Nothing beats the excitement of leaving site after another big step (céim mhór eile). The construction tends to ebb and flow, there is a flurry of activity, then it slows down to allow the work progress off site. Like the hungry caterpillar, it’s in a continuous process of transformation.
This morning in two hours, we had our precast floor and stairs installed. The beauty of offsite construction is that you can pick the right conditions, you don’t get stuck in the middle of a storm. Sites like this are not stressful, there is a strange calmness when the only background noise is the hum of the crane performing its high wire manoeuvres. The grounds men stand relaxed waiting for the 2 tonne slabs to sail into position, using their hand gestures to communicate with the crane driver. My favourite was the twirly finger motion to wind the crane back up. There is a script for installation, the stairs go in first, as it’s sitting on top of the flat precast planks, then each jigsaw piece is fitted in sequence with measurements and checks, until the final piece remains. There was no cliff hanger moment of it not fitting, the final piece was just 15mm off, so the console saw was used to make the final adjustment.
After the installation, we followed the crane down the road, as it left our winding Baile, the road was at its limit to accommodate the 16-tonne crane. Malin’s Daideo (Grandad) who was minding her while I was on site, reflected on how much construction has changed. He built his home close by almost 50 years ago. The building technology was simpler then, no Autocad, precast floors, or cranes. Plans were selected from a book, possibly the bungalow bliss one, where context and orientation were often not considered. Construction requirements have changed vastly since with building control, energy performance and unlimited choice of materials. I wonder will I ever see the day when I’m holding the grandchild, while Malin or Iarlaith build their first home and what form of construction will be available to them then? One thing is for sure, is home building will continue to transform and evolve like the hungry caterpillar.
#irishconstruction #selfbuild
