archtech

Blog Updates

2011-02-03T21:30:00.000Z

archtech's blog has now moved to www.johncloonan.ie

A day in Court

2010-12-14T09:41:00.000Z

Last week I was in court as an expert witness in relation to a case between a builder and a young couple (The Homeowners) who engaged him to extend their dwelling. The case arose as a result of the builder not getting his final payment which amounted to a sum equal to approximately 5% of the “contract” price, which he believed he was entitled to and initiated legal proceeding, which ended up before the district court. Based on our initial report the homeowers made a counter claim for damages to repair defective work.
It’s fair to say there would never have been a court case, if the homeowners had engaged a professional to look after the design and supervision of their extension. The extension required planning permission, which they duly obtained, having had their drawings as it was stated in court prepared by a technical drawing teacher. The drawings were basic, with no detail, other than beginning sufficient to enable a planning application be assessed and determined.

However, the drawings had no annotation outer than a few dimensions, and were used by the homeowners to obtain quotations from three building contractors. The builder provided a quotation and was asked to start, which he duly did making up the detail as he went along in the absence of any construction drawings or specification. There was no written contact between either party. The question of how the project was financed, was never asked or established, in court, however its safe to assume it was not by way of a mortgage, in that no certificates of payment were required. However the quotation was for several tens of thousands. Before going into argument, the judge asked the builder, if the level of construction he agreed to construct was to a minimum level to meet building regulations, to which it was confirmed.

There were a number of what would be considered snagging items/minor defects, doors requiring adjusting, the items which would normally be up right before the payment of the final instalment. However there were a number of more serious issues, which would not have happened had proper construction drawings and a specification been prepared and the project supervised by a competent person.

One such item was a connection the builder made to the drainage system, which while not created by the builder, it was agreed by both sides’ expert witnesses as been a health hazard. The main area of contention regarded the construction of some minor but significant elements of structure, which were a cause of concern for us more so than that of the builder. Had the builder not deviated from the method of construction, used elsewhere within the extension, there would not have been an issue. The judge in his summary of the case stated that fact and decided in favour of the homeowers, however the award properly will not cover the cost of the remedial works.

The judge however was not too happy that the case was before him, as he said himself, he was not an expert in construction. He questioned as to why arbitration was not considered as means of resolving the issues, even in the absence of a formal writing contract. Nor was he too happy with the level of dialogue between both sides and their expert witnesses’ in that there were significant differences of opinion, something which would be quiet normal in a circuit court case. Furthermore the amount in question which the builder was trying to recoup was small and compared to costs assisted with the case; the builder was certainly 4 times well less off after the court case than he was before the case.

I certainly learnt a lot from my attendance in court; and how in preparing reports it’s important to reference and include the relevant extract of the standard in the report.

I wonder how ipads would be accepted for retrieving data on the day such as codes of practice or Irish/British or European standards, with a judge ? An iphone or ipad would certainly have been handy for both sets of expert witnesses last week.

If the builder learnt anything, it is not to build a project unsupervised as it can come back to haunt you. As the homeowners, they will know only to engage the services of a professional in future.

Cottage renovation Part 6

2010-12-13T09:04:00.000Z

Despite the bad weather recently, some progress has be made, with the roof now nearing completion : outstanding works comprise of the fixing of the ridge caps and some flashing to the elements of the vertical velux windows.

Inside work has commenced with the first fixing of services. Insulation options for the roof and ceiling are currently begining costed.

The delivery of the windows and doors are now due.

Cottage renovation Part 5

2010-11-15T09:42:00.000Z

Work has progressed since my last site visit despite the poor weather. However its not been without delays.

The fixing of the breather membrane and slating battens is now complete, as is most of the slating on the northern side of the roof. However the completion of the slating has been delayed, as the vertical velux window units, were not ordered sufficient time in advance. As a point of information, the vertical elements codes VFA & VFB currently require a 3 week lead-in from date of ordering to delivery.

The client has opted to go with a factory finished hardwood timber window rather than Black uPVC. Windows and doors will be supplied by Carey Glass Joinery of Nenagh, who’s price was exceptionally competitive for the end product. A mixture of double and triple glazed units will be installed with delivery scheduled for the first week of December. Subject to favourable weather conditions, the external insulation and rendering will follow immediately.

Internally work has progressed; the first floor has now been floored with 18mm flooring grade ply and the studwork caucus now complete, which will enable commencement of the first fix of services. Final selection of sanitaryware will be critical in the coming week or so, to enable that element of the first fix progress.

At this stage the project is running 4-6 weeks behind the targeted programme, a common trait of self build projects constructed by direct labour.

CIAT ramblings

2010-11-08T09:22:00.000Z

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about CIAT. Last month I was in Dublin for a CIAT Centre Committee meeting, there’s normally a meeting prior to the Institute’s AGM, which took place in Guernsey at the end of last month.

I always enjoy the discussion after the Centre Meeting, where most of us “from the country” have a chat and lunch prior to making the journey home. Discussions vary covering topical issues within the profession, be it OSI copyright and the merits of buying an OSI licence or issues with planners or building control. Of course current fees or the lack of them featured in the discussions too. It’s always a couple of hours well spent, as someone will always have a solution to a problem that any of the others would raise. At this year’s AGM a number of promotional video’s (thought that term was gone with the introduction of DVD's) were launched by the Institute, 4 in all I believe. The one that’s most beneficial, is that aimed at potential clients.

I have to say it’s not bad and definitely worth having a link to, within each reach for potential clients. Another reason why I should really progress my membership now.

My POP record, is sitting somewhere on my desk awaiting the signature of my POP record supervised before submission. I should really get it signed off and submitted, so I can progress my membership… the longer it sits there the long it will be before I attain Chartered membership. Top of this week’s to do list, along with booking a CIAT CPD course.

Extensions and factors influencing budget prices

2010-11-05T08:42:00.006Z

People definitely see value in construction at the moment and are prepared to extend their existing homes. I'm currently working on single storey contemporary extension to a 1970's bungalow; the sketch design has been prepared and currently with a local building contractor, who's accessing if the works can be undertaken within the client's budget.

Extensions and renovations, by their nature are more difficult to gauge budget prices for, as existing factors greatly influence the price. Apart from the fact that each extension is unique the following are some of the factor that can influence the project's budget.

Access

Unlike most new builds, access to works involving extensions can be restricted, from no access at all in the case of terraced dwellings, to limited access due to proximity of site boundaries. Depending on the restrictions, these can effect the overall price. The of concrete for foundations, is far greater if it has to be moved from the roadside to the back of a house via wheelbarrows, as opposed to beginning placed directly into the excavated foundation from the back of the readymix truck.

Existing Structure

Extensions, by definition will become a part of the existing structure/dwelling and effect the structure in some shape of form. How the extension integrates into the existing structure will have an effect on the project cost. Should the only works in integrating the new and the old be removing a patio door the cost would be significantly less than an extension which is integrated into an existing room (s), as the latter will involve significant demolition and structural works. Works where alterations to existing roofs can also significantly add to the cost.

Services

In general at least some alteration to existing services is required, when extending an existing property. The effects on the project budget of these alterations vary greatly. moving a light switch or socket would have a minimal effect, compared to diverting an underground drain and manhole or relocating the boiler.

Very often when extensions are been built, client's take the opportunity to have other works around the house done while the builder's are in, it may be hanging a few new doors, or putting in a new ensuite or altering partitions, all adding to the overall cost and distort the actual cost of the extension.

Naturally specification can have the biggest influence on the project's cost.

Construction Drawings?

2010-10-29T21:23:00.000+01:00

When it comes to building new houses or extensions, Irish people often don't see the need for construction drawings or haven't in the past. I've experienced it myself in the past, where people go off and get prices or engage building contractors based on information contained on "planning permission only" drawings.

What's the difference. Everything really, planning drawings are not required to contain detailed information on construction, other than to convey the basic design and outline finishes, overall dimensions, location and position of opening etc. Atypical drawing which I would include as part of a planning submission is indicted below

Construction drawings by their nature should contain sufficient information for someone to build the dwelling/building from. The information contained on the drawings should enable works be undertaken in compliance with the building regulations; be it thickness or position of insulation, opening sections to windows, or size of the roof timbers or whatever. Furthermore, construction drawings allow the designer, to convey how s/he wishes specific element of the building be finished, eave overhangs, downpipe poisitions or even finishes. While much of the information relating to building regulations is standard (or was ), as most regulations don't regularly change, except for Part L, relating toConservation of Fuel and Energy (insulation in otherwords), many building contractors are not always familiar with other amenements.

Why not provide construction drawings at planning application stage? Well it can be done, however in terms of providing value for a client, its not the best route; in many instances, the house or development granted permission, varies from that applied for, often requiring amendments during the planning process, be it minor amendments or sometimes a substantial redesign or in cases the development has been refused permission.Furthermore planning authorities do not access development in terms of compliance with building regulations, their is to access compliance with the planning policy.

Of course one benefit of construction drawings, it it allows a building/dwelling be accurately priced, when prepared in conjunction with a relevant specification. The less information a building contractor has, the more assumptions s/he makes and the greater chance what s/he delivers is not what the client had in mind.

Cottage renovation Part 4

2010-10-27T08:57:00.000+01:00

The main roof structure is now complete, with work now progressing to preparing the roof for the velux windows. Velux windows to the south elevation will include vertical combinations, avoiding the necessity to construct dormers.

As noted below, rafters overhang the blockwork by a considerable amount, to allow for the provision of the external wall insulation, withthe insulation carried up to the top of the wallplate, reducing cold bridging.

Cottage renovation Part 3

2010-10-13T08:50:00.002+01:00

An unscheduled site visit had to be made yesterday to sort out a few unexpected problems. Addressable, however they do delay the work.

Despite starting on Monday and joisting out the first floor, the carpernter are not expected on site agin until Friday. Flooring to the first floor with be 18mm ply, providing a good base for tiles and laminate floor finishes.

Cottage renovation Part 2

2010-10-07T09:01:00.000+01:00

Work is progressing on the cottage renovation. The project is behind programme, not helped in this instance by Tipperary winning the All Ireland Hurling Final: direct labour projects by their nature seldom go according to programme, as one is at the mercy of the sub-contractors, many of whom know that it will be the one and only time they will encounter that individual self-builder, unlike working for a building contractor.

At this stage the blockwork is complete. There is some work required around the existing opes, however this work is underway, mainly comprising of adjusting the cill levels, tidying up around the location of the former heads. New heads were cast as part of the band beam at first floor level. Cold bridges normally caused by band beams have been avoided in this instance with the used of external insulation.

The carpenter is due early next week to complete the first floor and commence the roof. While this will be going on, the windows and doors will be ordered(black uPVC has been selected) and installed prior to the installation of the external insulation and render. The external wall u-values have been calculated at a respectable least 0.22W/m2 using a thickness of 120mmof EPS insulation.

Consideration is currently been given to insulating the roof space along the line of the rafter right up to the ridge, creating a warm roof. I’m currently looking at the prop and cons of this, one major advantage of this method, which the clients sees, is of course the risk of frozen water pipes or a water tank is greatly reduced. The fact that there shouldn’t be excessive temperate differences in the attic, compared to the rest of the house, both in winter and summer, is also another factor wish is attractive to the client. Cost however may prove prohibitive… Kingspan, Xtratherm, Aeroboard, anybody?

Architect by the Grandfather Clause

2010-09-09T09:16:00.000+01:00

Prior to the summer recess of the Dail (the Parliament), John O'Donoghue TD proposed a private member's bill, which if successful with see the introduction of a "grandfather" clause to enable those who claim/have provided services of an architect for at least 10 years and are aged 35 or more to entitled to become a "registered" architect.(it might not be that simple but that's the basics of it) Naturally registered architects are not happy, nor is the body (RIAI) who represents them and who would blame them.

Throughout the summer, both in the print media and on line the issue has been tossed about, particularly between the RIAI and the Architect's Alliance.

So why is registration so important to a non qualified architect now?

Title possibly? However another reason (the main reason) I believe is no doubt to do with Financial Institutions and the Law Society and one's ability to certify works. Being excluded from tendering for consultancy work for Government works too, can be an issue. Eg Schools summer works scheme.

Many of those providing architectural services outside of qualified architects are qualified architectural technicians/technologists (ATs).Many of the ATs do encounter difficulties with some banks and some solicitors, when it comes to certifying works, yet a qualified AT should, one would expect, be better qualified than an engineer to certify compliance with planning permission and building regulations and as competent as an architect.At the end of the day a qualified AT has studied Architectural Technology. Most bodies (banks, engineers etc) fail to distinguish the disciplines within engineering which is quiet broad. The term engineer is broad and covers quiet a few disciplines electrical/mechanical/civil/structural/manufacturing to list a few, of which not very many would qualify one with a level of knowledge of construction or planning to be in a position to offer an opinion of compliance with building regulations.Yet a qualified AT who studied building regulations and the technical side of construction, can be considered not suitably qualified by banks and solicitors.

Of course the fact that The Building Control Bill 2007, which protected of the term architect, failed or neglected to register/protect the title of Architectural Technician/Technologist, hasn't helped the AT's case in terms of beginning qualified to certify works.

So getting back to John O'Donoghue Bill. Will it be be successful?

I'm not sure, by all accounts the Architect's Alliance have their homework done and have lobbied all the TD's, always a good start. You've got to hand that to them there. Is it the right thing to happen, not in my opinion, in theory there could be someone who has "acted" as an architect for the last 10 years or longer, yet only prepared drawings for planning permission and never taken into account compliance with building regulations... Mind you these type of "architects" aren't architectural technologists/technician's either.There are some whom would genuniely qualify, however the proposed bill takes the good with the bad.It would be far better if Architectural Technology was considered a competent profession,and its title registered and accepted by the Law Society and all banks and other relevant bodies the same as Architects, Engineers and Surveyors.

Should the Bill be successful and be past into Law, one would have to say I would be foolish not to jump on the band wagon and get registered as an Architect. To be honest I'm not interested in becoming an architect through the backdoor or any other door, I'm an Architectural Technologist , however if you don't play the system you won't win, (or survive) as Tipperary Senior Hurlers proved last Sunday, in winning the All Ireland Hurling Championship 2010.

Cottage renovation Part 1

2010-09-08T08:57:00.000+01:00

Work is well under way to a cottage renovation, with blockwork having commenced last week following two weeks of demolition work. In the first in series of blog posts on the project, I will outline the choice of wall insulation.

With existing external walls of stone/rubble construction, it was decided to insulate the entire building externally, using weber's external wall insulation system. As a designer the choice of external insulation, was greatly influenced by the fact that the entire external face of the wall is insulated to the same thickness, with no thermal bridges, where cavities are closed or new and old work is bonded together. The proposal is to use the weber.therm XM external wall insulation system which is Agrément Certified with a mineral fibre insulation to the existing stone/rubble walls and EPS to new conc blockwork. A series of articles in Construct Ireland Magazine entitled "Breaking the mould" which dealt with upgrading of single leaf external wall construction, further helped with the choice of insulation method.

All new work is constructed of solid blockwork, with the customary cavity eliminated. The dwelling does however comprise of a partly build extension of insulated cavity construction, which will also be insulated externally. In this element of the construction the entire cavity is been fully closed so there will be little or no air movement in the cavity.

The insulation will be carried down as far a practical below ground externally and right up to wall plate level at eaves. All existing windows and doors are to begining replaced and are brought forward in line with the external face of the external structure, further reducing cold bridges.

It is expected that the installion with be complete within the next 4-5 weeks, however beforehand the requirements from all service pipe supports etc has to be assessed and provisions made for.

Extensions & Renovations

2010-08-26T09:01:00.000+01:00

Its looks like extension and renovations will be the flavour of the month for some time to come. In recent weeks I've had been working on some sketch proposals for new jobs that have arrived into the office. One came as a referral from a recent client, who's extension was recently finished... (there's nothing better than getting a referral from a satisfied client)

Others have come by way of a developer, who's been asked to go back and build extensions to dwelling he built over 10 years ago.

Then there's the extension/renovation of "the homeplace", which has moved to site. Being built by direct labour means not only do I have to provide architectural advise but I've also been collared as a labourer when on site visits. From assisting putting up scaffolding to demolishing walls, and everything else in between . Needless to say site visits are in the evenings or on Saturdays. The entire house is to be insulated with external insulation, which will eleminate most if not all of the cold bridges. As work progresses there will be more updates.

Planning drawings only !

2010-07-07T08:55:00.000+01:00

I was speaking recently with someone who had engaged an "architect", (I say architect in inverted commas, I don't actually believe that the so called architect is actually an architect as defined in the Building Control Regulations) to design their house and get planning permission from them, which he truly did. They were asking me about how to achieve a good energy rating, for their dream house, which is fair enough as people are more energy conscious now days. When I asked did their "architect" not look at the matter when designing the house, the reply I received was "he specializes in planning only doesn’t get into the whole insulation thing".

It is my opinion (and one shared by many others I assume) that is it is no longer possible to get away with designing a house without looking at achieving compliance with Part L early on in the design stage. For me one has to design the house in tandem with using SEAI’s DEAP software, (or if a passive house, the PHPP software) which allows on check compliance with Part L and also establish the dwellings BER at the same time. Factors which influence compliance and are directly related to design include:

Orientation
Size and location of openings (windows & doors)
Floor area
Extent of perimeter of the building

The number of chimneys and even the provision of a draft lobby have an effect of the energy performance of a dwelling. For someone on a budget (everyone is now days) taking the above into consideration, at an early stage can help and potentially reduce the cost in ensuing compliance with Part L, down the road. Yes insulation is important; however it's not of much benefit in having a highly insulated south facing wall with few openings, with when the north facing wall is full of poorly insulated glazing! One might say the above is common sense, yet most of it is, but how many houses have been designed and built in the last 30-40 years and ignored common sense.

Of course other times also influence compliance like the type of heating, renewables etc, however whether using an oil fired boiler or a heat pump doesn’t generally have the same significant impact on planning permission, as the size of opening would.

Part B and domestic extensions.

2010-06-18T09:33:00.000+01:00

I had a call from an award winning architect looking for some assistant, with regard to a problem which had arisen in terms of Part B of the Building Regulations on a domestic extension. The neighbouring property's architect had rasied an issue (as they do!) It certainly wasn't one of the normal issues I would be asked to deal with regarding Part B and domestic extensions.No this problem related to a timber framed extension which was built within 1.0m of the boundary. So what's the problem there you may ask?

Most architects and other designers (and builders) dealing with domestic construction seldom take much heed of Part B of the building regulations other than providing a fire alarm and means of escape windows, and maybe the positioning of the stairs and providing fire resisting construction to to 3 storey houses.Most would not know what Appendix A of Technical Guidance Document -B is about, never mind Tables A1 & A2. Tables A1 & A2 relate to the required fire resistance of elements of structure, including walls, external and otherwise. So what has this got to do with our friend the architect?

The architect in question had designed an extension to the rear of a suburban terraced house, which was been constructed adjacent to the boundary wall (within 1.0m of the boundary) which was of timber frame construction. Appendix A requires 30 minutes fire resistance from both sides of the wall. ie both internally and externally. Most plasterboard slabs achieve the required fire resistance from the inside, where a conc block outer leaf is used externally with the timber frame, upto 4 hours fire resistance is achived from the outside, problem solved. But in this case, like many others, in order to safe space and get everybit of usable space in the extension, the cavity and block external leaf was ommited; the proposal to apply a render finish to the external face of the timber frame. Unfortunatley this construction, hasn't been certitifed as achiveing a fire resistance. I did find a soulution, in recommending fibre cement panel, which could be fixed to the external face of the timberframe structure, which is certified to achive the required fire resistance and got our friend out of trouble.

Had the wall been on the boundary the issue would have been more serious in that 1 hour fire resitance is required from both sides.

May update

2010-05-27T08:20:00.000+01:00

The last month has been quiet busy,(hence no blogging) between developing a number of projects from sketch design to planning stage, preparing a few sketch designs for some new projects and also preparing a few fee proposals. Preparing fee proposals at present is definitely the most difficult element of the job at present and worthy of a blog post in itself.

The two projects currently on site are progressing well, the house extension is almost finished, next week, I expect with the nursing home extension roofed and first fix well underway. Clients are happy with the progress and standard of work too. Always pays to use/recommend a good builder, particularly these days where fees are tight.

One project I'm starting to get stuck into at the moment is a one off rural dwelling. The clients are pretty clued in too, have specific requirements, but also open to suggestions/ideas. They have a site with good views and affords good orientation to the house. Its still only at sketch design stage, where ideas are still been thrown about. Its one project I'm looking forward to working on.

Legal work

2010-04-30T21:47:00.001+01:00

It's been a lazy month for me in terms of blogging. Why I hear you ask?

For the best part of the month I've been on my own in the office dealing with everything, as the boss was out of the country on business, only to be delayed by the Volcanic Ash that disturbed air travel into and across Europe.

Most of the last month was spent doing work that I would not normally be fully engaged in. One such job was attending court as an expert witness for a public house licence application. Well it took two visits to the court to sort out the licence after an objection was received on the first day. I have to say it was an interesting experience and the licence was sorted out in the end.

Sticking with the all things legal, I spend some days preparing a report for another court case, this time, where a builder renovated a house and the standard of work leaves a lot to be desired. Without going into any details, the fact that the project did not have any supervision by a consultant didn't help matters nor did the fact that there were no detailed construction drawings. This should prove an interesting case when it does come before the courts.

Add sorting out a few land registry maps into the mix and you get the type of time I've been having. Dealing with legal map is at the best of times a pain, but when solicitors are introduced into the dealings, it can become more troublesome than its worth, particularly when one gets solicitors whom are not all that familiar will conveyancing.

Other work involved dealing and making a few observations on planning applications on behalf of clients, not something I used to do regularly in the past, however money is money. Sticking with planning its been a mixed bag in terms of decisions in the last few weeks, there was one refusal for a village centre development by An Bord Pleanala, which was disappointing, in that it had received the green light for the planning authority and the inspector's report was very favorable towards a number of aspects of the scheme. We did receive three positive decisions in terms of developments and lodged two planning applications in the last month. A further planning application is due to be lodged late next week.

The two jobs on site are currently progressing well, both should require site visits next week as stage payments will due to be certified.

Building progress

2010-04-09T09:19:00.002+01:00

Its week 3 and work is progressing on site nicely at present on this extension. We did run into a few small problems in that the depth of the excavation of the foundations was deeper than expected. As everything has to be manually moved, it was decided to put a suspended concrete floor in with Conc T-beams rather than taking out all the fill under the floor.

At this tage the block work of this element of the project is complete, with the roofers scheduled to start on Monday. Next week will see the builders remove the existing garage roof and commence on the first floor extension. It is expected that the majority of the work will be complete within the next 5 weeks.

Quick update

2010-03-19T13:40:00.000Z

Two jobs move on site on Monday...both extensions: one a two bedroom extension to a nursing home, the other an extension and alterations to a dwelling. The same building contractor will be working on both, which is good, in that he does work to a very high standard, gets the job done right first time and on time and is fair when it comes to the final account.

Both contracts are of 12 week duration, which is short, in the greater scale of the overall project: I started working on the nursing home extension back in 2007, when I did a few sketch proposals, however at that stage the project was put on hold until the recent HIQA standards for nursing homes were published last year.

As for the extension and alterations to the dwelling, it will have taken one year to complete the entire project from the first meeting with the client until the time of completion on site.

Technicial Guidance Document F 2009

2010-02-26T22:19:00.000Z

The latest version of Technical Guidance Document F 2009 relating to Ventilation was published during the week. The document comes into effect in October year, although if one has applied for planning permission before 30th September 2010 and has the building substantially complete (meaning external walls complete) one can use the 2002 TGD F. The document is more informative to previous documents and provides better guidance in my opinion.

Many will question why bother making a dwelling air-tight when one is required to provide addtional backround ventilation where MVHR is not used. Definately something for another days debate.

New Housing

2010-02-25T17:29:00.001Z

I recieved the go ahead to prepare a planning applicantion for a small infill low density residential development today. I had done some sketch designs last year for the site, but the client now wants to proceed with taking it to planning. So its now a case of working up the development to pre-planning stage and talking to the planners, before lodging the application.

Nomination

2010-02-25T08:31:00.002Z

Yes I've been nominated for the Irish Blog awards in the "Best Specialist Blog" category. Thanks to those who nominated my blog.

Work Update

2010-02-23T08:27:00.000Z

Since Christmas, I've been quiet busy- surprisingly as normally the month of January and February are the quietest.

I've been working on preparing contract documents for a small extension to a nursing home, which is about to start on site shortly. The contact documents would have been complete ages ago, except the client requested a lift be provided for the existing first floor accommodation. It took 4 design proposals and costed works before the client finally was satisfied, but we are there now. We are using the RIAI's Building Contract SF-88 as the Building contract, as this is a simple contact and the scope of works are straight forward. The contact documentation should be going out the the contractor today to be signed. Its the first project we have starting on site since the middle of last year.

We have a second project also moving on site in the comming weeks too. This time an extension to a dwelling, which we tendered in October last year. The clients too some time to consider their investement in the project after it was tendered, but now its full steam ahead.

Outside of preparing contract documentation, I've spend some time preparing documentation for building insurance claims as a result of burst pipe caused by the recent cold spell, not work usually associated with Architectural Technology Professionals.

I've spent a lot of time working on two major projects, which if either gets the go ahead would mean there would be sufficient work for the next 10-12 months.If both go ahead well then I will be really busy... but I won't be complaining.

CPD (Continuing Professional Development)

2010-02-22T08:36:00.004Z

As a member of CIAT, I am required to undertake and record a minimum of 35 hours of CPD each year. This year I have had no problem fulfilling my CPD hours; having already attended a number of structured or organised CPD Events; 26.5 hours to be exact so far over 3 events.

Accounting for the other time, can be quiet difficult, in that I spend hours researching things, from reviewing amendments to building regulations, watching U-Tube tutorials to reading books and even trade literature, yet seldom record this time. For example I spent 30 minutes yesterday studying “Standard Letters in Architectural Practice” yet I will most likely forget to note it in my CPD Record, or as I did last week, I spend 1 hour studying two reports on Multi-Foil insulation, yet that too will most properly go unaccounted for. Then there’s all the time associated with my Committee work on the CIAT Centre Committee, which can be counted too.

It’s properly safe to say that I would spend close to 100 hours in the typical year on CPD, yet I don’t account for it all, as often the time taken may be quiet short in researching something.

Why bother with CPD at all, well because nearly everyday, something new comes on stream or something changes, which effects the profession. As a professional having the most up to date knowledge is important, to ensure one executes one’s duties competently. Another reason is to broaden, one’s knowledge base, particularly within the current economic climate, where for many the day to day work type has changed.

Chichen and Egg

2010-01-28T08:46:00.000Z

As we all know planning authorises are currently cash strapped and properly will be for the foreseeable future and as a result are not able to invest in infrastructure. Without the infrastructure in place their hands are tied in permitting development, which in itself generates income for the Local Authority through Development Contributions... money that is meant to be used for the maintenance and provision of the said infrastructure.

We recently had a case, where a client wished to undertake a development in a reasonable sized town; from a planning perspective the proposal ticked all the boxes and was looked on favourably by the planners and sorted out many of their problems within the area, however a problem arose when it came to the infrastructure or the lack of capacity within the existing infrastructure. The Local Authority haven't the funding to upgrade the infrastructure, the client can't afford to, nor has access to funding to undertaken the necessary works to increase the capacity of the infrastructure to the required level of the Local Authority. The end result is no planning permission for the client, no contribution towards the upgrade of the infrastructure for the Local Authority meaning neither side wins.

Cottage Refurbishment

2010-01-14T09:04:00.000Z

During the summer, we were asked to review an existing cottage located within the mountains, with the view to preparing some sketch plans for an extension and the refurbishment of the cottage. The brief required one double ensuire bedroom, a single bedroom, the retention of the origional sitting room, with its open fire and a large open plan living space. The property was uniquely positioned in that it had spectacular views of the local mountain ranges in all directions, which the client wanted to capture.

We had proposed a contemporary style extension, which was well recieved by the client, unfortunatley the project hasn't proceeded any further to date.

Development Land

2010-01-08T08:35:00.000Z

Looking forward to 2010, I can see more planning applicants for undeveloped zoned land, as landowners try to ring fence zoning, particularly in anticipation of the revised Planning and Development Act/Regulations requiring justification of zoning of land and also NAMA.

During recent discussions, a planner advised that they felt there will be pressure put on to dezone lands not within control of NAMA, with a view to maintaining a higher value of the NAMA controlled lands. How that will work, will be quiet interesting,and I am not sure. I would image that there will be some lands that will end up under the control of NAMA, which are currently unzoned and to recoup some of its value, it will need to be zoned. I understand that there was significant amounts of unzoned land purchased around the country for substantial money by individual business men whom unfortunately now are insolvent.

While developers may be strapped for cash, it will be a case of them or their banks progressing things, and getting planning permission, otherwise they could be looking at, best case, a piece of very expensive farmland with a significant debt attached. Any site with a grant of permission for development on it, will be difficult to justify de-zoning of it, with possibly on exception, lands at high risk of flooding, but that's another days debate.

I also see more objections from local communities to developments or proposed developments on zoned lands, particularly were there is an oversupply of houses or unfinished developments, in fact the tread has already started.

I do expect that planning applications will become more complex for developments and won't be just a case of making an application with just architectural and engineering drawings and reports.

Developers and their agents will need to be innovative with their proposals. Low density serviced sites is one option, particularly in the more rural areas and appears to be acceptable to most planning authorities, in that it also allows a stick for the planning authority to further tighten restrictions on one off housing in the open countryside, as serviced sites become available for the self builder.

twenty ten

2010-01-07T08:14:00.000Z

I returned back to work on Monday last and if I were to go on the first 2 hours in the office, as a sign of how things are to go for the coming year I’m in for a bad year. Firstly the heating wasn’t working, so you can image how cold the office was with temperatures of -4 C outside… old Georgian houses, aren’t noted for the insulation properties you know… it was a case of wearing my woolly heat for a few hours. To add to this I discovered the email was down and then none of printers were on line so I couldn’t print. I forgot to add that went I called to the local shop to get the local paper, containing two planning application adverts, they were sold out.

However by mid morning everything was sorted and I was back in Business… ok the office was still on the cold side, but temperatures were rising… well inside anyway and the technology was back on line and I had got copies of the local paper. All sorted.:)

Prospects of work for the year ahead were improving too as the day went on. Its looking like 2 projects of significant size (in today’s terms anyway) and budget are going to go ahead :)

Furthermore there’s been a few enquires about potential projects also already this week… OK nothing major, but still every little helps to quote one multinational’s catch phrase.

Yesterday I lodged my first Planning Application of 2010, an extension to the side of a dwelling. It will be interesting to see its reference number and if it will have been the first lodged to the planning authority for 2010, I would be very surprised if it’s outside of the first 3. It will be interesting to see the statistics for the amount of planning applications lodged last year….well done on 2007 and 2008 figures I would image.

the last 10 years Part 4

2010-01-06T08:42:00.001Z

So in the last of the review of the decade, I decided to look back on some of what I worked on over the last 10 years. Much of the decade was spent working with developers; Housing Schemes in Clonmel and Cashel mainly, two large Business Parks and a number of mixed used developments. There was a few one off houses and extension also added to the mix along with many reports, various submissions and masterplans.

The early years were pre-occupied with tax relief developments, much of which went nowhere as the sites were quiet challenging with protected structures and flooding issues common resulting in planner’s and developers clashing, and as a result schemes ended up non-viable. A hotel, offices and a multi storey car park on Suir Island one such project.

No such problems in Cashel, problems of a different nature were encountered there. With the exception of one site in Cashel, all the projects I was involved in were taken to An Bord Pleanala by third party appeals and fortunately in each case the decision was upheld by the Board and permission granted. In one scheme of 21 residential units the planning authority granted permission, without requesting further information, a first for me anyway, only to be taken to appeal by a third party, whom delayed the project by 6 months. Another project was delayed so long that ended up shelved.

Developments in Clonmel too, have had their share of objectors too, in one case things went against us, with the Board overturning the decision, which was a shame really, as the scheme would have been quiet attractive, with a high density a “semi-non conventional” layout, where the car and driveway did not dominate. The site was later developed with a scheme of large dwellings of much lower density with no third party objections.... members the not in my backyard brigade

Other work in and around Clonmel, included a 32 residential unit design and build scheme for a voluntary housing association, a builder’s merchant’s outlet again a design and build contract, 3 substantial housing schemes and a few one off houses and a number of extensions and an substantial extension to a Business Park.

Its hard to believe that a decade has gone by since I started working on a Business Park, in Waterford: The development is circa 34,000 sq.m of floor area spread over buildings of various sizes and uses. The Business Pak includes a driver test centre, builders’ merchant’s outlet, a number of, building contractors, and even a secure warehouse. There’s still one building to be developed on the site.

In late 2006/early 2007 I regularly travelled to Wales working with a development company. My role involved preparing sketch designs and briefs for the project architects. I also looked after preparing 3d graphics for some of the prospective clients. The role was different but interesting and I would have liked for it to develop further, however the project received some setbacks with planning, delayed things eventually leading to the project been abandoned.

I’ve detailed the last 12 months in a fair amount of detail in the blog, so I won’t go back over it again.

the last 10 years Part 3

2010-01-05T13:39:00.002Z

Technology and software are the tools of the trade.... well actually knowledge is properly more important that both of them. Anyway a lot of development has taken place over the last 10 years. Email and internet were starting to be more widely used back in 2000; as were mobile phones.

However having a camera on a mobile phone was something not too common in 2000 nor was the practice of sending sms messages to clients. Even digital camera’s were not too the plentiful and very expensive and nowhere near as advanced as they are today. It was not until early 2002 before we in the office got our first digital camera as far as I remember. That camera was 1.5 m pixels, most of the camera on today mobile phones are superior. As for computers, they seem to be getting cheaper and more powerful and smaller all the time, its worth noting that mobile phones of today have as much memory as the common PC of 2000.

Of course other technology has become more readily available, things like thermal imaging cameras, blower doors for air tightness use to demonstrate compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations. Costs of that type of equipment, were extremely expensive even by today’s standards. Even survey equipment has advanced, as has GPS. not too many people had the satnav back in 2000 to find a townland or address (some might argue that the satnav isn't of much assistance in Ireland today as it is)

The internet has become an externally important and useful piece of technology, from searching for details of products to obtaining the latest legislation to checking information regarding planning applications. It’s also great for sourcing software, whether looking for software to determine u-values or size a soakway, it can be found on the net, you might have to pay for it but at least you can source it. There’s hardly a day that goes by where I don’t use the internet or lets be honest Google to find some piece of information. In addition the internet has become a tool for exchanging project information through applications like NBS Perspective or Autodesk's Buzzsaw. I expect that if Google Wave develops and becomes popular it will become a key tool in the coming years.

AutoCAD is still big within the industry, with Autodesk bringing out a new release every year.... No doubt to justify its subscription, something which we cannot justify in the current climate. survival is currently more important, than having the latest software. BIM software, is still somewhat in its infancy, in terms of general use here in Ireland and one has to wonder if the effects of the downturn will stunt its growth further. Autodesk’s BIM product has been Revit and in true Autodesk style, it is difficult to get used to. For 2010 I really need to make a better effort to get to grips with it, as it is the future.

However, Autodesk did produce one piece of software, which in my opinion is worthy of praise, in Impression which has been brilliant for jazzing up ordinary drawings quiet quickly. If you’ve been following my blog recently you would have seen my praises of it.

Then there's all the specialist forward used within the industry, specification writing software such as NBS Specification and Scheduler, the vaious engineering design packages and costing packages. All to assist us in our work, or make us lazy maybe?

Sometime around 2005 I can across Sketchup developed by @ Last, who was taken over by Google sometime later. For me sketchup is a great, simple to use, 3D package for developing non photorealistic images/models. It’s also great for assisting in shadow analysis studies. Yes it has limitations, but is definitely one piece of software I would want on my laptop if I were stranded on a deserted island.

Of course we are now in an age of opensoucre software is now fairly common for general use be it word processing presentations etc definitely a good thing.

So what will or can the next 10 years bring?

the last 10 years Part 2

2010-01-05T08:36:00.001Z

Continuing on with the theme of the Building Control Act and Building Regulations, over the course of the last decade there’s been at least 3 revisions (lost count at this stage) to Part L of the Building Regulations and Technical Guidance Documents. On each occasion the thermal performance requirements of the building beginning improved. The requirements of the earlier amendments were easily accommodated within the existing typical construction methods, by solely using an insulation of higher thermal performance; however it is not as straight forward with the most recent amendment, particularly for walls, where it is necessary to increase the overall wall thickness. In addition Part L now requires provision of renewables within a dwelling, air tightness, and the use of acceptable/accredited details to further assist in the thermal performance of the dwelling and ultimately reduce carbon emissions. The days of achieving an elemental u-value to comply with the regulations are gone as are sun rooms onto the northern side of a dwelling (hopefully). Further revisions and improvements are anticipated in 2010. SEI’s DEAP software, used to determine the BER for a dwelling is also used to check compliance with the most recent Part L, relating to dwellings.

Keeping with the building regulations and technical guidance documents, Part B and Part M are the only two others which were significantly revised over the course of the last decade, although monor chances to one or two others but a number have gone for public consultation within the last 18 months, including Part M recently. With the BS 5588 suite of Codes of Practice withdrawn in the UK and replaced by BS 9999, one expects that a revised Part B of the Technical Guidance Documents will be on the way in the not too distant future. Hopefully we will see revisions to all Technical Guidance Documents which will eliminate conflicts, as is currently the case.

I’ve just learnt that Part F of the Building Regulations was amended and signed into Law on the 22nd of December, with a revised TGD-F on the way shortly.

In March 2003 the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 which had a significant effect on how planning applications were made came into effect. In those early days of the regulations invalidations were very common, as agents and planning authorities got to grips with the regulations. Almost 7 years later invalidations are still common, currently running at approximately 20%. Thankfully, I haven’t had too many invalidations of late: only one in the last year that I can recall of. One benefit of these regulations for the applicant is that in the majority of cases potential objectors have to make themselves known at planning stage, through submissions, as opposed to appearing out of the woodwork on the last day for lodging an objection to An Bord Pleanala, as commonly used to happen in the past. Part V also came with the regulations, something which is hard to know how successful it is/was, as the affordable element of it is not or has not been very workable( around hear anyway) as there isn’t or never was a significant difference in prices of affordable houses and those on the open market. The regulations made it necessary to both erect a site notice and put a notice in the newspaper; prior to that it was one or the other. Also drawings could be submitted in either a metric or imperial scale, and there wasn’t an adhered to time frame for development plans. Overall things were fairly inconsistent compared to today.

2006 saw revised regulations relating to Construction Health & Safety; putting increased responsibility on the client and designers. Some might argue this should not be the case, however we are where we are. The role of preparing the safety file has moved to the designers (PSDP) from that previously of the constructors (PSCP).If that’s a good or bad thing I’m not so sure.

One piece of legislation, which needs to be mentioned, is SI 666 of 2006 or what brought BERs into begining for the layman. It is one of the most currently hated pieces of legislation by the Architectural Technology profession, ( and others I would image) not for the regulations themselves but how it has ended up. Firstly one has to question how so many non-construction or unqualified professionals ended up as BER Assessors, the answer is of course money and some training providers only interested in making the quick buck. One has to question SEI’s role in administrating the whole thing and why they didn't stick to their guns. I recall looking at the entry requirements and the level of information/knowledge and evidence thereof required by one of the first training providers and thinking to myself I would have difficultly obtaining a place and what’s more completing the course. Yet people with no construction backround have ended up assessors, many not capable of using a scale rule or reading a drawing, which has made a complete joke of the whole thing. As for the costs of BER’s most are done well below cost judging by the rates beginning quoted: one has to question the attention to detail been paid to the preparation of the assessment. I can’t justify becoming an assessor, even though it makes logical sense to become one and offer the service as part of the overall design service... Maybe things might change in 2010.

the last 10 years Part 1

2009-12-30T17:38:00.001Z

Over the course of the next few posts I intend to do a review of how I saw the last decade and the changes which effected the architectural technology profession. There's been lots of regulation, changes in technology and software, construction methods . From the way planning applications are made to design and construction of building and then there was the registration or protection of titles like building surveyor and architect.

I'll start with architectural technology representation. Back in 2006 on the First Saturday in November nearly 600 ATs gathered in the Ballroom of the RDS, where the IATGN as it became known orgainised a meeting for the AT with the view to setting up a new representative body for the industry which was to be known as Architectural Technology Ireland or ATI. Yet today little has happened, other than the fact that the profession is in decline due to downturn. A far cry from the claimed 1500 members. Many of those, whom served on the committee, are now struggling to survive within the industry, so it is unfair to attribute all the blame for its failure on these individuals…. Others I believe had their own agendas and have been successful in achieving them. Its now safe to assume that ATI is dead for the immediate future anyway.

Fortunately there is representation for the AT profession with CIAT and at a lesser scale in the RIAI. The CIAT membership maybe a few shy of 300 at present, but it is and has been working hard to represent the AT profession and I not doubt believe it will continue to do so in 2010 and years to come and with it the membership will increase.With a bit of luck 2010 will see a major breakthrough for CIAT.

Its only really since the RIAI achieved protection of the title of Architect (after some 150 odd years) under the Building Control Act that representation became a big issue for non-architects offering architectural services, before then few ATs considered joining any professional body, as they saw little benefit and besides in the last 10 years everybody was so busy that professional qualifications or the lack of them didn't bother anybody, from banks to solicitors, employers or clients it didn't matter. Today however it is a different story.

2009 - The Year of the Extension

2009-12-29T13:40:00.003Z

Domestic extensions and renovations have accounted for over 30% of all the projects I was involved in over the last 12 months. Not since I started working within the industry back in 1994, have I been involved in such a high % of this type of work. They say everything goes in 15 year cycle, which in this case seams to be true.

Of the projects, very few were exempted development under the Planning and Development Acts and Regulations, so as part of our work, making a planning application was one element. The main reason for this in many cases was the works to be undertaken were to the side of the dwelling: however a number of the extensions were over the 40sq.m threshold or when previous extensions were taken into account the floor area exceeded the 40 sq. m.

I haven’t encountered any problems with the planning applications to date and in a number of cases the decisions were made well within the statutory period, which was great for the client.

People seem to consider extending rather than trade up in dwelling size due to the current house sales market. Typically extensions involved the provision of additional bedroom accommodation. Granny flat extensions or the extensions, which are easily adoptable as granny flats also featured high in the list of extensions.

In many cases I found that people also took the opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of the existing structure, be it upgrading of insulation or windows, heating systems and controls. I expect that upgrading works will be a growth area in the next few years, particularly after the introduction of carbon taxes to fuel in the recent budget. With this in in mind, early in the new year I will be attending a one day CPD event entitled “Designing Low Energy Domestic Refurbs” which will hopeful fine tune me skills and improve my knowledge even further.

Building Regs-Technical Guidance Documents

2009-12-14T08:55:00.002Z

The DEHLG seem to be getting their act together in terms of getting Technical Guidance Documents (TGD’s)out for public consultation as Part H relating to Drainage appeared within the last week. How well its written might be another story.As expected gone are the references to SR 6 1991 and in its place the EPA Code of Practice. Many would say about time for SR 6 to be replaced. We have not used SR6 1991 for an number of years now, instead using the FETAC certified Site Assessors to undertake the site suitability testing.

There’s also references and guidance on rainwater harvesting, which is definitely a positive thing, if we are to take sustainability seriously. It seems pointless to be flushing toilets with what is meant to be good quality drinking water, however as some parts of the county found out within the last few years, here included, the quality of the water wasn’t fit for consumption anyway. Personally I’m looking at installing a rain water harvesting unit, as part of works to be undertaken in the future.

Getting back to the DEHLG and public consultation, I understand that they have their hands full after the Part M consultation, with 40 or so submissions. I’m sure the interest was increased due the introduction of the DAC Certs as the document will have a direct bearing on these in the future. How soon we can except to see the amended document well that’s another story, it will be a case of doing as many DAC Certs as quickly as possible under the current Documents I suspect…. Part F relating to ventilation which went for public consultation last year has yet to appear in its final format, so one can draw their own conclusions from that.

Of course Part L is due to be revised next year, to improve standards in thermal performance and reduce further our carbon emissions… the question is will we see the document… my money says yes if we still have a green minister for the environment. I don’t think that there has been too many houses built under the 2008 guidelines, I can see the 2010 guidelines been a complete culture shock to others when they do arrive.

DAC Certs

2009-12-09T14:22:00.001Z

Disability Access Certificates ( DAC Certs) are on the way as of 1 January 2010, which is not to far away now. Their introductaion is as a result of IS 351 of 2009 BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2009.

Their introduction will bring some teething problems no doubt like:

Whom in Building Control is going to access them...... the Fire Officers have said they won't.
Will Building Control Authorities be satisfied with demonstrating Compliance with the current Part M or will they be looking one to demonstrate compliance with another document eg NDA's publication Buildings for Everyone
What level of detail will they require, will full construction drawings be required or will documentation similar to the level of detail in a Fire Safety Certificate Application be sufficient?

The application fee won't sit well with persons whom require to make a DAC Cert application, in that it is €800 irrespective of size of project.

One has to ask the question it it now time that each element of the building regulations should be accessed by building control authorty in a single application, like what happens in the UK?

POP RECORD

2009-12-08T08:07:00.002Z

It’s finally time, to make my POP Record submission for Chartered Membership of CIAT or to give it its correct name the Professional and Occupational Performance Record Results Schedule.

Results Schedule signed off by POP Record Supervisor
CV updated
Cheque made out (€106 in my case)
Cover letter to accompany the submission.

Next correspondence should be the request to supply evidence for 5 of the 17 Units at which stage it should be just a case of taking the stuff out of the relevant file and submitting it.

One off housing

2009-12-03T18:27:00.003Z

Over the last few years, I haven't been involved in too many "one-offs" as time was spent working on larger commercial projects or designing residential schemes: as this work, has dried up, things have come full circle, in that the one off is now featuring more and more again in my work, which was the type of work I did went I started working back in 1994. Its not to say that I haven't designed many houses in those intervening years, its hard to count how many I have, while there's been plenty of 3 bed semis, I've also been involved in many schemes of large individual houses too.

One off house design has moved on from the "bungalow bliss" type grant sized house, which has is to be found on each rural road across the country. Have things improved much, I'm not so sure, however it is fair to say that design has become more of an important issue. Many of the local authorites have developed Rural Design Guidelines, mainly following the lead of Cork County Council, whom produced a good publication back in 2003... a must have for both designer and potential house builder.

I can't take the credit for the design of the above dwelling, but rather I have developed the design from a planning application design to working drawings. There are things I don't particularly like myself nor would I have advised the client to do in the house, but then I didn't have a significant say in the dwelling design at concept stage.

Work on the house is progressing on site at the moment with another site visit due shortly.

Impression

2009-11-30T13:20:00.016Z

Its been a while since I mentioned Autodesk’s Impression software, however that’s not to say that I haven’t been using it. In fact I use it almost as much as I use AutoCAD these days. It allows an AutoCAD user generate presentation drawings quiet quickly and with little hassle, once you use your layering system in AutoCAD correctly. A standard layering system through each project with good discipline, can allow one create render drawings in a matter of minutes, once you have your styles set up.

The current version is Impression 3, only available on subscription as have past releases, I think, which means in the short term anyway I don’t expect to see the next release, as our AutoCAD subscription wasn’t renewed, in a effort to keep overheads down for the coming 12 months.

I have to say Impression 3 has improved in terms of stability since Release 1, although, it can still be a little unpredictable when it comes to updating data following revisions in AutoCAD drawings. Fills too can pose problems if you move the drawing or elements of it following your original impression render. The importing of AutoCAD Blocks however seem to cause me most problems, in than I have to re-apply the styles on each occasion that I update the drawing.

For someone who just wants to jazz up their AutoCAD drawings (Like me) it is far simpler to use that say Adobe Photoshop, particularly if you aren’t familiar with photoshop. There aren’t a huge number of commands, yet there’s huge scope for a different presentation techniques. Be a maker style drawing with extended lines, a blueprint type finish to a drawing or whatever takes your fancy. Its just a matter of playing around with the style command.

Anyway the lads at Autodesk University are far better at explaining how to use the software than I, particularly in the two presentation I found.

An another extension

2009-11-26T22:04:00.004Z

Extensions and renovations seem to be the run of the mill of late, I am currently working on another one comprising of a granny flat this time. The brief is to extend an existing bungalow with a reasonable sized granny flat with bedroom and living accommodation, which will offer independence to the occupants, yet allow for care and supervision in years to come. As part of the works the clients intend up grading the thermal performance of the building and making alterations to the existing fenestration.

The project is ready to be submitted to the planning authority for assessment. Hopefully it will run through without any problems.

Tender Prices

2009-11-25T21:47:00.003Z

As noted in a previous blog, we recently tendered a small extension with 5 building contractors. At first glance there was a 24% difference in the lowest and highest tender price, with the 3 middle tenderers very closely matched. (which would indicate the actual tender price) These 3 were between 10-14% above the lowest tender price. The building contactor of the lowest tender has been back, to advise that there is an error in their price, and that the actual price should be 7.5% more than the one submitted in their tender, however under the Code of Practice for Tendering and Contractual Matters 2006 published by the Liaison Committee, the contractor is required to either stand over the tender price submitted or withdraw their tender. It is most probable that they will withdraw as they have advised that their tender price is suicidal or in any case we will be recommending to the client not to appoint the lowest tender as the tender price is insufficient to complete the project. The price is coming in at €135/sq foot, excluding PC Sums for sanitaryware / tiling and painting however it involves a lot of manual work due to restricted access and alteration works internally to the existing dwelling. We are currently waiting to see if the client will proceed with the project.

CIAT ramblings

2009-11-23T13:53:00.002Z

Recently I attended a CIAT committee meeting in Dublin, which was held to tie in with Plan Expo .Unfortunately I didn’t get to visit Plan Expo, things ran late in the office however I understand that there were more exhibitors than visitors (on that afternoon anyway), which is an indication of the poor state of the industry at present. Talking to some of the committee members afterwards, some don’t hold out much hope for their future in the industry, ( in the short term anyway) which is worrying, as people who engage on committees are generally the one’s who interested in progressing their career and practice.
There’s a practice meeting in early December, which should be interesting to see how others are coping and how they view the future.

Its 3 years, since I was admitted to CIAT as an Associate member. I had hoped to have had my pop record completed at this stage however things have been difficult for the last 18 months and its a case of survival and the pop record gets put on the back burner. However I’m now at the stage where I can of make my record submission, just have to update the CV at this stage and get the application fee. Watch this space.

Extensions and tendering.

2009-10-15T17:09:00.004+01:00

With many home owners not able to sell their homes or sell for what they hoped to get, some have resorted to extending rather than trading up. Depending on the works involved it may not be necessary to apply for planning permission, however I have found that generally the planning authorities make decisions well within the statutory period where planning permission was required and there are no issues .... something which would not have happened 12-15 months ago. Maybe its just that I've covered everything in the planning application submission and that they had no cause to request any further information.

Within the last few days I've sent one extension out to tender. It had been a while since I prepared tender documentation for an extension to be honest, but I now have a run of them to do. Extensions by their nature can be difficult to predict budget prices for so it will be interesting to see how much the tenders will come back for. I am expecting some variation in the prices.

The Society of Chartered Surveyors estimate that tender prices generally are back to 1999 levels, which would bring building costs well back from what they were 15 months ago, yet material prices and specifications have risen beyond the 1999 levels as have prelims., which makes one wonder.

The hidden costs of direct labour

2009-07-25T22:56:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I was asked for my thoughts on building an extension by direct labour. People think it is a far cheaper route to hiring a builder to do the job and go that route, often not factoring in the hidden costs. A client who chooses the direct labour route is ultimately managing and running a business for the duration of the project, however many never think or see it as that.

There's their time, often away from work associated with the project, including ordering materials, chasing sub contractors etc and the costs of phone calls trips to the builder's merchants to collect materials all which are often never factored into the project costs.

There's an array of insurances, which some are sometimes over looked, until its too late. And of course the client has full responsibility for the health and safety of the site. I wonder how many clients in their role of the employer have a safety statement for the construction site as required by law or whats more are aware that they are responsible for maintaining the health and safety of the site.Some might see these an an extra unnecessary cost, but if an accident occurred on site having the proper insurances and heath and safety procedures and policies could be the difference of having a new home or spending ones days in the jail house.

In the end I didn't give an opinion, just presented some of the information which doesn't always jump to mind for those considering the direct labour route as at the end of the day most people will do what they want anyway.

Information Evening at the Park

2009-07-12T20:04:00.007+01:00

The summer months are not normally the time, when information evenings take place or are well attended but on Wednesday week last, I attended a presentation in the Clonmel Park Hotel made by Campion Concrete on a new system build they are using for housing. While the concept is good, and properly works I won't be recommending the system in the near future, as I left with a lot of unanswered questions. Much of the presentation or "sales pitch" used bad workmanship in traditional cavity walling construction as a method of promoting the system and how this the system eliminates that, however as we all know, any system is only as good a the workmanship, be it timber frame, light gauge steel frame or conventional conc. block cavity walling. There was no real technical data to support or verify the system, nor from what I can gather has any testing of the system been done other than a 4 houses constructed within the last 12 months. Those associated with the product ran for cover when asked about the technical side and if an Agrément Certificate was applied for/pending ..... which answered that for me anyway.

Still the evening wasn't wasted as some knowledge was gained and Carey Glass of Nenagh were also in attendance and made a brief presentation on their "enegry reducing" products.

Extensions, Retentions etc

2009-06-22T17:28:00.004+01:00

The last few weeks have been spent preparing extension and retention planning applications and taking in charge documentation. While retentions are normally straight forward in terms of preparing, there's the same level of work involved and often more than a clear new planning application, fees expected by clients are normally less. For retentions we charge out by the hour with expenses on top, so the client can see exactly what they are paying for.

Clients initially take the same view with regard to fees for extensions, looking at the smaller picture of adding a room, however went you start outlining to them the bigger picture of how an extension is also an opportunity to upgrade the entire house from an energy efficiency point of view they seem more value in fees and professional advise and of doing the work. Be it reducing the amount glazing to north facing sunrooms, upgrading the heating system or replacing less energy efficient double glazing with ones of better U-values. For the client there is good value to be got in construction of an extension at present. Also as people can no longer to afford to trade up, the extension is the only option of adding some additional space hence I think extensions will be the most common type of work in the foreseeable future.

May updates.

2009-05-31T09:37:00.003+01:00

Its the last day of the month and I haven't posted since the first day, an indication of how busy I've been. I had two days of CPD orgainised by the CIAT on the role of PSDP on May 12/13. The course was fairly intense with exams at the end of each day. It will be a few months before I can expect the results, however I'm already putting the knowledge into practice.
Sticking with CIAT, I was elected Centre Secretary at the ROI Centre's Committee meeting last week.

On the work front, we've picked up a few new jobs, 2 extensions, a nursing home and the go ahead on three small housing schemes. In addition to lodging a revised proposal for a mixed village centre development and working drawing for a recently permitted Neighbourhood Centre.

More positivity

2009-05-01T17:13:00.003+01:00

The positivity of recent weeks seems to be continuing with some more new working coming in during the week. Two reasonable sized jobs have come into the office, hopefully one or two more will follow.One of the projects is straight forward, the other will require a good bit of work and if the client is willing to follow my advise I am confident that planning permission can be obtained.

Next week will be a busy one, as I have two planning applications to prepare and lodge, not helped by the fact it is a 4 day week too but I won't complain through!

We even received a planning permission for a small job, in less than 6 weeks and without further information this morning. More of that Please... Mr Planners.

CIAT General Business Meeting

2009-04-30T08:06:00.004+01:00

On Saturday last I made the early morning trip to Dublin to the CIAT General Business Meeting. The attendance, wasn't as bad as I expected although, it was still only 5% of the actual membership of the Irish Centre. So much for people’s interest in an Institute and one wonders why they are members at times.

As part of the meeting the President Mark Kenneth made a presentation. I have to say that Mark was very down to earth. The presentation was very interesting and informative. As one guy said the kind of thing to help boost moral in the current climate. It wasn't just talk there is substance behind it: Mark informed us that the practice documentation is now ready for use by ROI Chartered members and have referred another matter to the Competition Authority. More reasons to have my POP Record completed sooner rather than later.

All that went forward were re-elected to the committee along with two new members, officers will be decided in the coming weeks at the new committee’s first meeting.

IATGN/Tegral CPD Event

2009-04-23T07:51:00.003+01:00

Last night I headed to WIT for the IATGN/Tegral CPD event and added two more hours to the CPD record. The attendance was by no means great, however this could have been attributed to the timing, as the evenings get long people rather be in the garden than travelling to meetings.I think the lads inthe IATGN recoknised this too. The fact that so many AT's are no longer working too didn't help matters either I guess.

One reason I like attending events like these, is the social side and the chat with fellow AT's whom I don't often see. At the last event back in March I met a guy whom, I was in collage with in WIT that I hadn't seen in almost 14 years and again last night I met one guy whom I hadn't seen in 16 years, whom I was in collage with, in Carlow RTC as it was then. This I feel is the real benfit of a graduate network and something I would hope will not be lost going forward.

The presentations/ topics covered on the night were made by Bobby O'Neill of theTegral and were very informative, I had past experience of the Slating presentation, however I did pick up a few things, or a few items were refreshed in my mind. The second part of the presentation was on rainscreen cladding and while general was very informative and is something I will be looking into further, particularly as a method of weathering external insulation type construction.

Saturday sees me in Dublin for the CIAT General Business meeting and an opportunity to meet a few more fellow ATs.

CPD Events and meetings

2009-04-16T13:15:00.009+01:00

CPD is back on the agenda with a number of events planned in the coming weeks. First up is an IATGN organised event on Wednesday next in WIT: Tegral Building Products will be making two presentations, one , their excellent CPD event relating to slating and the second rain screen cladding. Something for both the domestic and the commercial orientated AT there.

Then on Saturday 25th its off to Dublin for the CIAT General Business Meeting and an audience with the CIAT's President Mark Kenneth, where I am going forward for re-election to the CIAT Centre's Committee. It will be interesting to see what kind of attendance will be there.

In May, I am scheduled to attend the CIAT organised course in relation to the role of PSDP (Project Supervisor Design Process). This course will be of assistance in allowing me undertake the role of PSDP and expand the range of services that can be provided by the practice. It is also hoed to hold a POP record workshop on the Tuesday evening of that event, which I also plan to attend.

Positive vibes

2009-04-08T17:43:00.009+01:00

Despite yesterday's budget, there appears to be some pick up in work, or definitely the office seems busier the last few days with clients coming and going. A number of projects are progressing to their next stage; planning applications to be lodged, fire safety certificate applications to be made and construction drawings to be prepared. We even received a positive decision from An Bord Pleanala.

Planning Decisions and invalidations

2009-03-31T08:08:00.004+01:00

We received another positive decision from a planning authority on Friday last, it seems as if the penny has finally dropped in local government. The conditions were even favourable for a change.

Well maybe not as the ever increasing list of petty things giving cause for invalidations continues. I got a call from a planning authority to inform me to expect the return of the application as it has been invalidated due to a number of petty things, which won''t have been considered as items to invalid an application 6 months ago. In the course of the conversation I was advised to address a number of building control related items, which although they didn't invalidate the application, the local authority would be seeking them to be addressed even though they don't have a material effect on the planning application. Planning Authorities have now assumed the role of the Building Control Authority by all accounts... I wonder will they be issuing Opinions of Compliance with Planning and Building Regulations also.

Progress or is it?

2009-03-26T08:09:00.006Z

Yesterday's pre-planning meeting was positive, the planner liked the proposals and would welcome the redevelopment of the site, however (there's always one) we were advised to engage with the DEHLG as the building is on the NIAH although no longer a protected structure. I suppose one has to welcome the fact that the planner was helpful and flagged to us that we should engage with the Department prior to making the planning submission, sometime that would properly not have happened in the past... watch this space to see how the development progresses.

At the same meeting, we took the opportunity to run by proposed revisions to a recently permitted development, prior to compliance submission. The planner was favourable towards the revisions, so we will now be submitting the revisions formally, and avoid the repeat of a high profile case which occurred recently in Cashel. Its positive news and allows me to proceed full steam ahead with preparing the Fire Safety Certificate application and working drawings now, for this project.

Pre-Planning Meeting

2009-03-25T08:14:00.006Z

Later this morning I'll be attending a pre-planning meeting with the local planner to discuss proposals for the redevelopment of a property in town, known as Anglea's The site has been subject to two previous planning applications in the past, neither of which got any further that further information stage.

The fact that the property has been deleted from the list of projected structures in the past few months should help the case, in progressing the development this time. The building has been altered on a number of occasions in the past which has effected the structural integrity of the building. None of the walls are tied together. There is also evidence of movement, one only has to look at the crack in the picture. The original roof has been long removed, indeed there is evidence to suggest that the building has been shortened in the past too. The detail of the windows further suggests that the building has been altered overtime, so a redevelopment of the building at this time, is another stage in the life of the building.

Our proposal, is to partially demolish the building and reconstruct this in a contemporary style to distinguish the new works form the original... of course this is dependant on how we get on with the planner this morning.

Planning Applications and decisions

2009-03-23T08:18:00.010Z

Just putting the finishing touches to two "huge" (not ! ) planning applications this morning: A retention application for a coffee shop measuring 30 sq . m and an application for a replacement domestic garage.

The coffee shop application, is a result of planning enforcement, which is a big thing at the moment, in many of these case the first part should seek a Section 5 Declaration or referral, where a warning letter is sent out, prior to replying for retention. It was not an option in this case as there is not parent permission. The decision f the planning authority will be interesting.

The application for the garage is a straight forward application, although an additional hassle on the clients, has they have had the garage uprooted, due tot he recent flood relief works in Clonmel.

Friday did bring some positive news in that the planning authority granted permission for a development... admittedly reducing the floor area by 230 sq. metres, in reducing the development by a floor.

Friday was also to see a decision by An Bord Pleanala, in respect to a development which was subject to a third party appeal, however as of yet there is no news, the decision date , has been put back a number of times already, so there will be no surprise, if its put back again.

Dependance on Technology

2009-03-17T08:57:00.003Z

For almost a week now, our server in work has been down, a faulty hard disk is the problem, I'm told. Its meant that everything on the network was down, printers, email, internet access, and even access to files. Fortunately I had loads of paperwork to tidy up, so the down time allowed me attend to that, but at the same time it has shown how depend we have become on certain pieces of technology. Email and internet access are now an important part of the office structure,providing access to local authority planning files, application forms, and documents and even printer drivers. I went about setting up our mian printers as local printers on my laptop, only to find there were no drivers in the office, nor does the printer manufacturer supply them..... other than to download them for their website.... a bit of a problem if you have no internet access. Anyway things should be back up and running before the weekend, and possibly tomorrow.

Information Evening

2009-03-14T17:31:00.005Z

On Thursday Evening I headed to WIT for one of the IATGN information evenings. The attendance was much smaller than the previous events, with approximately 25 in attendance; a reflection on how the industry currently is.

On the night three topics were covered; Accessibility Auditing by William Longeran MCIAT and OPW Architectural Assistant, Update on Planning by Peter Thompson Planning Consultant and Vista Options for the Architectural Technologist/Technician by a rep from VisaFirst.com. The evening was worth attending as I did learn something from each of the speakers presentations.

The Accessibility Auditing was particularly interesting, considering that it s expected that in the comming year the long awaited Access Certificates will be introduced. BS8300 2009 will be on the shopping list for these I would image. Now when things are quiet , is the ideal time to get up to speed with that document and incorporating the principals of same into new building design.

The second presentation of the night on planning, was beneficial and I picked up some information on enforcement and that every often is it best to request a declaration or referral under Section 5 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, where Planning Authorities issue a warning letter prior to applying for retention permission. The talk moved on the proposed new planning bill and the expected implications for development plans and zoning. By all accounts zoning will not longer be a case of putting a colour on a map: things like demostration of adequate services, school capacities etc will have to be taken into account when lands are been zoned. No doubt it will be up to the landowner to demonstrate that the lands should be zoned.

The third talk was on visas, it was more interesting than I expected it would be.

Afterwards a cup of tea was enjoyed , and more importantly a chat with fellow ATs.

its the small stuff

2009-03-11T08:07:00.004Z

Its the small stuff that takes the time.... working on small projects/jobs are far more time consuming to that of working on a large project. You could spend a day working on a small project and have hardly anything to show for it, yet a day on a major project, could see 5 or 6 drawings after the days work.

A planning application for a domestic garage for example may only have one A3 drawing and a few maps in its planning application but it still takes the best part of 2 days to prepare the planning application, while a week working on a larger project, could see a lorry load of drawings created for a planning application.

Also for some reason the small stuff seems to get left on the desk for longer, at present there's properly 5 or 6 small jobs to be done, which would occupy a week or two, yet some of them are outstanding for nearly a month at this stage and all are sitting on someone's desk for over a week. I think its time to allocate a morning or two each week solely to the smaller projects to keep on top of them.. staring this morning.

Planning Authorities

2009-03-09T20:58:00.007Z

If you were to go by a planning authority and the length one has to wait for an appointment, you would think there is a flood of appointments and planning applications to be dealt with . Tried making an appointment last Friday to be given a date of the end of the month, yet the planning authority in question hasn't received a planning application in nearly 4 weeks. Mind you with the rate of the requests for further information from the same authority, you can see how there are no available appointments for nearly 3 weeks... further information requests for almost every application with in most cases requests for redesigns of previously agreed proposals and the flowerly language used, in the same requests for further information isn't helpful either ... just to really get up the applicants and agents backs.

One would think local authorities would be helpful and encourage activity that maintains jobs. Do they not realise that they will end up supporting the construction industry out of their own pocket, through the higher taxes needed to fund the ever growing dole queues.

Other planning authorities are boosting their number of planning applications in retention applications as a result of warning and enforcement procedures, which isn't a true reflection on how active or not construction will be. I wonder how long it will be before the planning authorities throughout the country will realise that there is a significant dent in their revenues due no construction activity and no development contributions, or how many planners will loose their jobs due to the lack of planning applications. Maybe we will see volumes of masterplans for village that will now never be developed prepared by idol planners.

New year updates.

2009-02-27T09:10:00.008Z

So far the new year (well its no longer the new year now) has been busy but tough. We haven't been getting any breaks from the planning authorities...... just requests for further information and refusals. We did get one permission, for the construction of two boundary walls, which was a "tidy up" job. The further information requests have lots in them, mainly trivial stuff but it has to be answered. Hopefully we will see positive decisions which will enable clients to move on site. As for the refusal, it is a case of sitting and waiting for the next 6 months.

An Bord Pleanala (fortunately) did up hold the Planning Authority's decision in respect to the proposed expansion of a business park, however the delay has meant that the project is not going to proceed on site for a while.

New Year Extension

2009-01-16T08:38:00.004Z

it's been a while

2008-12-22T07:48:00.005Z

Feck ! I didn't think its been that long since I last posted over 5 months. Alot has happened in the meantime. There's been major downsizing in the practice where i work. I'm now the only AT in the practice. Many other practices in the area too have down sized, I will be in the minority rather than the majority, when I return to work after Christmas, as unfortunately many AT's will not be returning to work. Many of our clients too have down sized their staff. It's not been an easy year and some say worse is yet to come.
In our practice, we have refocused abit, looked at costs and methods of saving money and how we are going to survive. By the looks of things, we have managed to get one or two lucrative projects for the new year, which should see us through until September or so. We're alos back doing insurance assessment's and Fire Safety Certificate Applications, in addition to the run of the mill stuff we have been doing.
Positive news brings back confidence and that appears to be alot of the problem at the moment, lack of confidence.

On a personal front, I have failed to complete my CIAT POP Record, mind you I am nearly there and will have it done early in the new year. The events that occurred in the office attributed to me failing my goal, but other things, like moving house, attending the scout jamboree all had to take priority. Early next year and I should be sorted.... Well actually I need to be as a Professional Qualification will become more important.

I have been developing my skills with AUTODESK's Impression 2 and think is a great package for preparing sketch drawings.I'm using it quiet a bit of late. Sketchup 7 has arrived too , although I haven't used it that much yet.

Making the best of time.

2008-07-17T08:11:00.006+01:00

With things not as busy as they were , it has allowed me look at various methods of presentation and hopefully develop new skills. .. maybe I might now have time to learn revit or even complete that POP record which will allow me apply for CIAT Chartered-ship. In the last few weeks I've been doing some work with AutoDesk's Impression 2. In the past I've use the original version for one or two things, but not to the extent of recent weeks. Its great for presentations as it allows dwg drawings to be transformed into what looks like a hand sketches. And whats better is you can update the cad drawing and with a clip of a button the impression file updates as well... so all the work done is not lost. I have found a few bugs, with times not updating properly, but its still faster than redoing a hand sketch. The smaller fills seem to export better to pdf and jpeg for printing and distribution. So far with the larger files i've found the best results by printing through the software itself. I recently competed a set of plans which looked like a traditional set of blueprints (in blue and all).

Its all about upskilling now.

The downturn

2008-07-16T20:18:00.008+01:00

The last few weeks has seen a major sudden down turn resulting in a significant rationalisation plan been put in place in work. Unfortunately most of the staff have received their notice, as work has pretty much dried up and little prospect of anything like the volume of work we had. Getting in fees for work done isn't helping either, as clients are slow to come up with the money. We're not the only one's in the same boat: speaking with many fellow technologists the trend is common, throughout the country. The construction industry as a whole is taking a big hit.

Despite the downturn, my work of late has been varied from doing feasibility studies, planning applications for warehousing and even the odd fire cert application... something I haven't done in about 6 years.

Where will it end, I don't quiet know, however one thing is we need to be positive and look to the challenges of the future and not the good times of the past.

Cahir Scout Den Proposal

2008-05-13T08:29:00.007+01:00

Nerves, Nerves ,Nerves.

2008-04-12T21:37:00.003+01:00

On Thursday night last I make a presentation to 60 odd potential self builders. It formed part of the EBS self build seminar, which was run by the local EBS branch. I had one or two moments when I lost my train of thought but this was down to nerves, I think. I definitely had too much ground to cover, in terms of topics, so I ended up running over on time. My presentation covered the design brief, selection of a designer, site selection, planning permission, routes of construction of dwelling, and certification . It would have been much better if it had only focuses on the first 3 items. I properly had too much detail too, in some areas. I'll know better next time ( if there is a next time ). Overall the night went well, not sure if we'll get any work out of it, but you'll never know.

Anyway I intend using the presentation as part of my POP record, hopefully it will be acceptable and have made the night useful for me.

Next week sees me heading SEI's Energy Show in Dublin, with where I'll attend two presentations, one which will really interest me, relates to the passive house, some which will become more and more common. Another couple of hours on the CPD count as well. Well over my minimum 35 hours are required to do by the Code of Conduct in CIAT.

Slow down ..... not from where I am !

2008-04-06T00:04:00.004+01:00

Its been a while since I was last on blogging. I've been very busy of late. So much for a slowdown in construction. we have picked up a number odd jobs of late, nothing large, just enough to keep us ticking over, but nobody is prepared to wait, they all have to be done immediately.

Last week was a busy week, spent all Tuesday traveling the South West viewing sites, in the hope that we would be in the running for a large job. Friday was a very intense day, as I had to write a number of reports on the sites and make relevant recommendations on their suitability. Not an easy task in a few cases.

In between that I had to complete a planning application submission and prepare a preliminary design for two warehouses. I meant to do attend to two other jobs as well, but I didn't get time to. Next week will be another hard week. There will be at least 3 guys on the phone first thing Monday morning !!!

On top of that I have tpo prepare a presentation for an information evening orgainsed by a local firm. The presentation is meant to be completed by Monday evening, so tomorrow or should I say later today will be busy. No rest at all for me....

And more work.

2008-02-01T19:16:00.001Z

They say Time flies when you're having fun.. seeing as this week flew I must be having fun ! I didn't think beginning rushed off one's feet was the definition of fun.

Another very busy week which didn't seem to produce much in the was of significant progress on anything, a few sketch proposals for jobs here and there, a few letters and then there was a few mapping issues to be sorted out. Boy do I hate clients who decide to change maps and boundaries and then never think of the long term effects. I spent the afternoon checking maps prepared over 3 years ago.... :(

This week saw the latest Technical Guidance Document L relating to dwellings published. It brings with it many new changes, both in terms of design and how we will construct dwellings. Air tightness beginning the major new element for the builders. The publication was timely, as on Wednesday night I was in Limerick to attend Homebond's Right on the Site seminar. As always it was very informative and well worth making the effort attending. It covered many of the new technologies associated with Part L, Air tightness, Sustainable Energy and BER (Building Energy Rating). My conclusions are that it will be worthwhile doing the BER assessor training, as I design houses in the future.

CIAT have started a weekly email effort with information for members, which is great, hopefully some Irish news will make its way into it. Speaking of CIAT, its time I went and done some more of my POP record.

Where does the time go!

2008-01-17T21:03:00.000Z

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

The week's events at work

2008-01-11T20:29:00.000Z

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.

Recent Project

2008-01-04T19:41:00.001Z

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.

Sketch proposal of dwelling

2007-12-22T21:53:00.000Z

I have recently started experimenting with Impression, software developed by Autodesk. It gives AutoCAD drawings a hand drawn effect, which is ideal for presentation of concept drawings. The software is still in development, and has some bugs, the print quality from the software itself is poor for example.

I have found, however that printing the final image to a .pdf file produces a better result or saving the image as a .jpg. Different styles can be applied to different layers so one can of a combination of effects.

Software Software ....... everywhere

2007-11-29T21:36:00.000Z

In the last week we received delivery of our new software. On Tuesday of last week NBS Scheduler arrived. We'll be using this to assist us in generating specifications for projects. After spending a few hours examining it I have figured out how to use it.... Now for the real test.... to put it into practice on a project. Its content appears to be sufficent for what we do, which is important, I would have got my ass kicked if it didn't cover our basic bread and butter work.

Yesterday I took delivery of AutoCAD's Revit Architecture Suite. Haven't had a chance to use it yet, although I did manage to find time to install it on my laptop. For the moment I'll work thought the tutorials to get familiar with the software before attending a training course. The best way of learning is of course to start a project, but as we're on the run in to Christmas, the pressure will be on to get stuff out in hurry. New Year new beginnings or that's the plan anyway.

Plan Expo Visit

2007-11-16T19:38:00.000Z

Last Thursday I visited Plan Expo and attended the seminar on Alternative House Building Types. The exhibition itself , had a large selection of stands devoted to energy efficiency, from heat exchangers to air tightness membranes. Many of the more traditional exhibitors were missing, no Velux windows, no Moy Materials to name a few.

The seminar on alternative house building types was worth attending. Gerry McCaughey, Chief Executive, Kingspan Century Ltd as expected spent the afternoon telling us that timber frame is the future in housing building and that the concrete block is on the way out. What a load of sh!te. Naturally the concrete representatives disagreed. Each of the building methods have their own advantages and disadvantages and should be examined for individual projects.

The main thing I took from the seminar was, the standard of workmanship on site will have to drastically improve as air-tightness is here to stay whether we like it or not. It was stated that insulation standards are now at the standard where any further reduction in u-values would not have a significant improvement in energy efficiency, however substantial improvements are to be gained by improvements in air tightness of the construction. Off-site construction, where services are integrated into the construction in the factory definitely have the advantages as regards air tightness and quality control.

The question is how well the builders will adopt to the new requirements and at what cost .Time will tell....

Plan Expo

2007-11-04T21:41:00.001Z

Heading to Plan Expo this week , which is Ireland's largest annual construction show. In the past, I used only visit the event every second year, however it is now necessary to attend every year to keep abreast with new technologies and advancements within the industry. This year there is a zone focused on sustainability, no doubt in response to the growing interest in the area.

As part of this year's visit I will be attending a seminar on Alternative Housebuilding Types which takes place on Thursday afternoon. It should be a useful seminar and hopefully give an insight of how the industry as a whole foresee the future of housing.

While attending the event, I hope to do some networking and gathering information for future CPD events, both for the office and CIAT. Naturally I'll also be looking for information for some projects that are in the pipeline and will be going to tender soon and of course doing some research of products for my own house which is under construction. I will particularly be interested in sustainable elements, solar heating, rainwater harvesting etc, which I am considering to put into the house, might even be ale to twist a few arms and get a few deals or at the very least ensure that the builder isn't going to screw me.

I'll report on my visit next week.

Sketchup for Dummies

2007-10-24T07:50:00.001+01:00

I picked up a copy of Google Sketchup for Dummies. It's a typical Dummies book, with loads of basic information. In saying that there's loads of information in it which I don't know, including tips and methods of improving the way I do things ..... so its well worth the €23.70.

CIAT Conference

2007-10-23T21:57:00.000+01:00

Friday last 19th October 2007 , all roads brought us to the RDS, in Dublin for CIAT's Conference on POP records. The event was partly orgainised in response to the IATGN's report and recommendation of its members to join both CIAT and RIAI.

While the attendance was only in the region of 70 and nothing like the claimed 1500 members in the IATGN, I think the event was worth while for everyone who attended. I have to say that I found the conference worth while and should be of assistance in completing my POP Record. Many of the key staff of CIAT from City Road were over for the event, including the current President and President Elect, which demonstrates CIAT's commitment to Ireland.

POP Records

2007-10-04T13:49:00.000+01:00

What are they you ask, well POP records are short for Professional and Occupational Performance Records, which is the main means used by the Charter Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) to access competency. At present I am progressing to Chartered Architectural Technologist from Associate membership and have been working on the POP record for the last 9 months or so. Just finished another unit this morning dealing with procurement procedures and advising clients there of. I pity the poor client when he seeings the letter i sent him, all 3 pages !
Reading the POP record there appeared to be alot in it, but when you work through it, it was straight forward, a 3 page letter to the client cover the unit, of course not all units are that simple, I have one or two which will take a bit more work, well it won't really as the work has to be done anyway....only normally not by me !!!

Time I got back to it now

Revit

2007-09-27T19:30:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, I went to an AutoCAD Revit Architecture Launch organised by the local Autodesk Reseller. Looked impressive, and definitely worth trying. I took a trial CD home with me to test it out for myself. It seems to be easy enough to use, although it is a little different to use compared to AutoCAD.

Of course there are factors to take on board, if we consider to invest in the software. To purchase a licence will work out at €100/week for the first year and then €20/week with subscription for yearly upgrades. A new notebook may also be required, the cost will also have to be factored in.Then there's the cost of training and the time required to adjust to the new work method. From talking to others, one should allow about 3 months to get totally up to speed with things.

But then if production is increased, the investment is worth it in the long term, considering I think BIM will be the future in terms of building design and CAD.

Sketchup

2007-09-26T08:35:00.001+01:00

Sketchup ! what a great piece of software for doing up concept sketches. The above was created in a matter of a couple of hours and got some post production in photoshop where I applied some of the standard filters. I have to say that sketchup was so easy to learn. .. not that I know everything about it... still learning !

I have it about 2 years now and just love working with it.

More red tape !

2007-09-21T22:10:00.000+01:00

The DOEHLG (Government) Guidelines for the design of apartments, have come into effect this week. The net effect is that all apartments will now have to be larger, with considerable larger storage space required than before. While these guidelines are welcomed and should help change the perception that apartments are small, more regulation is required to reduce noise transmission between apartments.

The guidelines recommend dual aspect apartments generally with balconies/patio areas to the living rooms. Can be difficult to accommodate in village/town centres of rural Ireland, where the Planners want traditional vernacular design. We'll wait and see if the apartment quality really improves.

Today saw the DOEHLG publish their latest amendments to Part L of the Building Regulations, relating to energy efficiency for dwellings. In theory it could to work, in practice it could be another story. Training, for both consultants and the builders/developers and information needs to be rolled out now, and not 2 weeks before or after the amendments come into effect. I must go study the Final Draft document, before it is wrote into law.

No rest for the AT !

2007-09-20T20:56:00.000+01:00

Working as an architectural technologist can brings its pressures and rewards...
After almost 3 months, the holidays in between and some going backwards and forwards with the client, the largest project of the year so far to be undertaken in the office was delivered to the clients yesterday for submission to the Planning Authority. As the clients were new and the fees good, we were out to make a good impression.Presentation is everything and I think we got it right for this one. Of course the detail is important too and I think we managed that too, but you are always abit anxious with any project that, it will firstly get planning permission and secondly that the development will work.

With that job off the desk, the pressure is still on, as we have a number of masterplans to complete for the same clients. Not complaining though, as things have slowed down quiet considerably, generally in the office in the last 12 months... At least I get a chance to clean my desk at the end of the week not and even manage to take a day or two off work, as I done today and will do tomorrow, to catch up on the diy around the house, which I have put on the long finger for 2, 3 or is it 5 years now ! that's for another day