Why Blogging?
For most of my adult life I’ve suffered from imposter syndrome. From starting out on a YTS scheme, going to University seven years later to study Civil Engineering, re-entering employment in a small structural engineering practice, then moving to a civils contractor before setting up my own consultancy – there have always been people around […]
When is a crack a structural one?
When you can get your hand in it, like this one <<insert photo >> can I do this? Now I’ll confess that I have fairly small hands so maybe that’s not the best indicator but we do have the recommendations laid down by The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in their document Assessment of Damage […]
When to use a building notice?
Building Regulations were first introduced in 1964 and whilst they have been constantly updated and review, their sole purpose has always been to ensure that whatever has been built has been constructed safely and to the current appropriate standards. When a building regulation submission is made by a home owner or contractor, the relevant structural […]
This is S.H.I.T
If a picture speaks a thousand words, how much does a working model? Allow me therefore to introduce my Subsidence Heave Indicator Tool or to give it its acronym S.H.I.T. The purpose of this tool is to illustrate the cracking behaviour of masonry walls founded off of a clay subsoil <<describe clay>> <<video of subsidence>> […]
If you stand on my foot
One of the things that I find most challenging yet most rewarding is explaining seemingly complex structural occurrences in a way that muggles will understand. Over the years I have developed various analogies for different situations but by far and away my most successful and favourite example is to ask ‘if you stand on my […]
Who roofs collapse?
Any self respecting pitched roof will want to collapse and try to be a flat roof. <<picture of collapsed roof – Folkingham>> Consider putting a book on a desk, opened out to mimic a roof of a house, and it is clear that it wants to slide further apart. <<picture of book on desk – […]
How do builders get that beam in?
I am remain convinced that everything scheme I put together works perfectly and such is my conviction, people seldom challenge me. I would however add that the challenge often lies in getting the ideas from the paper into the real world as that is when the fun starts. Having an eye to how to get […]
What is the difference between planning permission and building regulations?
It is a question that I get asked frequently by Clients about to embark on a building project and whilst to the layman they may look as though they are similar pieces of legislation, they are very different. Planning permission in essence is all about what am I legally allowed to build. The question to […]
Why BCE?
In 2010 I had, as I perceived, my ideal job. I was working for an international heavy lift company as a Project Manager. This involved the managing and undertaking of heavy lift contract work on projects all around the globe as well as getting involved in the manufacture of new equipment in the UK. Then […]
