Name: Harry Dainton ICIOB
Employer: Miller Homes NW
Project: City One, Preston (Final Phase)
Contract: In-house
After reading through the site investigation reports and proposed work specification for this town centre project, Harry Dainton must have needed a stiff drink. From the state of the ground to the use of timber frame for three multistorey blocks, the scheme was fraught with difficulty.
Harry had to drive 500 600mm-thick piles down to an average depth of 7m on a sloping site that had been repeatedly built on. The horrors in the ground included the foundations for three newly demolished tower blocks, a railway tunnel with a weight restriction of 40 tonnes running 3m below ground level, and a large number of high-voltage cables going in every direction and at various depths.
Access and logistics were equally problematic. The site was hemmed in on all sides by roads, houses, university buildings and a 20-storey BT exchange.
And then Harry was faced with building timber frame to a height where the technology’s structural suitability is often regarded as unproven.
Harry rapidly got to grips with the formidable challenges. His careful planning, long experience, firm control of the labour force and encouragement of a team ethos helped solve the problems that constantly arose.
One of his biggest successes was introducing an innovative movement joint product beneath all the openings in the external envelope as well as around the service penetrations and the lift cores. It eliminated the cracking that can result from the settlement of a timber frame building after construction.
As well as solving the shrinkage problem, Harry further boosted quality by introducing sign-off sheets for trade workers to create a record of who was responsible for what in each area. He held fortnightly trade meetings onsite to discuss programme, quality, safety and costs, and carried out daily inspection routines to maintain standards.
The result is a prestigious development with a minimal number of snags, six months ahead of programme and completed to budget. Undoubtedly time for another drink, this time for celebration rather than courage.