How many people do you currently have working on the site?
There are five or six people working on this site at the minute but when the sub-contractors are here there could be around fifteen to twenty people working on the site at any one time. One of our other sites in Liverpool currently has one hundred people working on it!
Are there any special pieces of equipment or technology that you use?
Yes, we have the forklift truck outside that is one specialist piece of kit, we’ve also got diggers and dumpers and we use special laser beams to level everything and make sure everywhere is built straight.
What was your design brief for the new building?
Well, when we tender for the work and put our price in, along with the other companies who want to do the job, we are given a set of drawings and it is our job to turn those drawings into real life. Before we arrived on site all of the drawings and designs had already been completed and it is our job now to produce them!
What is the cost of the project?
I can’t tell you that one, that is top secret! You’ll have to ask Mrs. Walsh!
How long is the project expected to take to be completed?
Well, it was due to be completed in June, but we might run over a little bit due to a few issues. We had to move some drainage from the ground and we lost a little bit of time due to all of the bad weather recently! It’s always a bit tricky trying to build at this time of year, especially in this country! We’d always prefer to build in the summer but we can’t do that, we need to build all year round.
What stage of the project are you currently at?
Well, it’s like two projects in one really as we are working on the two parts of the building at the same time. The compound site is built up to first floor level, so that’s around mid-point as we are just about to go up to the roof, whereas the main entrance site is currently at the foundation point, so that is more in the earlier stages of the project. The aim is that we build both gradually together, but we need to finish the main entrance project first as some of the classrooms will be moved over there while we finish off the compound site.
Has the recent snow caused any problems and what have the other challenges been that you have faced during the project?
Yes, as we mentioned before, the snow, wind and rain all go against us and the low temperatures below zero mean we can’t use concrete or lay any bricks, anything that we need to use water for really will fail because the water will freeze. We’ve had a few other challenges, mainly on the main entrance side. As it is surrounded by other buildings, it is quite a confined space and there’s lots of other drainage in the way. We just need to take our time and make sure we do it right!
Finally, you have been working in our school for a few months now. In the time that you have been here, what is your impression of our school?
It is a great school! I mean, I have worked in this school before, particularly in the infant building a couple of times and I’m very happy to work here. I live in the area as well and as I say, I think it’s a really great school.
We would like to say a massive thank you to Simon and his team at KrolCorlett for giving us this opportunity and look forward to meeting with him again as the project nears completion. Stay tuned to our school website and twitter account for some more really exciting updates coming soon regarding the re-development of our school!