Week Ending 24th June 2012

I have over 30 years of experience in the construction industry, my colleagues and employees all receive regular training and guidance, we employ an independent Safety Consulting firm but yet, before we are allowed to design a foundation or drainage scheme for a client (who no doubt has the same experience and awareness of construction  health & safety issues as ourselves), we still have to submit, for review, by a ‘qualified’ H&S  consultant, our procedures  on how we lift objects in the office! I am all for H&S in the work place and on site but for goodness sake, take a step back, take the blinkers off and get in the real world – anyway, I can see my wife struggling up the garden path with the grocery shopping – perhaps I should tell her to only carry two bags at time so she doesn’t put her back out otherwise how will she do the ironing!

Fire damaged project at Essex has finally ‘topped out’ after nearly two years. As a Grade Listed building, Conservation officers have been ‘interested’ from the start which has had to be balanced with the Client’s desire to squeeze as much accommodation into the apartments as possible. Anyway, all parties seem to be happy.

It seemed to be a week for housing and apartments as, following on from the appointment last week for the design of 120 houses in Hatfield we were appointed this week for 37 apartments in Kilburn, 24 houses in Lincolnshire, the design of a new, four storey concrete framed apartment block in London and the addition of four flats above an existing Working Man’s club in Edmonton. The highlight, however, must have been driving for two and half hours in the pouring rain in order to look down a hole with five others!

Week Ending 17th June 2012

Good week – started on a high and ended on a high. On Monday we found that we had been successful in our bid for the design of a new multi-million pound distribution centre in Bury St Edmunds and then on Friday we were appointed, out of the blue, as the Structural Engineers for a large apartment block in Northampton. This latter one is particularly pleasing as the client appointed based on our previous performance and didn’t even ask about our fee scale!

 Recently Completed Distribution Warehouse - Sudbury

Had a meeting mid week with the owner of a large manufacturing business of the SIPs (Structural Insulated Panel system) who we have being working with for the last three years. As they are looking double production over the next year, we discussed methods simplifying the design process as well as specifying a regime of testing for them. Unfortunately, few of practicing architects are aware of SIPs let alone the benefits of building in this modern material – luckily we are and I have even built my own garage from the stuff!

 My 'DIY' Garage

Quarry inspections still form a significant part of our work load with us providing nationwide training workshops for site managers and undertaking specific site inspections on a biannual basis - more often when vehicle impact or similar has arisen. Usually the plant is initially designed for a twenty year life but invariable the kit is modified or moved resulting in its life extended by at least twice this.

Week Ending 10th June 2012

Obviously, a significant part of the week was taken up with the bank holidays and the Queens Jubilee celebrations. Soner, from the London office braved the weather on Sunday and managed to get a good vantage point and some cracking shots of the Royal Barge complete with a decent London backdrop.

Meanwhile, back in the office, the week continued with the normal humdrum designs and details for roads, sewers and buildings which make up the staple diet of the consulting engineer. We did, however, manage to secure the appointment on a 120 house development in Hatfield with a new (national) client providing the designs for both the infrastructure and foundations. Should be an interesting one with a cut & fill exercise and foundations varying from standard trench fill through to piles, rafts and vibro.

On a smaller scale, once again we were called in to provide advice on how to improve on the inadequate temporary works being used on site. Although our staff spent Wednesday morning on a CDM refresher training course, it still appears that, when it comes to site, the rules, regulations and guidance continue to be ignored! On this one, two party wall surveyors, threat of high court legal action, police involvement and a dangerous structure notice all thrown into the mix.

Week Ending 3rd June 2012

Carrying out a structural inspection on Monday and once again came across the dreaded ticked box of the mortgage surveyor asking for a damp report. As always, this surveyor proudly puts after his name RICS which I would have thought would give him some insight in to why there are damp problems in a 300 year old house! Surely they should start taking a bit more responsibility for their job than just shifting the ‘problem’ onto a damp proof company who will invariably include somewhere in their report ‘provide an injected damp proof course’. That is not addressing the problem and almost never needed.

Inundated this week with small domestic designs varying from single beams for ground floor extensions through to complete re-builds. I believe more thought has to go into these smaller projects than the large as they are often fiddly and the clients invariably want the impossible and want their house to, in effect, to be the Tardis!

Managed to squeeze this basement extension below a five storey

structure with minimal downstands and no protruding columns

in order to keep to the client's brief for clean lines

The multi million pound refurbishment of Middlesex House, Wembley is virtually complete with the new cladding glinting away in the sunshine. Let’s hope its new cladding is waterproof after now the summer seems to be already over. Having saved the client almost £200k in re-designing the steelwork from the original proposals (designed by others I hasten to say), my initial reservations that the 15 storey saw-tooth feature on the side would look ‘odd’ I think the architect knew what he was doing.