Thursday 17 January 2008

Where does the time go!

Another week almost down and I'm wondering where it when to? I had loads of work to do and it sees as if I have as much to do at the end of the week as I had at the start !

Well I suppose the best part of a day was spend revising the house plans for one client.... revisions and further revisions had to be made to the internal layout. Then there was the revisions to the scheme in Ardfinnan, I suppose I did make progress on this project, now that I think of it, seeing has I have the amended house type designed, just a few elevations to tidy up.... Hopefully I'll be finished tomorrow, as the programme is to have the planning application lodged on 15th February and the engineering consultants have yet to receive the revised site layout to commence their works. The drawings also have to go to the landscape architects for their design proposals.

Then there was a very letters and a review of a RSA undertaken during the week as well so I suppose it hasn't been a bad week's work so far on reflection

Friday 11 January 2008

The week's events at work

First full week of the year and what a one it was ! Early in the week I received, instructions to hold off on preparing tender documentation on a mixed development , in Cashel. I think the client is getting a little anxious that the development will be over budget. I have a bad feeling that it may be the first of many jobs to be put on hold/not go ahead in the coming year.... hope I'm wrong.




On Thursday I had a meeting with one of our developer clients , and a potential purcasher of a new large house((image above). Apart from wanting some major changes internally to the ground floor, the main issue was energy efficiency and how the house will achieve a BER A rating. At least most of the fenestration is located to capitailise on the solar gain. One for the energy consultants.

Just as we are getting our head around the current elements of the energy building regulations, a new lot are coming into effect in July of this year and with air tightness the new focus. And further amendments to the same element are planned for 2010.

We arrived into the office this morning with 100mm of surface water on the street. The heavy rain over the last year meant that the River Suir burst its banks yesterday and the water is starting to back up on the neighbouring streets. The ground floor of the office has been flooded badly twice in the last 8 years. With more rain forecast over the weekend, we decided as a precaution, to lift everything off the ground floor of our offices, include taking the doors off the hings. Exterme actions, possibly but its better to be safe than sorry. So Monday next the morning will be spend putting things back to normal, assuming the office is not flooded and is accessable.

Tomorrow sees me travel to Dublin for the first CIAT Centre meeting of 2008.

Friday 4 January 2008

Recent Project

The above is a light industrial/warehousing unit which I was working on last year. We were ready to lodge the proposal with the planning authority, when it was discovered that there was a problem with the title of the site. The issue is now, almost resolved (thankfully) and we will be lodging the planning application in the near future.Planning should be straight forward so I expect that we will be starting on site in early summer... but you can never tell.


I expect "the world and its mother" will be wanting to price the construction of the project, as slowdown in the construction industry continues here. We have an average of one new guy a day ringing up to price projects, many of whom we have never heard of.... no hope of them getting any work from us I'm afraid.