople and factory owners, notably John and Thomas Atkins who also had a hand in building many of the key buildings of Hinckley. The cornerstone was laid by Sir John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston.
This hospital was central to the people of Hinckley and supported by local workers who donated one penny a week for its upkeep until it was adopted by the NHS in 1948. Over the years it expanded to align with the town. The hospital now appears dilapidated in some areas and is threatened with closure, sale and demolition by West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS Properties Ltd.
The hosiery industry remained important for much of the 20th century, and by 1939 the Hinckley and District Hosiery Union alone had 6,000 members.
The area was subject to new housing developments in the 1950s, 1960s and 1990s.
Hinckley's suburban districts include Hollycroft, Middlefield, Stoneygate, Wykin, Forest View, West Hinckley, Saxon Paddock and Druid Quarter. The suburbs of Burbage, Sketchley and Lash Hill are separated from the rest of Hinckley by the railway line.
Hinckley became an urban district under the Local Government Act 1894, covering the ancient parish of Hinckley. In 1934, under a County Review Order, Hinckley urban district expanded to include the ancient parishes of Barwell, Burbage and Earl Shilton and most of Stoke Golding. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 the Hinckley urban district was abolished, becoming an unparished area in the borough of Hinckley and Bosworth. Since then, the civil parishes of Barwell, Burbage, Earl Shilton and Stoke Golding have been re-established.[citation needed] The core urban area remained unparished.
Hinckley is a traditional centre of the hosiery industry. The first framework knitting machine was brought here by Joseph Iliffe in the 17th century and by the 19th century Hinckley was responsible for a large proportion of Britain's hosiery production. Since the Second World War the hosiery industry has steadily shrunk although several textile firms remain in the area. Hinckley & District Museum, housed in a range of former framework knitters' cottages, tells the story of the hosiery industry and contains some examples of framework knitting machines.
Paynes Garages Ltd, one of the oldest family-owned Ford Motor Dealerships in the UK. Established by JA Payne in 1907, the firm became Ford Dealers in 1922. The business remains family owned with Nigel Payne, grandson of the founder, one of the current Directors. Nigel’s son, Sam Payne is one fourth of Leicestershire’s leading quiz team, along with Sam Southall, Edd Hall and Ben Charity.
The town's central location and good links to the UK motorway network have made it a common location for distribution warehouses. Hammonds Furniture, a family owned nationwide fitted furniture company, was established in the town in 1926 by Thomas Hammonds, and currently employs over 850 people in its two Hinckley factories.
Hinckley has housed the Triumph Motorcycles Ltd facility since 1990. Founded in 1902 Triumph is one of the oldest motorcycle producers still in activity. In the summer of 2017 there are plans for the reopening of a visitors centre and cafe, namely 1902, opening six days a week.
Hinckley is home to a well-established creative and technology community with designers, illustrators, artists and photographers taking up residence in the town, particularly in converted buildings such as the renovated Atkins Building (formerly Atkins Hosiery, also home to the Hinckley Times newspaper) and Graphic House on Druid Street, also a former factory converted to modern office and studio use.
Supercar manufacturer Ultima Sports are based in Hinckley. They claim to have set the fastest roadcar lap around the Top Gear test track with their GTR720 model, although it has never appeared on the programme.
The town is equidistant (19 km/12 miles) from Coventry and Leicester and 8 km (5 mi) to the east of Nuneaton. The small town of Ibstock is 18 km (11 mi) to the north on the A447.
The A47 between Nuneaton and Leicester was by-passed around the town during the early 1990s when the Northern Perimeter Road (Normandy Way) was completed. As well as relieving congestion in the town centre, new commercial developments have been built along the route.
Hinckley is also served by the A5 and the M69. The A5 links Hinckley to Tamworth, Staffordshire in the north-west and Milton Keynes in the south-east. The M69 links Hinckley to the nearest cities, Coventry, and Leicester, and the M1 and M6 motorways.
Arriva Midlands are the main operator of bus services within the town centre operating services to Leicester, Burbage, Earl Shilton and Nuneaton from their depot in Barwell.
Roberts Travel Group operate service 159 to Coalville while Stagecoach in Warwickshire also operate a number of other routes around Hinckley.
Hinckley railway station is on the Nuneaton to Leicester section of the Birmingham to Peterborough Line and has regular services between Birmingham and Leicester via Narborough and Nuneaton. Journeys to London can be made via the West Coast Main Line through Nuneaton to London Euston or the Midland Main Line via Leicester to London St Pancras.
The nearest airports are East Midlands and Birmingham.
The local radio station, Fosse 107, serves the town and the surrounding area. The town's local newspaper is the weekly paid-for Hinckley Times, which is published every Wednesday. The Hinckley Times regularly publish news stories on their own section of the Leicester Mercury's website, LeicestershireLive. Castle Mead Radio is a hospital radio station which serves the patients and staff of Hinckley's two main hospitals.
Hinckley & Burbage Photographed, set up in 2012, is an ongoing social media visual documentary about the Hinckley and Burbage area of Leicestershire, using photographs, videos and stories about Hinckley, its people and the changing landscape.
Hinckley Past & Present is a website setup in February 2014 for local history, current events, contacting people, and photos.
In 2015 HDPP (Hinckley District Past & Present) was born. This is predominantly a Facebook group. This has become a very popular group that has over 12000 members and growing. Reuniting old friends and work colleagues, raising and donating over £21,000 to date to local good causes. In the last year regular twice weekly live streams have been a big feature of this interactive group and working for the benefit of the whole community.
The town has had six notable football clubs over the years:
Hinckley Rugby Club, was formed in 1893 and has been based at the Leicester Road Sports ground since 1968. The club has played in rugby league since 1987. The first team currently play in National 2 North (level 4).
Hinckley Ladies' Netball Club is based at the Leicester Road Sports Ground and has four senior teams in the Coventry and Warwickshire Netball League. Hinckley Gymnastics Club, established in 1971, is based at Clarendon Park.
Hinckley Basketball Club was founded in 1974, and included staff, ex-students and students of John Cleveland College. The team folded after the 2012–13 season, because of player shortage, then reformed in 2014. It plays home games at Green Towers club on Richmond Road. The two club teams are the Hinckley 69ers in Division 2, and Hinckley Hail in Division 4, of the Leicestershire men's league.
Hollycroft Park, in the centre of Hinckley, contains two tennis courts, a golf pitch'n'putt and a lawn bowls green with pavilion. Greentowers, a self-funded charity, is a youth club at Richmond Park which contains a climbing wall, skate park, astro turf pitch, and a BMX track.[citation needed]
On 8 May 2014, the Hinckley to Bedford second stage of The Women's Tour Great Britain cycle race, departed from Hinckley.
Heart of England Boxing Club is based on Druid Street in the town
The main primary schools in the area are Battling Brook CP, Richmond, Hinckley Parks, St. Peter's Catholic, St. Mary's Church of England, Westfield Infant and Junior Schools, Burbage Infant and Junior Schools and Sketchley Hill Primary School (in Burbage). The high (secondary) schools include Redmoor, St Martin's Catholic Academy (in Stoke Golding), Hastings (in Burbage) and Hinckley Academy. Hinckley Academy also operates a sixth form. North Warwickshire & Hinckley College, a Further Education college, is also in the town. The only other major college in the area is Heath Lane Academy (Earl Shilton). Within Hinckley there is also Dorothy Goodman Special School that caters for both juniors and seniors with disabilities, with units integrated within other local schools.
Simon de Montfort's banner, described as the 'Arms of Honour of Hinckley', per pale indented argent and gules, is shown in stained glass in Chartres Cathedral, and is used in Hinckley's coat of arms, local sports teams and other organisations. Combined with Montfort's personal coat of arms, it forms part of the club crest for the town's football club Hinckley A.F.C.
Concordia Theatre, of 400 seats and regular productions, is near the centre of the town in Stockwell Head. The local council holds an annual 'Proms in The Park' event.
French organist and composer Louis Vierne gave a recital and stayed one night in Hinckley while on a tour of England, and later wrote a carillon piece for organ called "The Bells of Hinckley", inspired by a carillon of bells he heard there. It is the last movement of his fourth suite of Vingt-quatre pièces de fantaisie.
The town is mentioned in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 2 (Act 5, Scene 1):
Hinckley is mentioned in the Monty Python sketch "Olympic Hide and Seek Final" as the home town of one of the competitors.
The Simon Pegg and Nick Frost comedy horror series Truth Seekers has a major plot line centered around Hinckley. The episode 'The Hinckley Boy' sees Frost's character travel to the town.
Hinckley was known to its residents for many years as "Tin 'At" (tin hat). It is reputed that, many years ago, one of the itinerant sheep drovers bragged that he could drink a hat full of ale. The local landlord put this man to the test by getting the local blacksmith to make a tin hat, which he then filled with ale. Thereafter, the town became known as "Tin 'At". Another explanation is that the people of Hinckley used to place buckets on water pumps to keep them clean and prevent the spread of illness, the bucket obviously being the "Tin 'At". A tin hat can be seen on top of the flag pole which sits on the roof of the Coral branch at the corner of Castle Street and Market Place. There is also a pub called The Tin Hat, and an annual fair held each December in the town centre called The Tin Hat Fair.
Hinckley is twinned with Le Grand-Quevilly, France, and joined with Herford, Germany in the early 1970s. Hinckley is also twinned with Midland, Ohio, United States.