Project Completed
In May 2011 Raeburn Drilling were awarded the contract to construct 66 geothermal boreholes at the site of Robert Gordon University’s Garthdee campus, Aberdeen. The university plans to construct 34,000m2 of new build development with an estimated cost of £170 million. This will provide new laboratories and teaching facilities within the 
Garthdee campus. The university’s vision is to “Establish the most admired riverside university campus in Europe at Garthdee.”
Four of our tractor mounted drilling rigs and one lorry mounted drilling rig were mobilized to the site. Our experienced drillers drilled through approximately 9 to 13m of soil and fill deposits (comprised of concrete and brick) to reach bedrock. The boreholes were then drilled to a depth of 200 metres, drilling through deposits of psammite (a sandstone which been altered by heat and pressure).
A 40mm diameter polyethylene geothermal loop was then installed and the borehole was backfilled in accordance with the geothermal contractor’s specification.
After the loops were installed quality checks were performed to ensure the integrity of the loops under pressure and unobstructed flow through the loop.
Raeburn have successfully completed the project and hope to return to the university in future.
Raeburn’s “hands on” site management ensured that the project was carried out efficiently and to specification. This was achieved by cooperating effectively with other contractors on site and maintaining a high standard of health & safety.
The Main Contractor on site was Miller Construction and Geothermal International Limited (GIL), the geothermal contractor. Raeburn Drilling were employed by GIL to carry out the drilling works.
