Building in Ireland

Because my friend asked while he was here, and I hadn't really expected him to, I thought I'd detail the process of getting something built here in Ireland. I know several of you will hit the snooze on this one, then again, many of you did so for the post on my new jeans and how Kate Moss needs Twinkie Therapy. Right, so here you go:

Building process in the US:
1- Building Regulations and Zoning Ordinances are consulted to see what can and cannot be built on the site, usually a choice of several options.
2- Drawings begin divided up into the following phases
a. Schematic Design – the sketch phase
b. Design Development – make the sketch really work
c. Construction Documents - the instruction booklet explaining how the building goes together
3- Drawings go for pricing
4- Building permit applied for
5- Construction
6- Building Inspectors make you life hell unless you do things properly
7- Certificate of Occupation issued
8- Building finished
9- Client moves in

I’ve skipped some things, but that’s basically all there is. If it’s a public building a fire certificate will need to be obtained, various other boards will need to be consulted based on individual projects and their locations.

Building process in Ireland:
1- Pre-planning
2- Planning Application
3- Fire Certificate
4- Tender Documents
5- Construction Documents

Those are the phases for what I’ve worked on so far.

Pre-planning
Client and architect work together to develop site to client’s requirements. This is usually taking the drawings to a 50% DD level, which is hundreds of man hours on a large project. Architect hunts down Planning Official to set up pre-planning meeting where scheme is shown, and either rejected, accepted or amended by planner. Which is to say, if the Planner thinks the site should have a public day-care on it, you will have to put a public day-care on the site, at your own expense. If the Planner thinks there should be housing above your liquor store, you will have to put housing above your liquor store. Parking? Up to the Planner. Extent of landscaping? Up to the Planner. Material choice? Up to the Planner. It pays to be very nice to the Planner.

Planning Application
With every town council the requirements are different, but the basic requirements seem to be this:
a- Planning Application and Fee
b- Cover letter describing the scheme
c- Official City Map detailing site at particular scale (very expensive to obtain, by the way, requires licensing)
d- Copy of Site Notice, which gets posted at the site, which details exactly what is being built on site and by whom; must be particular color depending on previous applications made
e- Site History, detailing the history of the site including any previous planning permission applied for
f- Original and copy of Newspaper notice. This is the site notice which publicly informs people of what is being built and how to object to it. Yep, anyone with 20 bucks can file an objection which the planners take into consideration before approving or rejecting the scheme. If it’s a serious objection a hearing is scheduled with both parties. This can add several weeks to the process depending on the calendar of those involved.
g- Schedule of drawings
h- 6 copies of each drawing folded individually. On a large project this means boxes of drawings for the application.
i- Any supporting materials required to describe unusual circumstances such as historic buildings or archeological interest
j- Planning fee, based on measured area of scheme; the larger it is, the larger the fee

It takes 8 weeks to be granted permission provided there are no requests for further information or objections from either the public or the planners. In the meantime, the office moves on to the next phase.

Fire Certification
The drawings are subjected to travel distances, fire ratings, etc… just as in the US except that the package, which includes a report detailing everything from the makeup of a door and frame to the type of insulation proposed, is submitted to the Fire Official for approval. This process can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks. It pays to be nice to the Fire Official too.

Tender Documents
While the Fire Certificate and Planning Permission are pending, the tender documents are prepared. Tender Documents are the bid set. Unlike in the US, where 95% of everything has been drawn, this set is slightly further along than the planning set. A Quantity Surveyor is hired to turn control the money (yeah, we love him… do you need to use porcelain or will ceramic tiles do? It’s cheaper…) anything relating to the cost of the building is developed here. Not the details, that’s the next phase.

Construction Documents
After all the appropriate permissions have been granted, this phase will start simultaneously with construction. The Architect is drawing the details of how the building will go together as the construction crew is clearing the site and laying the foundation. This is where things get really messed up. Instead of asking how the window is installed or how the light cove is constructed, the crew often just does it ‘how I’ve always done it’ or ‘like it is in my parent’s house’. Which means that they have little regard for where structure is, where doors are, what type of room it is. Things often get installed in the wrong location or a column appears “in the wrong place” and is built around, disability access be damned.

Punch lists are assembled as the client moves in. As Built drawings are assembled by the team for legal purposes. (The record set is exactly what has been built, not what you sent to the site) Many, many drinks are had by architect in an effort to purge memories in order to be able to begin a new project and avoid moving to Fiji to sell hats on the beach.