Building our Scandinavian Home.

Groundwork’s – 3 weeks

James Kearney arrived on site on Monday 30th August along with his trusty helper  Pavel and his nephew Brendan.  James took everything in his stride and there was no problem that could not be overcome. He drove from Headford every day and I was amazed that in the 4 weeks he never once arrived on-site having forgotten something he needed for the day ahead. James oversaw the installation of our Sewage Treatment (Septec 2000) and Rainwater Harvesting System (Rainman) supplied by Shay Murtagh Ltd, Raharney, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. Shay Muragh’s crew co-ordinated delivery and installation with James to ensure the preparation work was complete. Shay Murtagh’s technical team will be back onsite to commission both the Rainman and the Septec 2000 Systems once the house has mains supply of electricity.
James ensured that all measures were taken to ensure that all pipe/ducts etc were sealed appropriately for air-tightness. He was always available to discuss any concerns and offer advice.  After 3 weeks grounds work were complete and on Monday 20th September James started constructing the raft on behalf of Scandinavian Homes.

Raft construction – 1 Week

The switch from digger and heavy equipment to the precision work involved in the raft was very noticeable.  To see the raft start and complete in one week was extraordinary. The only problem encountered was a breakdown of one of the cement lorries on the Friday. This resulted in a setback of 5-6 hours and meant James had to work right through the night to complete the power-floating.  Again there were no complaints, James  and Brendan checked in to a local B&B and completed the power-floating at 5am.  
House Erection – 2 Weeks
On Tuesday the 28th August 2010 at 6:30am the first lorry and the crane were on-site. Peter & John were also ready to start work. By lunch time all the external walls were in place. By 4pm the roof trusses were in-place. The progress was astonishing. At 6pm Peter handed me one of the keys to my house!!  At 4pm on Thursday the 30th August the house was weather tight.  Shell erection was complete by the end of the next week. I review the checklist with John and at it was time to complete my payments to Scandinavian Homes


Fit-Out – 8 weeks and continuing

On Monday 11th October Peter and John started work on the Fit-out.  Peter, John and crew arrive on-site at 8am every morning. We cannot speak highly enough of these men. The pride they take in their work is second to none. The attention to detail is phenomenal. I told them that I was hoping to get our house certified by the Passive House Institute. A key requirement is achieving an air-tightness value of <0.6 ACH. John and Peter put in an extraordinary effort to ensure we met this. Ronan Rodgers of Energy Matters conducting the air permeability test on the 12th of November and we achieved a rating of 0.27 ACH far less that the Passive House requirement. This was down to the hard work, expertise and attention to detail by Peter and John. The quote from Ronan Rodgers said it all “Please see the attached Air Permeability and Thermography test report for your dwelling.  The result is a truly excellent! It far exceeds any result I have ever tested.
Today, 7th December our tiler started work. We have painted the first coat to three bedrooms. Extraordinary progress considering we have been held up a bit by the bad weather and only 14 weeks earlier we had a green field.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Declan, I'd like to take a minute to echo exactly what you've said about this group of fellas. You have to actually see it to believe it. Standing in my house this weekend with 1st fix plumbing and heating complete,bearing in mind that all that stood there on the morning of January 18th was a raft. Thats 2 and a half weeks, Its remarkable. And not only do Peter and John take such pride in their craft,but its a fantastic thing to see that pride being passed on to the group of young lads that are working with them.Its a rare and quite lovely thing to see.Its something thats been missing in the construction industry in this country for years.

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  2. Hi Everyone,

    I'm hoping to build a Nordica94 with attic rooms.
    Scanhome literature states that their Pricelist 'does not include finishings of upstairs. Only optional structural conversion and gable window(d) are included'. Could someone tell me what the attic will look like 'unfinished'; for instance: Will there be joists? Will it be floored? Will the walls be plastered?
    I e-mailed Scanhome but didn't get a reply.

    Thank you.

    Máirtín in Connemara

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  3. Hi Máirtín,

    I have asked Lars to get back to you. It isnt like him to be slow responding to email.

    My house does not have a converted attic so I cannot comment of the finish in homes that do now.

    All the best,

    Declan

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  4. Hi Máirtín and everyone else,
    Just a quick note to explain the pricelist and the upstairs items.

    The attic conversion option includes the open enforced trusses, the floor-joisting at 600mm cc and two runs of solid "herringbone".

    The supply items: "Basic materials for attic development" covers the big structural items such as sub-floor complete with glue and screws and hardboard for windbreaker.

    Other items needed for finishing upstairs we add to the downstairs supplies;
    -some ceiling panel (with a small attic hatch in cases where there is room for one to gain access to the top for blowing in insulation properly)
    -some inner doors,
    -some partitions,
    -some finishing-flooring,
    -a few ventilation outlets,
    -floorheatcable in upstairs bath.
    The only item not covered by our supply-list are the stairs wich are sourced locally by each customer.

    As you see, it becomes pedagogically difficult to explain this in a comprehensive way.
    The supply list is customized to each customers desires because all layouts are different. We always sit down with each customer to discuss what should be included on the supply list in each case. Finally, I see no question in my inbox from any Máirtín about this. That is the reason
    why I post the answer here.

    I like to take the opportunity to thank Declan and all other customers for all the good words you put in about our houses and wish all readers of this fantastic blog a really Marry Christmas and a Happy New Year Lars Pettersson

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