Job/Activity levels? Picking up or getting worse?

YourAverageJoe

Just wondering what way people are finding the construction and tech work situation at present, is work still slow, getting slower, picking up a bit etc?

muffler

Im finding myself that little bit busier - compared to January and February anyhow.

sydthebeat

definitely slower....

any work that was in anyway dependant on funding is off the list....

we cant keep up many more weeks at this level....

archtech

I would say that there is possibly a slight pick up, in terms of people applying for planning permission. I had a meeting with the planning officer yesterday and he even commented that the planning authority were finding a slight pick up.

On the contracting front, things are getting worse by all accounts.. a lot the contractors which we would have contact with, are at the stage where they are considering closing up shop, as they are not getting any work, pricing work at cost or a little below and still getting significantly beaten on projects, by 25-30%.... I can see a lot of projects going sour in the coming months.

I've heard that cash sales in a local builders merchants have increased dramatically, but their account sales(builders) have reduced and contine to reduce.

sinnerboy

slight sense of pick up here ....

Poor Uncle Tom

There is a slight pick up again, a good air out there. Even if a lot of our work is self generated with long term clients, work is work, right. One off plannings are starting to come back.

pseudo-tech

Generally, conversations have changed from negativity to positivity. I think at this stage people as just browned off the doom and gloom. However, there are a lot of projects that are ready to go but will not happen until the Banks open the doors for business. I feel that if this does not happen in the next two months, the industry is in for more trouble.

DvB

pseudo-tech wrote: »

Generally, conversations have changed from negativity to positivity. I think at this stage people as just browned off the doom and gloom. However, there are a lot of projects that are ready to go but will not happen until the Banks open the doors for business. I feel that if this does not happen in the next two months, the industry is in for more trouble.

Agree, for any sustainable upturn the banks will have to have their acts together. We're seeing a pick up in March after a truly awful Jan/Feb, one really decent development (if it gets the nod from Dublin CC) and a few smaller one off jobs, hoping that trend continues but have a feeling it will slack off again if the banks are still playing silly buggers.

fatchops

There's work out there, you just got to look damn hard for it. One off's and extensions seem to be starting to return slowly but they are very tentative queries in the main

Poor Uncle Tom

I saw a tumbleweed in the planning office today..:D but the application numbers are starting to pick up.

fatchops

Well I suppose at least something is moving in the planning office

kkelliher

From a QS point of view the number of small tenders coming out has picked up in the last week. Terrible start to the year but I have been very busy last week and the diary is full for this week.

If I am busy then there has to be a little bit more work for the techs who are doing all the drawings... here's hoping

As a one man band I suppose I dont need alot to keep me going but even I have done very little this year so far.

I wonder would it have anything to do with companies / clients waiting until their year end was over before they decided to proceed with projects?

fatchops

I think its just a general shortage of credit and confidence. A lot of projects have gone to planning and the developers aren't taking them any further and I think some are relieved if they go to the board to allow them more time to regroup

Retro-Fit

Look at it rationally, the market sets a price for property, this market has fallen 16% since in the last year, its fallen 5% in the last quarter and next year the IAVI projects a conservative 10% fall. If trends continue this way and there is no signs of recovery just a few dead cats bouncing, you would not only lose you 10% developers profit but incur a loss of at least 5% of your Net Development Value, or the money accruing after selling all units 18 months down the line. For say 12 unit apartment block in a county Meath town, you stand to lose €140,000 minimum. With no improvement in capital appreciation or employment security likely until as S+P say 'a change of faces in government' a loss of only 5% would be conservative.

Architectural technicians are in a strange position, they are neither Engineers nor scientists nor artists and nowhere in between. At a time when Architecture needs to move from an Art to a science to deal with our expectations of building performance, there is a void for building Technologists, or experts in what the Germans call Bau-physics. With Architecture Schools disgorging almost 350 highly technically adept architecture students with level 9 qualifications, technician graduates or those returning to employment will be faced with a competitive market without sufficient specialist skills to mark them out as necessary to any design team. Better that they use the next 2 or 3 years of inactivity to build up the empirical skills that will be needed for sustainable low energy low impact communities.

I think that the construction requires a new technical discipline. Building services engineers lack the vision to take on the challenge of integrating low energy interventions, instead bolting on technology for a commission. Technicians with a bit of scientific training can fulfill the role that is needed and emerge as a stand alone discipline, with the parity of esteem with architects that they deserved.

fatchops

Retro-Fit wrote: »

I think that the construction requires a new technical discipline. Building services engineers lack the vision to take on the challenge of integrating low energy interventions, instead bolting on technology for a commission. Technicians with a bit of scientific training can fulfill the role that is needed and emerge as a stand alone discipline, with the parity of esteem with architects that they deserved.

Technicians will then become Building Services Engineers no ?

jozi

I hope it starts to pick up a bit, and jobs become available.

At least, from reading above, it's not like it's getting worse, and the job losses thread hasn't been posted in much lately either, which I hope is all a good sign

Retro-Fit

fatchops wrote: »

Technicians will then become Building Services Engineers no ?

Au contraire my jangle jowled friend. Building services engineers know precious little about how buildings are put together, they know even less about passive houses. One engineer designed a 60kw heat pump and full underfloor heating to all rooms for a passive house. Thats oversized by a factor of 6. Technicians know how a building is put together, but unfortunatly not having a full academic or professional qualification, the average graduate techie will be consigned to menial duties in large practices or forcing unsustainable pattern book one-offs through planning in private practice. It would be a terrible pity if architectural technology misses its oppertunity to become a discipline in its own right, with expertise in building sustainable communities, advising clients, architects and engineers on low energy low impact environments using scientific principles.

Builderfromhell

Retro-Fit wrote: »

Look at it rationally, the market sets a price for property, this market has fallen 16% since in the last year, its fallen 5% in the last quarter and next year the IAVI projects a conservative 10% fall. If trends continue this way and there is no signs of recovery just a few dead cats bouncing, you would not only lose you 10% developers profit but incur a loss of at least 5% of your Net Development Value, or the money accruing after selling all units 18 months down the line. For say 12 unit apartment block in a county Meath town, you stand to lose €140,000 minimum. With no improvement in capital appreciation or employment security likely until as S+P say 'a change of faces in government' a loss of only 5% would be conservative.

Architectural technicians are in a strange position, they are neither Engineers nor scientists nor artists and nowhere in between. At a time when Architecture needs to move from an Art to a science to deal with our expectations of building performance, there is a void for building Technologists, or experts in what the Germans call Bau-physics. With Architecture Schools disgorging almost 350 highly technically adept architecture students with level 9 qualifications, technician graduates or those returning to employment will be faced with a competitive market without sufficient specialist skills to mark them out as necessary to any design team. Better that they use the next 2 or 3 years of inactivity to build up the empirical skills that will be needed for sustainable low energy low impact communities.

I think that the construction requires a new technical discipline. Building services engineers lack the vision to take on the challenge of integrating low energy interventions, instead bolting on technology for a commission. Technicians with a bit of scientific training can fulfill the role that is needed and emerge as a stand alone discipline, with the parity of esteem with architects that they deserved.

Very well put.
Huge lack of skills in building design and construction to deal with current and future requirements

beolight

anybody not to busy?

please pm for renovation/extension project in dublin 7 area

DvB

Well we had a small bit of new work in March but that seems to have led to little in terms of cash coming in & things have slowed right down again in terms of anymore work arriving really, with the bosses claiming we're struggling & finding it hard to get the wages together at the end of each month I genuinely think i'm on borrowed time here now & cant see me being gamefully employed in this game for much longer. Dont see any light at the end of the tunnel either so could be some tight times ahead!!

pseudo-tech

We have been busy for a while now, however we are not invoicing as the projects that are keeping us busy are on site (with fees coming later). Last week we got a new job with the possibility of another next week. We are working from week-to-week at this stage but holding our own.