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| News from site November 2001 to January 2003 |
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| 2 January 2003 | ||
“I think it runs at right angles” came his reply. I could not believe it. In the gathering gloom I went to take a look. Sure enough it was going the wrong way. Cock-up gargantuana encore une fois! “What do you want me to do” said Adrian – well that is a decision for your company. It was obvious that lifting them into position would make it very difficult to rectify the problem. Adrian tried calling Mark ****** but this was Friday 13th December in the afternoon and his phone was turned off. Adrian got no response throughout the weekend – finally on Monday Adrian said – can I use your phone Tom? The mobile signal in our area is poor you see but Adrian appeared to be agitated and unthrilled that no one in the company had been available for such an extended period of time. Having got through he was told everyone was in a Production meeting – this went into a management meeting – which for all we knew might go into a meeting about meetings. Adrian let rip and finally managed to communicate with Mark ******. Having advised Mark of the issues at 8am he then waited an age for a response and eventually got one at 2.14pm. An email was sent to Phil shortly afterwards - "We
have been asked by Tom to stop work on the roof as he is stating
that the plywood grain to the external wings is positioned the wrong
way round. We have checked the specification and nowhere does it
indicate the direction of the grain. We have constructed the panels
in this manner to create a continuous circle pattern to the external
view." [If anyone has any idea what
the **** this means do let me know on a postcard best suggestion
wins a bottle of Malvern water. - Tom] Phil’s reply: Have
got your e-mail regarding the external panels for the gull wing
roof.
Well this business of it not being in the spec frankly just amazed me. We had specified long grain ply not cross grain – the nonsense of it not being included in the Spec reduces all specifications to farce. Here is my suggestion sample spec for our roof fabricator: ----- Use Pasloe nails with epoxy resin “tips” to join the timbers. The “tips” are the pointy ends that need to enter the timber first. Hit the flat end of the nail with a hammer. If using a nail gun see separate manual. When using screws turn clockwise if desiring to penetrate timber – use a screwdriver that can vary in size. For No6 woodscrews of 2” or more use a battery operated drill with appropriate attachments (see Oxford English Dictionary for any words you do not understand – available from Smiths Bookshops. – take NVQ before starting – pass must be gained– do not pass go) sourced from Jewsons. Tel:No for local branch is 66776677 – manual for use of the telephone under separate attachment. Well of course it all ends up a bloody farce and the spec will need to be delivered by truck and will be of the same length as Saddam’s recent submission to NATO. Another email was sent to Mark by Phil -
Have not had a reply to the following e-mail from yesterday. We
need an urgent response please. I would also like a reply to the
second e-mail, again attached at the end for information.
The previous evening Talkback arrived to do some more filming. I noticed lights being put onto the roof and asked Kevin; what’s the subject – “oh the roof Tom.” It was a fairly depressing exchange. Rain was dripping through the roof – the floor below was soaked – the previous weekend it had rained consistently and the effects were evident. I imagined all the damage being done to the back of the ceiling boards – it did not bear thinking about. The contractor was arguing at every point where a cockup occurred. We had another site meeting the following day – more opportunity for dispute. I had fired off more emails off to Farrell O’Nolan the Director at Pearse who is also a Director of their Subsidiary. No response again – sadly not a first. The meeting concluded a number of issues outlined in an aide memoire to Mark and others. The overhangs are to be corrected – and very quickly the scarce new ply arrived at site by courier. SHOCK! and more about this next time. On Monday 6th four guys will be at site hoping to crane the wings into position the following day. As a result of matters that happened over the holiday this now seems unlikely. I have to fit an amazing material to the roof in preparation for the Steel cladders – TYVEK Proclad. More about this later. Happy New Year everyone. |
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| 7 December 2002 | ||
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In September the roof fabricators started to reassemble some of the panels. We requested photographs of the cramped panels to be sent to us as we wanted to see what was happening and which panels needed to be reglued. Did we receive this information – no! A representative of the fabricator said they had been filmed by Talkback and we could get the images from them. No – don’t say anything – it would be wasted on me – I’ve already discussed it! Eventually I was called to say the assembly had been completed and the roof was sitting on trailers in their factory. Having just had the driest September on record we immediately walked into the wettest October and November on record. The roof needed to be erected in dry and still conditions. The load on the truck was officially a wide one, which needed special clearance from the police of each county. The reason for it being a wide load was the decision by the fabricator to link 3 panels together under factory conditions, therefore having only 4 lifts at site. The wide load complicated matters to an extent – but the weather remained the biggest issue. We waited weeks to get a weather ‘window.’ The Met office information was useless. It is clear that over more than 2 days you cannot secure an accurate forecast. The third day always managed to be the opposite of the forecast issued by them. We wanted 3 clear days ideally. In the end I called the media department of the Met office (which is part of the MOD incidentally) to be told that to get an accurate forecast I should invest £17 and speak to a forecaster – this I did on 2 occasions and the information still proved inaccurate. Believe me get a beetle and a matchbox – watch what the cows are doing and all the old wives tales – they are as accurate as the Met Office and less costly. On the Met Office Website they ask; HOW ARE WE DOING? They then advise the surfer “brilliantly.” I think this is called - Asked and Answered in law - They invite no comment, which is telling. I phoned to say I wanted to comment, and also wrote in – guess what – no one has returned to me to ask about their wretched service. I’m sorry for anyone dependent on this service – its useless. Well eventually on the 7th November the roof arrived – as did the crane. Fitters without tools also arrived. The reason for this according to the fabricator was because they only had 24 hours notice. Well they had known they were only going to get 24 hours notice for almost 5 weeks as a result of not being able to get accurate forecasts from the Met Office. The Ainscough crane arrived a little late. It had been ordered by the fabricator but they had only supplied the driver with their office number – not a number for the fitters on site, so he was unable to call and advise of his hold up. Does this surprise you? The crane pulled in and set up and was ready at 08.31. He asked who the appointed person was (Alan from the fabricators) because he wanted to get his Method Statement and the Documentation signed by the “Appointed Person.” Alan, unknown to me, had gone to Hemel Hempstead to rent some tools – if he had told me I would have directed him to a place 4 miles away – not 14 miles away. No lift could occur without Alan signing things off. Chris asked for the Banksman’s certificate. None of the fitters had one on them – it had to be faxed. The fax rang and started printing very slowly. I received a page of dots that took 12 minutes to receive. Eventually after several calls the full certificate was received. Time ebbed away on the first clear dry day we had seen for weeks. Eventually at about 10.15 Alan reappeared to be shocked that sections were not already up. He seemed unaware that he had to sign anything – and when Chris presented Alan with the documentation to be signed by the ‘authorised person’ Alan histrionically tore it up and said he was not signing anything like that and had never need to before. More calls to the fabricators office more standing around – more time being lost. The following day had been forecast reasonable two days earlier and was now looking grim. The fabricators had estimated that most of the roof would be up on day 1 – with finishing off day 2. If only! Ainscough then asked Alan for the fabricators method statement – you guessed it – there wasn’t one. More calls – fax rumbles with Mark back at the office writing it all. Eventually Ainscough got the required documentation signed and completed and the first lift was ready to go. I became convinced that I was in the middle of a repertory theatre performance, a Brian Rix Production with steroids. No plans had been sent with the artic drivers – (just like the northern roof). More calls to the fabricators office. The two artics had been readied for unloading and then someone said the trucks were about to be unloaded in the wrong order – so positions were changed, more calls made etc, etc. The fitters were having to speculate which sections went where as they had no drawings. This sucked me in as I was concerned about time being lost. So here I am paying for the job to be done, and then doing elements of it myself to assist the guys at the sharp end. My drawings are different to the fabricators production and fit drawings but I was able to assist to an extent. I watched and participated in all this with increasing ill temper. I had been to see the fabricator weeks earlier and pointed out the shambolic performance to date. I felt that the office had let down the people who arrived at site to fit their product. Here we were again – exactly the same cock-ups happening encore une fois. How can you send men to site without tools and drawings explaining where and how the product is to be positioned? Shortly before the first lift was finally made, Trevor from the fabricators arrived with drawings – hurrah – why were they not posted to site weeks earlier ready for the men to look at as soon as they arrived? Can anyone tell me – no of course not – silly question really. Eventually at 11.31 the first lift happened. Yes – that’s 11.31 - got it? Three after the crane was ready to make the first lift. Yes that’s 3 hours – when time is essential! The first section was gently manoeuvred into position – a bit of heave and shove and it was there. The second arrived and proved altogether easier despite the fact that the slings that had been put through had been poorly connected to the crane chains causing the section to twist. I took a photograph of this and also yelled at Alan pointing out the problem – amnesia will have set in by now and he will have forgotten – my digital camera has not though. We had been assured that the sections were cross-braced – this one was not. A second section arrived. I went to level 3 so I could look at the underneath side of the roof – immediately I noticed that there were substantial differences in the shadow gaps of the fixed sections. I commented on the differences to Trevor and Alan. A 300mm timber drill bit was required to fit the sections to the steel structure. Alan had learned from his previous error of leaving site and came to see me. Despite the unusual length a bit was on site 1 hour later thanks to a couple of calls and Judy making a trip to High Wycombe. The company expects to be billed for this and other items that were sourced during their unsuccessful visits to site. The first section was fitted to the steel and not where it should have been. I pointed this out and asked who asked for it to be fitted in this position to be told it was Trevor. I was then called by the Contracts Manager – Mark asking what I wanted doing with the balance of the roof as the weather the following day was not favourable any longer and light was fast disappearing. Now this is a very naughty request to make of a client – as Mark very well knew. I responded – “it’s your call you are responsible for supply and fit and the condition of the roof until handover. Leave it to you.” Mark then instructed they lift the other sections into position – a move I considered unwise and it appears I was not alone. The reason for this decision was to save crane cost not to protect the roof. To ensure damage did not happen to the roof it would have been safer to leave it on the ground and cover the pieces in thick polythene. With all sections lifted onto the steel – the crane driver was then asked to lift one off so a swap could be undertaken – it was dusk. Only one section was bolted. The lot was covered in polythene – and gales were forecast for the weekend. These duly arrived. The following week the fit team turned up again but the weather was poor. It was still possible to undertake work to one roof that seemed to have been forgotten about on the northern wall. The guys did this very well and most efficiently. Others undertook another roof/floor that had not been done because of steel fixing needing to happen. The same company also started the ‘link roof’, which was to have been done by the fabricator as the roof cladders needed to get access to the area. David Grindley, Philip and me looked at the sections dangling unfixed at approximately 20 feet. It was frankly amazing they had not blown away during the gales. The shadow gaps ranged between 7 and 25mm. Some ply boards had been used upside down – sections were showing signs of delamination, panels appeared to be of different tolerances – things did not line up. Certain panels were not to specification of class B ply. I requested Mark come to site to look at the issues. He did with Trevor on the same day that two guys from the factory were also at site to resolve matters. Adrian and Stephen inspire confidence – a couple of apprentice-trained joiners who know how to read plans and don’t need to be hand held around site. The day that Mark and Trevor arrived a crane was also meant to arrive – but guess what – Alan had not ordered it so the boys could only get on with bits. Does this surprise? By now my fuse with the administration of the business was non-existent. I had sent an email to Farrell O’Nolan, the Financial Director of a large Irish engineering firm called Pearse, of which the roof fabricator is a subsidiary.
“Matters worsen significantly in regard to the roof ******
has produced.
Philip, Trevor and Mark stood under the roof and looked at the complaints – I was in the site hut getting on with the myriad of things I needed to do. Adrian and Stephen were lifting the Kaliko gutter to rectify the lack of fall in the ply base. The gutter was puddling badly by up to 20mm at the most easterly end. Stephen ran a line to get complete accuracy – and finished it off. Mike Masters from the guttering material company arrived a couple of days later to reapply new material to the problem area and also do the circulation link that was finished by Adrian and Stephen – and done very well! Brooding in the site hut I thought of the good chaps up on the roof being utterly let down by the office based management. Sad and hugely annoying for everyone at the point of delivery. I can think of several companies that would pay Adrian and Stephen very good money to work for them. I came out of the hut and yelled a few to the point facts at Mark and Trevor and for that matter at Philip. It went something like – “get all the issues sorted or none of them. If you decide you don’t want to do the former then take the roof away without delay.” As the roof in the Northern area is now largely complete we can get on with rendering and glazing as well as insulation. The southern area cannot progress at all until the roof is on. All measurements for the glass come from the roof – not the cills. So until the roof fabricators complete to satisfaction we cannot progress with glazing manufacture or rendering. The fabricators have known this since the beginning. Adrian and Stephen returned to site this week and made significant progress with the shadow gaps. The fabricators have worked out precisely what is causing the variation. A crane turned up on day 1 and moved things around to facilitate work on the sections. In effect all the sections are being separated (12) with packers being adjusted and reconnected. As single sections these can be moved about on the steels quite easily and there is no need for a crane. Three sections remain on the ground, which facilitates the movement of the other 9. It takes time for these to be worked on – on day one the crane was dismissed and told he would be required next week. The following day a rumble of a crane was heard at 7.30. I went to see if it was for us or another job in the area. It was Ainscough again – he parked up the road as I had not opened our gates. Apparently the office had ordered it. The office had not communicated with Adrian who is running the job. I spoke to our glaziers to see if they could use it yet but unfortunately they are still a few days off a crane. Sadly its yet another example of the endemic problems the business has. By the time they get these issues corrected they will have so blighted their name that it will be a slow growth prospect.
During all this fracas with the roof the renderers have arrived – Peter Fitzgerald (Guvnor) Baz (brother) and Malcolm. The gear to be applied arrived from Weber SBD part of the giant St Gobain organisation for which Peter had at one time worked and maintains very good relationships with. I had chosen this company’s product for several reasons. Firstly I liked the fact that the expanded polystyrene panels are fixed to the walls with an ingenious device (belt and braces really but its worth it in my opinion) instead of just relying on the fixing mix. The company has a render with a slightly rougher mix than absolutely smooth which can so easily show the poly panels in certain conditions. The company is pleasant to deal with and their technical assistance in the form of Keith Hansen has been very good. The last coat of the material that is applied is a through coat paint render which gives you a low maintenance finish. At ground level extruded polystyrene is used (for water resistance) and a polymer based adhesive mix, which is also water resistant. Above DPC it’s expanded polystyrene, which is then coated with the render. The boys just vanished around the back of the building and got on with it. A lot of banter, and measured professionalism. When Peter had a problem he arrived with the problem and a solution, which was up for discussion. Let me tell you this is very helpful and just what you need in a busy environment. If truth be told we may have got Peter to site a little too early but he cracked on and finished most of the Northern building to penultimate coat. I got a heater in (solid fuel) which on the odd very cold day helps the material to be worked a little better. Given all the chats that were going on it became like a mothers meeting in the warm while the rest of us were freezing. Malcolm threatened to wear shorts and a colourful shirt – so I started calling them the ‘girls’ to which they surprisingly responded. During my discussions with Saint Gobain I met the area manager Julian Still. Julian has a staccato sense of humour. Driving down to a local hostelry for a small Malvern Water with him I pointed to a house on the hill and mentioned that a retired bonker (a) lived there – his response was – yes John Ketley lives at the end of my road. Well Julian if you ever read this would you please would you get your John K to assist with accurate weather forecasting. Webers
product contributes very significantly to the finished look of the
building as well as the huge SAP rating the property achieved 103.4.
I’m looking forward to seeing it in its entirety. The Glaziers Also during the fracas with the roof others were also getting on with their roles. I decided that we were going to use Pilkington’s glass – for among other reasons their principle competitor was singularly unattracted to the job and the second reason is I like the green tint of the glass. Pilkingtons supply glass to independent glaziers and undertake no fitting themselves. Of these glaziers a number are accredited installers of Pilkington Ply glass. We had also decided to use a steel window frame system that is very cleverly engineered. Our chosen glazier is not only an accredited Pilkington Planar ™ (structural glass) Installer but also accredited in the window profile we intended to use. Our
house is 60% glass in the vertical surfaces – the most glazed
house by percentage in the country I understand. Initially it was
thought that the glass was going to have to be fabricated in the
Pilkington factory in Germany because of the large sizes. The largest
on site so far weighs in at over 340 kgs. Eventually it was manufactured
in the UK and is on the cusp of what the UK line in St Helens can
produce. We are using sealed units that are fabricated at Pilkington
Ply ™ Glass and which are called Pilkington Insulight ™
which incorporate Pilkington K Glass ™ . Mick and his team arrived, as did deliveries of glass on stillages. A large JCB telehandler was delivered to site to lift from the road onto site. Space was becoming a premium – and reorganisation was required. Powder coated steel frames were delivered that lifted into position. Progress was being made. The steel frames we used have a very well designed thermal break. The frame is thin and being steel can accommodate huge weight. We have also hidden the frames beyond the line of the structure – in other words frames will not be seen – creating that wonderful connectivity with the garden. Many of the window frames travel through 2 floors. Between the ground and first floor a panel is fixed to (in part) support the upper frame. These panels are insulated and are of such a weight one suspects they have been filled with sand! As many of the windows are fixed – we have opening steel louvered vents to ventilate the rooms. Doors that are incorporated into the frames are also steel with a thermal break. Again they are very heavy to get to position but delicate to open. Presently we have only one piece of glass in place – next week will be a big week. Insulation With large elements of the northern roof being finished we cracked on and fitted the insulation. By now you will have gathered I am passionate about insulation and thermal efficiency. I am conscious that of necessity as a result of our design we have used some environmentally unfriendly materials. I’ve also done my bit in terms of reusing steel – in the piled foundations. Throughout the building David recommended I use Dow Styrofoam. This is a waterproof extruded polystyrene. It cuts easily, is light and immensely strong. We have used Floormate® and Roofmate®. In fact we used Floormate ® in the gull-wing roof having consulted with their technical resource first. When Adrian and Stephen were fitting the product they appreciated its easy handling and the way the design lipped over the joists. When we come to get the flooring and screeding down we are using 25mm floormate straight onto the floor and then Schluter thin screed flooring system about which more later. The question I am most frequently asked is how much will it cost to heat this house – in living area the house is 298m2. In total size it is 411m2 this includes garaging utility etc. The total estimated cost for heating and hot water is £530 per annum. Very pleasing but I wish it were less. Steel Roof Cladding The steel we are using is a low reflective one. Pleasingly the planning department of my local Council were sensible enough not to demand a tern coated finish that within a year looks like lead. In other words it is counterfeit – it pretends to be what it is not. Stainless is very hard stuff – and not easy to shape. If you get it wrong first time then you have to do it again – it is unforgiving. Above Cloud 8 is an area called the Bovingdon stack. When arriving at Heathrow you most frequently glide above Cloud 8. I can see you – but can’t hear you. As a result of the ‘low’ reflective on the house you should see a huge flash in certain conditions – well that’s Cloud 8. Start looking for it in the next fortnight and remember it was fabricated by JTC.
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| 7 October 2002 | ||
The visit to the fabricator proved sensible and worthwhile. Phil had received a letter from the General Manager, which indicated that perhaps a new ‘low’ in the relationship had been achieved. There was more heat than light and the very necessary element of trust had evaporated. Les Postawa the Managing Director of Anthony Hunt & Associates dispatched a reply that addressed all the points contained in the fabricators letter in clear and measured terms. When I received my emailed copy I read it and felt sure that the fabricator would feel reassured. I was also aware that a technical representative from the glue distributors was going to the factory on Thursday. Just before close of play on Wednesday Les gave me a call and we discussed the situation. I indicated that I was planning to go to the fabricators the next day. My feeling was that the combined effect of Les’s letter (see below), the glue representative's visit, and my unannounced arrival, were either going to resolve the outstanding issues or we’d all be in a mess. Dear ... CLOUD 8 GULLWING ROOF Further to your fax sent to both ourselves and Philip Ellis yesterday outlining your concerns regarding the design of the gullwing roof on the above project, we would comment as follows. We remain of the opinion that we are satisfied with the design of the roof panels and their performance in the completed and installed condition. However, the responsibility to maintain the structural integrity of the units during handling, transportation, lifting, installation and final fixing of the units, must remain with the Contactor. Fundamentally, the issues relating to these roof units relates entirely to a failure in the glue line, which bonds the bottom ply diaphragm to the internal ribs. If when handling the units this glue line becomes over-stressed due to excessive flexing, twisting or other means of distortion, then the failure mode would be in either the timber or ply wood elements and not within the adhesive itself provided the correct adhesive mix, application, curing and clamping pressures were used. It would appear from tests undertaken by the glue manufacturer, that the correct adhesive was used and there was no fault found in that particular batch supplied. This clearly suggests that the method of clamping is at fault. The proposed method of clamping using lateral spreaders to apply load to all of the internal ribs, is wholly appropriate. However, spacing of these lateral spreaders resulted in the bonding pressure only being applied at localised points along the length of the internal ribs resulting in inadequate pressure being applied between these spreader locations. Our suggested alternative method of clamping utilising longitudinal spreader plates placed immediately above the glue line used in conjunction with lateral spreaders placed at closer centres, should ensure that the required clamping pressure is applied along the full length of the glue line. Your question regarding how the spreader beam can be applied around the central curved element is noted. We would suggest that in this instance, lateral spreaders only are used at much closer centres, say 50mm apart, in order to negotiate this tight curve. In response to your concerns regarding twisting or warping during handling and erection, it is important that the glue line between the bottom skin and the internal ribs does not become stressed until the top skin has been applied on site and fully bonded to the units. For this reason it is essential that adequate bearers or cradles are used to support the panels in their temporary condition whilst handling, transporting or erecting. Similarly, temporary propping is required on site during the erection process in order to prevent stressing of this glue line joint and this temporary propping must remain in place until the top skin has fully achieved its bond strength with the internal ribs. As a further precaution against twisting or warping occurring during handling of the units, temporary diagonal battens could be nailed to the top of the internal ribs in the plane of the top skin throughout the length of the units. To summarise, we are fully confident with the design and remain of the opinion that the glue bond alone is adequate to withstand the forces exerted on it as designed. It is vitally important for the reasons outlined above that the bottom ply membrane does not become stressed until the top membrane has been fixed in place fully, and we see no reason why this should be the case provided adequate temporary supports are maintained throughout the fabrication, transportation and erection process. Finally, we will be pleased to discuss with you in detail your proposed method of handling the units throughout the process of construction in order to allay your concerns regarding the safe installation of the units.
Les
Postawa Tony the General Manager joined us – he too said that the matter was still one of design but his tone was less robust than I expected. Clearly the glue tests had caused reflection and most certainly the letter from Les had encouraged him and the team. The cramping proposals were appreciated and these combined with Richard Nunn’s visit I speculated would put to rest their determination that it was a design issue. I did point out that AHA had previously designed a roof assembled in a very similar vein, which went together perfectly and is still in position and performing very well. When there is precedent it tends to make you think. I also took the opportunity of having a forthright discussion with Tony about the breakdown in communications and the quantum of heat and the reduced light we had on the project. We exchanged our concerns and why we had them, which I think gave us both something to think about. The representative from the glue company was Richard Nunn who arrived about 12.45 and we went straight out to the factory. Tolerances were discussed; the fact that the “ I “ beams were fabricated from 15mm ply between 2 pieces of softwood; different materials; could the glue cope with this? Cramping proposals from Omar were discussed – and gradually it was reduced to the fact that what needs the attention is just the cramping. A piece of ply was removed, turned over, and sure enough it confirmed Richard's belief that it was entirely a cramping matter. Everything else had been ruled out either by lab test or precedent. The evidence from this piece of ply pointed directly to lack of cramping, and another issue was also spotted in this panel type, which could contribute to a failure. The next thing we discussed was the noise emanating from the panels when lifted. This caused the fabricators significant concern. We therefore lifted one. No sound of creaking or popping – all quiet. When first lifted the tightly fitted Styrofoam boards rub against each other, joists and I sections groan, but given the internal fixing method (the glue and epoxy resin coated nails applied by gun) no one sees anything going anywhere, and certainly not the external ply panels next time. The
roof will be fitted next week. A method statement is being sent
to me quickly together with a schedule of attendances that the fabricators
require – and it’s fingers crossed. It will be a pretty
challenging day all round. Pray for the weather please. |
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| 22 September 2002 | ||
A second and very important update this month. As you know building has stopped because of panel failures in the stressed ply roof. It is vitally important to establish the reason/s for the failures in order to overcome this unexpected challenge. The first and most logical step is to test the glue. Samples of glue that had been used in the fabrication were eventually dispatched to the glue manufacturer’s technical department together with the different wood materials used in the build. Two days later the following brief and factual report was sent to the interested parties: Resin samples Samples
received by us were tested and proved to be well cured, this The
sample received from the failed joint was very small and therefore
only Wood samples A
sample of WBP plywood and a section of softwood was received. These
were The
sample was then cut in half with one section being tested directly
after Both
samples could not be separated by hand and a mechanical force was From
my experience this is a typical result, I have tested glue lines
of Attached
is a photograph
of the two samples, the one on the left is the Conclusion The
results indicate that the adhesive system is suitable in bonding
the It is for the fabricator to judge which of these are relevant to curing our problem but I look forward to the gull-wing roof being fitted within the next 13 days, weather permitting. I'll let you know. |
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| 15 September 2002 | ||
Well it’s been frustratingly slow on site. Enough to drive anyone up the wall – and if you have a short fuse, well, dire is the situation. The excitement of seeing the gull wing roof sections has long evaporated – there is a technical problem! When the panels were lifted at the factory the stressed ply section popped! This should not have happened – I was called by the fabricator and immediately told there was a design problem. It’s a depressing situation that a fabricator calls you and says this without any any fact to back up the accusation. I rule nothing in and nothing out. The glue manufacturer is being very helpful and their technical department are currently analysing the cured glue – the materials involved, and other issues. The design of the roof has been worked on beyond belief and there are statistics and information on the design including a ‘Finite Roof Stress Analysis.’ But it has to be said rule nothing in or out – we need to look at everything and conclude why the failure occurred. Presently we are on Dead Stop on the site. On the 29th August the fabricators should have fitted the roof but they missed this date because of holidays and etc. etc. etc. The fitting team turned up and fitted the Northern Roof. They are Graham and Stuart who used to work for the fabricator but then became independent subcontractors. It was a pleasure to have these two chaps on site. They arrived with a limited number of drawings, which did not give them the full measure of the works. I rectified this fairly quickly but it has to be said – why are they sent without 75% of the information. It gives the impression you are dealing with Fred Carno’s circus – which in the case of Graham and Stuart is just not the case. Both these guys are apprentice served joiners – jobbing joiners – and good which makes them a rarity and to be valued – not jerked around. At 1pm the materials finally turned up at site and were off loaded by the chaps. Checking the cut list we discovered elements were missing, other elements were incorrectly sized – I was not massively impressed – neither I sensed were the chaps especially as they were not aware of a goodly amount of the work they were meant to be doing. The previous week when I had been at the fabricators I asked if they had got all the ‘straps’ sorted. Their man looked at me blankly – I said don’t worry I have and I’ve had them bent as they are complicated and bending will make life easier – I’ll charge these back to you. Other things that did not arrive: Hilti nails; chemical resin; bolts; a shortage of screws; shortage of plans and drawings. But for Graham and Stuart it would not have been good – but they are experienced and with my assistance as runner we got things sorted. To say this is one of the lower points of the build is accurate – I’m going for a drink before I move on. Feeling better. The LG Kimber team have also been back and resolved a minor balcony issue in the bedroom block. By the look of it, a tidy job has been done, although I forgot to check the levels. We now have scaffolding up to the top of the gull wing area to the height that Graham wanted. We used a local firm here. When Groundworker Mick was still around he said that use of 4 newton block flooring was foolish as the scaffolders would put poles through it time and again. He also said they would bang the steel and mark it and my tanking around the concrete wall he had erected would be wrecked unless it was protected. Well when SKT arrived I spoke to the team and read the do’s and don’t and said above all ‘CARE.’ Mick had terrified me you see – well Keith Garf and Will have been marvellous. The building and the sloping ground presents scaffolding challenges but the horrors portrayed by Mick pleasingly failed to materialise. Will said to me – Tom you know a mate of mine – Pat he did your trees. This is true and it has to be said that Pat’s voice has the same decibel level as the chainsaw he uses with such dexterity. I’ve been fortunate with the people who have decided to work with me – I hope it continues but the roof is causing me concern. Meanwhile we are getting the glazing and the steel cladding for the roof sorted. Stainless steel cladding has been another extraordinary experience. The largest known company in this country – almost the monopoly – could teach Basil Fawlty a thing or two. They are incapable of running a bath never mind a business – I have hopefully found an alternative supplier about more soon providing they perform. I’ll let you know. We went to a major bathroom supplier and got all the bathroom kit sorted in 2 hours. The quote arrived and I was taken to Casualty – I’ve just been takern orf the defibrillator. Be brave Tom. I have also just been asked for a deposit on the glass – this is a minor deposit of ----wait for it ----------------no wait ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------steady ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------this is just to cover some of the design mind -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------dare I tell you ------------------------------------------------------------------------£20k. Tablets please – water – thank you. I have also just sent a deposit for the slate - no I am not going to do the same again – it’s a 5 figure sum though mind we have a great deal of it both on floors and being used as cills and in the ponds and rills. The company I’ve gone with is Kirkstone who have a shop in Fulham and a quarry in Ambleside. They also import slate and after much discussion we have finally chosen and relish fitting it all. After all this money out you will now see me most Saturday nights working the longest queue in Leicester square – moustache, banjo and large hat. We have fallen in love with a fantastic light fitting for the rills - its sensational – I just dare not tell you the cost – “darling more pills please – and whisky this time!” Sadly I don’t think the budget will take it but we will see.
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| 28 July 2002 | ||
Protection for the painted steel posts was still uppermost in my mind – Kevin (Talkback) had asked what I was going to do and off the cuff I said – rugby post protectors. I called Gilberts Sports and spoke to a gent called Jeremy Garman explaining that many of the posts are larger than rugby post dimensions – ‘no problem,’ came the reply, ‘we can accommodate those sizes’ and within a few days there was a delivery of 11 protectors that fit like a glove and do a marvellous job. Onwards marched the blockies – slightly surprised at the height of the bedroom block ceilings – frankly so was I but I did not let on. The sense of volumetric space will be marvellous – filled with light – we are very fortunate. More elements of steel arrived but the matter that was demanding most attention was securing a formworker for our stairs. I had chickened out of using pre-cast stairs because we only had 10mm of tolerance to play with and most of the project team changed colour at the thought of 2.8 tonnes of stairs and landing dangling at 3 metres because they did not fit. Given the angles and with the benefit of hindsight they were right. And so I found JGB Formworks in Reading that was prepared to undertake my little job. Two accommodating chaps arrived at site – Brendan and John and on they cracked. I found it a very weird seeing the ply being put horizontally into place to hold a landing and stairs – all on 3 bearings of 75mm each. This part of the stairs weighs about 3 tonnes – and it will just hang there reinforced by steel bars, tied to certain positions of the block work and welded to the steel beams. Needless to say not everything went exactly to plan as the first flight of stairs were not going to land where we expected (on a series of pre-cast beams) but 75mm short! So what do you do – extend the last step onto the first landing by 75mm – simple. The flight thankfully does not relate to the next flight so it really doesn’t matter. Harry and Jamie the steel fixers turned up about a week into the job and in a day tied the steels together in line with the rebar (reinforcement bar) schedule. Jamie said he’d not seen so much steel in a set of stairs before. I remembering telling Omar at the structural engineers that I was still growing (outwards) but Jamie reckoned you could park a tank on the landing and experience no give. I’ll be speaking to Omar about this – I think he’s got carried away a little with my weight – I did not say I was going to get like Maxwell. The following day the Pochins concrete pumping machine arrived with Mervyn at the wheel, followed by a concrete lorry that had seen better days – driven by a bloke who looked very nervous at the wheel. The lorry ran out of air – the driver seemed to suffer from physical dyslexia and lack any sense of spatial awareness – definitely not a left hander! After very much huff and puff – he got his truck into position. The pour all happened in a moment. Brendan and John trowelled and smoothed – John Burke the boss arrived to see how things were going – but his chaps just did everything in a time and motion kind of way. With everything on the stairs filled – the boys also did some in-situ filling that was part of the job – washed up and said ‘cheers Tom see you in a week’ to remove the shuttering. Other things have also been happening – THE ROOF! The inverted roof has been ordered. A mock up has been made and I have put pictures on the website. Production drawings are almost ready to be issued and I am optimistic that it will be craned into position in the next four weeks. Much has been learned from the mock up – the characteristics of the roof change substantially when the top boards (which will be clad in stainless steel) are applied. Prior to then the roof is fairly floppy which means we have to provide some extra support for the underside of the roof when each section lands in position. Good to know for a host of reasons. I have to candidly admit to you that I am increasingly tense as we get towards delivery of the Wing form section. Logic says I should not be concerned – but what has that got to do with anything. On the day I intend to adopt that square jaw look (who am I kidding) and pretend its just another day. Before the roof arrives eaves level steel has to be put into position and some blockwork needs to be finished off. The northern roof is cut and fabricated on site by the same company. While they work on the northern roof we will be looking for a weather ‘window’ to crane the gull-wing into position. We must have no rain and no wind (don’t hold your breath) else our roof will be joining the ‘heavy’ jets in the Bovingdon stack waiting to land at Heathrow. During all this I have rather missed the opportunity to mention our painted steels – we are using a paint colour RAL 9006 – if you like it’s a Mercedes Benz silver – metallic and very lovely. When I first saw it a sample I was told not to get my fingers on it as the paint does not dry. Well this sounded pretty foolish – but sure enough the stuff adhered to my fingers like a dust and left a thumbprint on the finished sample. Try to remove the mark on the sample and it gets worse. I could not understand this so I called Anthony Ward of Leighs Paints and said – “what's going on here – this is useless.” Anthony calmly explained that the paint does not go ‘off’ (dry) because of the metallic content – this apparently is in keeping with most metallic paints. He then told me that the paint requires a lacquer finish to make it go hard. This is an offshore coating, “it's marvellous" he said – why? I asked, “Because the lacquer is twice the cost of the paint.” I fully understood that it was marvellous from his point of view – but I failed to share his enthusiasm, as you will appreciate. But the lacquer has other benefits – it affords the steel greater protection and extends the life of the material – it makes the steel easy to clean – but above all as you will see from the pictures it really does make the steel look marvellous. Leighs are a family business who supply amongst others – offshore businesses, The Royal Navy, JCB and they are presently pitching for the Terminal 5 building. I hope they get it – they are helpful and tolerant of people like me who have limited knowledge of coatings. During the painting LGK had to place the columns on trestles and turn the sections over. As previously mentioned with the paint not drying this has left marks. I was getting pretty concerned about these marks – they are obvious and detract from the overall uplifting effect this colour possesses. Anthony came to site a couple of days ago and assured me that the marks and the small biffs that occurred during installation will easily be removed. This is very pleasing to hear because at sunrise those painted steels look majestic – Phil reckons my relationship with steel is becoming of some concern.
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| 15 July 2002 | ||
Well it’s been a busy time working towards what was the biggest and most eventful week in the build programme – the installation of a large percentage of the steel and all the pre-cast first floor. As everyone on the design team has commented our steel fabricators L G Kimber have been a very pleasant group of people to deal with. We’ve had the odd flap – but given that this (and you have heard this bit before) is not an easy job, the firm has performed marvellously. The design of the steel is largely down to the structural engineer, but then Kimbers have to adapt certain items on the grounds of fabrication practicality and then get this approved by Anthony Hunts. There are a number of steel pictures (courtesy of Mike Allanson of Hanson Concrete Flooring), which give you the complexity of levels involved. For their part Hansons advised me that they have not seen such a complex floor for the square meterage involved! Of course all this steel has to sit on the PADSTONES! This was my responsibility – if I failed to get the measurements right – and the padstones are all at differing levels – then it was destined to be a massively costly mistake. The programme we established was Tue – Thur for Kimber’s, with Hanson’s ‘bagging out’ also on Thursday and Hanson’s Precast coming in on Friday. On Tuesday the programme did not get as far as I had expected. The lorry from LGK arrived a little later than planned – and Ray managed to squeeze the truck into a spot that most Transit drivers could not manage. He proceeded to unload what seemed to be a huge amount of steel much of it wrapped in brown paper in order to avoid damage to the paint finish. I had expected to see the three front columns erected during the day but this was not to be. I was still pretty tense to find out if all the padstones were in tolerance. The Kimbers installation boss Steve got out the theodolite and started measuring. It seemed to take sometime ‘there’s something wrong here I register a 200mm difference!’ I was silent in the horror of these words. ‘I’ll check it again.’ Thank goodness he did – the tolerance between the pad stones was 7mm – ‘that’s fantastic’ said Steve ‘best I’ve had for ages.’ He then measured diagonals and various other points and he kept getting the same result ‘that’s 7mm, so’s this!’ I was becoming convinced his instrument was stuck. On the final measurement that cry went up ‘And that’s 7mm as well. Tom I think you’ve got the wrong Cloud Number for this house.’ The following day Kimber’s started in earnest. The 50 Tonne all terrain Ainscough Crane turned up on time as usual – Chris the driver now knows the site well. Even if the Crane were invisible you’d know he was onsite because of the aroma of cigars. Ray got the huge hydraulic arm of the LGK truck into position and the first steels started to slot in place. The steels went up very well with the usual minor site adjustments required. The largest section, the central column on level 1 is about 10 metres tall. This had to be held by the Ainscough crane while Ray from Kimbers moved a horizontal steel beam to connect with it, into position using the truck’s arm. It was all pretty detailed stuff and Steve was really motoring, conscious of the clock ticking. With Wednesday gone things were still looking pretty good for the Friday fit of the floor. Thursday motored on but it looked as though time was not to be on our side. The Hanson bagging team lead by Darren turned up at 11am and started bagging at noon. This is a process of putting bouncy castle like airbags into the building to protect the men if anyone falls whilst putting in the pre-cast flooring. But by 2pm we had to take the decision to postpone the floor till Monday but would still have the delivery of Pre-cast sent to us on the Friday. This was done at some cost to me sadly. Mike Allanson from Hanson’s came to inspect the site and took lots of photographs of the steels and their arrangements. After everyone had left site I was just tidying up some administration and a few other things and made off to get the mail from the post box at the front of the site. As I stepped out of the site office my ankle twisted inwards and I fell to the ground in a disorderly heap. I was in agony. It’s not the first time this has happened. I yelled out to no avail – after about 5 minutes on the ground I managed to get myself to some blocks and then hopped to my car. Having got home and removed my boot my ankle ballooned. An ambulance was called and I spent a tiresome evening in casualty, which resulted in me coming out at the other end of the pipeline in plaster! The
following morning I turned up to site to direct matters waving crutches
around like a helicopter – much to everyone’s amusement.
So come Friday we had cleared an area for unloading and the 6 Hanson trucks arrived about every 45 minutes to be unloaded. One tonne pre-cast planks glided in between the protected trees – it should have been set to music really – and the aroma of Chris’s cigars drifted across site. Come Monday I was convinced that me, Brian, Tony and Mark (the last three collectively known as The Blockies) had done a pretty ace job with the padstones. The steels had gone in very well, and it was now down to the Hanson chap’s to get the floor laid. I drove up the single track lane to see a van parked on the verge occupied by Ginna and Dave – the lead men from Hanson’s. They arrived at about 6am having driven from Derby! Their theory is that it is better to arrive early; miss the traffic; park up; have breakfast; and relax before the job starts. There’s much merit in this – I hope their employers appreciate this very positive attitude. I opened the site huts while the chaps kindly opened the gates for me. The rumble of the Ainscough Crane could be heard and moments later there was that aroma of cigars again. The crane was up in no time and at 8am the first plank was going into position. The planks slotted into place wonderfully. It was all going too well! And it continued. The crew from Talkback turned up and commenced filming. By now I had managed to find a method of getting up ladders whilst wearing a cast and using crutches. I am sure the HSE might have something to say about this but please – say nothing to anyone! With
the plank we just had one item that caused us to stop and think
for a while – more why has this happened than anything else
– we are still struggling to get an answer in full but it
marked no material difference and the unexpected difference is easily
resolved. Mike Allanson and the collective members of the design team all reckon I am accident-prone. A massively unfair charge in my opinion – but there you go. Do lots on a site and you increase your opportunity for accidents – need I say more. It’s
more steel and the first floor block work next - and the Blockies
are flying as you can see from a more recent picture when 20 students
from the Oxford School of Architecture visited Cloud 8 on an awayday
to see three contrasting buildings which also included the Said
Business School, and the River and Rowing Museum in Henley. The
Said Business School was opened by Nelson Mandela and designed by
Dixon Jones who was also responsible for the Covent Garden Opera
House extension. The idea was to show the students an example of
a building in the raw. Pleasingly there was a request to return
to see the house once it is completed. |
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| 12th May 2002 | ||
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Life is hectic; challenging; and periodically enjoyable. As I mentioned in my last update, a very important part of the structure of Cloud 8 is the reinforced concrete wall, which encompasses two thirds of level 1. The groundwork's contractor decided that the best way to create the wall was to use shuttering trays. These are reusable metal-framed panels that interlock and bolt together. Much of the wall is over 1.70 metres tall so the weight of concrete in the wall is substantial. At Valentine's Mick, being an incurable romantic, whisked his wife off to France for a long weekend. Son Terry took over and completed the fabrication of the shuttering and prepared to pour. The lorries arrived and with the benefit of a smaller Pochins concrete pump on site the pouring process started. Part way through the pour there was a noise from one of the taller sections of wall that included 2 angles. There appeared to be movement and on inspection the wall had 'popped' - unable to contain the weight of the concrete. Looking at the plans supplied by manufacturers of the system, part of the bracing had been impossible to put in place - an 'alternative' arrangement had been devised by the groundworks team but unfortunately this failed to work. Terry quickly devised tactics to save the balance of the section, which proved successful. The following day the faulty section was removed in its entirety with a pneumatic hammer; rebuilt with the trays and butted to the sound wall. This is known as a 'day joint' which does not compromise the strength of the structure. One important point had not been spotted by any of us though which will be made apparent further in this update. Philip (Proj Mgr) had drawn my attention to a clause in my buildings guarantee policy - they required a 10-year independently backed insurance guarantee for the tanking (waterproofing) that was to be applied to the reinforced wall. Well this ruled out all the people to whom we were talking. This business sector operates mainly with small regional businesses, using products purchased from large reputable manufacturers who have the appropriate certification for their products but who do not guarantee the application of the product by the firms who are applicators. These smaller businesses cannot interest an insurer to cover their 'applications' as they are too small. The demands of my insurance company therefore started to look pretty challenging. I had been talking to a major manufacturer of product about their membrane. The design they suggested wanted to wrap the groundbeams in their product. This seemed overly demanding and as I very quickly discovered their applicator was unable to supply the requisite insurance guarantee. It was deeply concerning. I seemed to be staring loss of Building Guarantee insurance in the face and to clarify what this means: if a building is less than 10 years old and does not have a Ten Year Guarantee provided by one of the big insurers, a mortgage company will not provide a prospective purchaser with their funding requirements! Potentially I was therefore building a blighted house if I could not find a solution. You will therefore appreciate why I was becoming a little sweaty. So with the approaching weekend I decided to hit the web to see what I might find. Within about an hour of searching I found a business called Stirling Lloyd who seemed to operate very much in the commercial arena of tanking including bridges, car parks and many other large applications. They are a national concern with their own contracts division. Their system was a spray not a membrane, which struck me as being more sensible for our requirements. You never get a perfect surface when creating groundbeams and a glutinous spray can accommodate imperfections. I sent an email to them and was contacted very promptly by Martin Radford who quickly evolved a design for our needs and which would carry an independent 10 year guarantee. Problem solved! The advantages of the system are that up to 2000m2 of tanking can be applied in a day using their Integritank product. There are three coats including the primer. Each cures quickly. Before application the surface has to be dry - ours on the day was damp with threatening skies. Our wall was force dried using a gas fork that resembled a tool of the devil and offered a dramatic start to the process. Primer was applied - then an orange undercoat followed within approximately half an hour by the white topcoat. They started at 9am finished at 2pm - it rained at 2.45 - no worries. Phil the project manager said he had not seen this before and thought it marvellous and said he'll be using it again. It appears the company has hitherto remained in the commercial market only to enter the increasing domestic field very recently. Demand for increased space in houses is significant - cost of land high - which makes the installation of basements attractive, and of course if you want a basement it has to have tanking. While all this was happening there had been 2 deliveries of palleted building blocks on consecutive days. (four lorries - 93 tonnes of blocks in total). This tested the theory of us being able to squeeze a 50 tonne all terrain crane onto site - unload from an artic in the road whilst missing a 415-volt overhead power cable, which crosses the single-track road at the end of the new lower entrance. TXU Energy advised they wanted a 1-metre clearance - fortunately it is rather greater - but challenges are still presented as the lane is not level and there are plenty of protected trees to negotiate. A skilled driver is therefore required. The unloading went successfully and was an ideal learning curve for the forthcoming beam delivery that will form 30% of the beam and block floor which is also described as the as the Structural Slab Level (SSL). Before the floor went down we needed to get the brickies on site (from here in known as Blockies as we are not using bricks). They would need to lay a course of blocks on the Ground beams onto which the inverted T section floor beams sit - then blocks are fitted into these inverted T sections of the beams and the lot is subsequently grouted which significantly increases the strength of the floor. For the anoraks we are only using 4Newton blocks on the floor for thermal reasons - and naturally these do not have great strength. We agreed terms with a Blockie team from Princes Risborough who it appeared could throw more labour at the job to help speed it on as we were falling behind. They offered the same terms as a team based in the village that were just a hod and 2(blockies). At the time I saw the local team as a disadvantage because of their lack of labour. Set out always goes a little slowly - I sensed that the Risborough team was not enjoying this stage. It has to be said that many blockies received the details and ran for the hills - why get involved with something unusual when you can earn the same amount for building a long straight wall? The set out seemed to go fairly well - the pleasure in seeing the first set of blocks outline the house was marvellous. A couple of days later the beams arrived and Ainscough Cranes managed to offload the lot in 3 hours precisely. The whole job was completed by the following day including the grouting. Pallets of blocks were distributed around the site and we were ready for Blockies phase 2. It was great to be out of the ground. The Blockies returned and started on the lower deck - level 1. This level has two levels to allow for the requisite 'lower' garage - in case of petrol leakage. None of the Cloud 8 project is easy. We had a very heavily rain- interrupted fortnight. Not many blocks capable of being laid. Faces looked glum and the body language was not good and matters progressed slowly - dayworks rates have a habit of achieving this phenomenon. In January I had agreed an offer on our home and we intended renting for the balance of our build, however on the morning of our move I still had not signed the papers for the rental. On the 20th March our move date - I went to site. As I arrived I noticed the hoddie removing the team's tools from site. I asked what he was doing - 'oh don't you know Tom - we are off this job.' Sure enough a large client of theirs (a developer) who had also been delayed by rain wanted more men on site. Other members of the company were already on the job, but the the client wanted further support as chippies were standing around waiting to put roofs on. So I get dumped in it . I was told by one of the owners that he would be back tomorrow - I called his son five minutes later to be told they would not be back for at least 3 weeks. Two days later the site hut door opened and the partner who told me they would be back the following day said 'I've brought our invoice.' I asked when they were returning to site - 'No' said Bill - 'we're not coming back - we are not used to these blocks (contra to what they told Philip when tendering for the job), I've just come back to work after a bad shoulder and Roy hurt his finger the other day.' Poor loves I thought - have you ever heard such nonsense? I had no query with their bill: told him that in turn I would be billing him for my consequential losses. These turned out to be larger than his invoice - I await my cheque. So on the 20th March the day began pretty badly. When I got back home to start the move the removal van had arrived - and ten minutes later the film crew turned up. Grief - I thought this was a bit much - but apparently it's all part of the story! It rained a great deal on the day matching my mood. As I said on camera - I now had to pull a rabbit from the hat rapidly. Blockies are a valued and rare in this area. My first point of call after the weekend was to speak to Brian and Tony - the village blockies - to see if they might be interested or not. We met and bearing no ill feeling we agreed terms and they started 8 days later. Things started to fly from the start. Needless to say there are a number of different things about even our blockwork - the mortar mixes are different for internal and external walls - we have windposts to fix - plenty of movement joints and wall ties - and our least favourite component to this build so far PAD STONES! I hardly dare mention pad stones to the Blockies. Personally I never want to see one again. What are they you ask? They are specially cast concrete blocks, which support steel that spans a gap. Concrete is required as it is considerably stronger (and heavier) than the light aircrete blocks we use for the structure. We had to change the heights of these (measured from the SSL) several times as one cock up after another was made by the experts on the project about the respective heights these hellish items needed to be. I went inter galactic on several occasions as I was given yet another revised level for the same padstone that had just been positioned and 'bubbled.' (level checked) The Blockies now call me 'bubble' - and every time I mentioned pad stones everyone developed a facial tick and yelled 'start the van!' I put together the couple of window blanks needed for level 2. These enable the Blockies to build up to a line and height. One window measures 750 X 4125. Tony, the best Blockie living so he advises us all, wanted to know (in soft Irish accent) 'Is this window is to be fitted tall or woide?' When advised it was tall he said - Tom have you got a pet giraffe or is this the entrance for the supermodels?' David (architect) came to site and during the course of the meeting and seeing my irritation about the ordering process and some of the bizarre protocols between professionals said 'Tom, the building industry does not work that way.' Well more is the pity - my suggestion had great merit as David acknowledged and I was in any case surprised that he said this. The building industry can hardly be presented as a shining example of efficiency and new thinking. The average age of building employees on site is now 47 and rising. It attracts few youngsters who see the industry as backward and unappealing with evidence of Spanish practices and misplaced proportion testosterone. It has only itself to blame for not attracting enthusiastic youth whilst it remains a largely Luddite area of commerce. It's forcing many to look at prefabricated buildings which are largely engineered solutions manufactured in controlled environments, taken to site and erected rapidly. The developer therefore employs a groundworker to take things to ground level and the building arrives and is erected and dry in a week. Fitting out may take a further 4 weeks - finished. This is the future - but the design will continue to be unimaginative as it has been for the last 40 years. During David's recent visit he spotted an error and returned to the site hut to advise that part of the reinforced wall was too high and as a result 2 window openings were going to be at the wrong level. The following day the crew from Talkback turned up to a quiet and freezing site. I made the few window blanks that we needed while Kevin (presenter) did all sorts of pieces to camera. I was just quietly ' doing my pieces' about the windows. I put together the limited number of window blanks I required and put them outside the site office. Towards the end of filming the crew went onto level 1 by the reinforced wall - and called into the office to ask if I would come for a few words with Kevin. It turned out Omar had mentioned the cock up to Simon the Director during a visit to Anthony Hunts the previous day. 'So Tom,' said Kevin - 'nice reinforced concrete wall, should there be any windows in it?' There was a moment's silence before I stuttered a response. 'How are you going to resolve this?' asked Kevin. Well of course there is only one way to resolve it - diamond sawing and drilling. By now the wall has been up for 28 days so it was pretty solid. I contacted Drill Cut who have a strong presence nationally with the closest branch to me in Reading. I needed to get this resolved quickly as the blockies wanted to get to this section of wall without delay. The quote arrived very promptly and was keener than the 2 alternatives I secured. I confirmed and a week later they were with me - Phil the Drill and Steve. I rapidly came to the conclusion that Phil the Drill wanted to take the entire wall down - he politely advised me he's a company man. They screwed a steel runner to the wall to which a large diamond bladed circular saw was attached. The cut complete a manually used hydraulic cruncher was used to break the concrete which was then gently lowered to the slab. The second window needed to be bored and cylindrical sections of reinforced concrete can be seen in some pictures. Understandably Talkback was keen to film the sequence - COCK UP corrected. Oh
well - do nothing in life and you don't make any mistakes. |
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| 11th February 2002 | ||
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