Crawfordsburn Diary Entry No.6 - On Site Commences

After an intensive year of research, design and planning the Crawfordsburn passive house is now ready for construction to commence. The design process, extensive Passivhaus calculations, planning application, building control application and contract tender process are now all complete. This was a very exciting step for the entire team involved, the beginnings of the scheme becoming reality.

The excavation went to plan with no glitches or surprises along the way, making life more pleasant for the contractor and also allowing the budget to be upheld. This smooth process was further eased by dry weather. The site has been stripped, levelled and the soil has been stored for reuse later, to finish the site post build. All of the trenches have been excavated, and now are waiting for the concrete to be poured.

We have also had at officer from North Down Building Control visit the site, so far so good.

The last couple of weeks have been very important as ensuring all drawings and paperwork were completed before onsite activity began was crucial. Our design team have spent a lot of time focusing on the detailed drawings.

For Passivhaus construction, it is vital that the pre-build drawings are completely accurate so that the on site team, from suppliers to builders, are on the same wavelength. At Paul McAlister Architects we always aim for a partnership approach to construction, involving everyone, which facilitates team focused progress.

The photograph above shows the client, Mrs Helen McGlinchey, standing beside contractor Mr Kevin Mulligan, Baylands Construction Ltd on the day of construction commencement.