Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: A long way yet

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  • Chris Waugh, in reply to Islander,

    where the cement FROZE before it set

    Among other scary rumours I've heard re the real estate boom up here is antifreeze being added to the cement so it'll set before it freezes, allowing the construction to go as close to year-round as possible.

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 2401 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to Islander,

    Building a house on Pitt Island – where the cement FROZE before it set? Yep.

    Holy moly.

    Siblings are the best. Can't imagine what it'd be like being an only child. -except for a lot quieter and with a lot less bossing around! :-)

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes,

    Russ, that is a beautiful piece, with the appropriate note of bitter, quiet rage.
    I was thinking today about the totally callous and "superior" attitude of the sad excuse of a government we have. Instead of asking "What would you like to do with your land and how can we help?" instead of congratulating those that went ahead and built on their land and offering help and hope. they order us to make way for convention centres and stadiums.
    The stupidity and the lack of empathy is beyond belief.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Islander, in reply to Hebe,

    The "Hui-a-Iwi" as the powers that be are now calling it, will be at the Lincoln events centre, 23rd -25th November. starting 11a.m, hosted by Taumutu runaka.
    And me & mine will be there, Hebe - ka kite?

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Islander, in reply to Chris Waugh,

    Bloody hell - Andrew knew what he was doing and his clients appreciated the risk - but antifreeze will *weaken* the whole construction (apparently, if you leave
    the foundations he built in those conditions to slowly coalesce, they are really sound. They certainl;y havent failed over the last decade & a half.)

    O Lillith - I love my 5 sibs (including the sister who is dead just now) and cannot imagine being a singleton....

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Chris Waugh, in reply to Islander,

    antifreeze will *weaken* the whole construction

    Yep, and the same guy who told me that one told me he deliberately bought a second hand apartment built before the boom and that when he was getting it renovated, a guy drilling holes in the wall complained about how hard the concrete was and went off to find a better drill bit.

    I regularly see concrete being poured in mid-winter here, where overnight lows are generally minus 5 to minus 10 and highs in the 0 to 5 range and it was only a couple of years ago we had a high of minus eight point eight.

    Morals of the story:

    1: Buy any house Islander's brother built and is willing to sell.
    2: Don't buy any apartment built in China within the last 15 years.

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 2401 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Chris Waugh,

    Among other scary rumours I’ve heard re the real estate boom up here is antifreeze being added to the cement so it’ll set before it freezes, allowing the construction to go as close to year-round as possible.

    The Burj Khalifa had the opposite problem - ice had to be added to the concrete mix in order for it to cure properly.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Gregor Ronald,

    I can understand Russell's reluctance about photos. I took a bike ride to New Brighton and back along the river several weeks ago, and felt the same way. I only took 9 or 10 shots all afternoon; I don't even photograph the decline and decay of our old house in River Rd now, it's all too awful. (The pics I did take are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregor_ronald/ - look for the set "Bike ride in the east side")

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 103 posts Report Reply

  • Gregor Ronald, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    The Clyde Dam project had to heat and cool the concrete to cope with Central Otago's weather extremes.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 103 posts Report Reply

  • Hebe, in reply to Islander,

    And me & mine will be there, Hebe – ka kite?

    Islander, I would be honoured. I need to consult 'others'. I would surely like to take along the boys. Will email when I am on the email-enabled machine. Thank you.

    Christchurch • Since May 2011 • 2899 posts Report Reply

  • Hebe,

    Re the concrete mix: my partner Greg was working in Haiti six weeks after their big earthquake. He found that many of the collapsed masonry buildings in Port-au-Prince were because the concrete was a 1 to 12 ratio of cement and often specified reinforcing was not used. Corruption in all parts of the building process was the reason.

    Christchurch • Since May 2011 • 2899 posts Report Reply

  • Chris Waugh, in reply to Hebe,

    1 to 12 ratio of cement and often specified reinforcing was not used.

    Ah, what came to be called 'tofu dregs construction' (豆腐渣工程/dòufuzhāgōngchéng, for the curious) in China after the 2008 quake because the rubble makes it look like the buildings were built from the leftovers that are normally thrown away after making tofu. Seems to be quite a widely spread phenomenon, crops up in Turkey and Italy, among other places, too. Don't know how it works elsewhere, but a common problem in China is people responsible buying the material getting a budget for the proper grade of material, buying a lower grade, and pocketing the difference.

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 2401 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart, in reply to Gregor Ronald,

    I can understand Russell’s reluctance about photos. I took a bike ride to New Brighton and back along the river several weeks ago, and felt the same way.

    We drove through Avonside and part of Bexley in July, and did take some photos. It's the only time I've been back, and it seemed worth chronicling, but...it was tough, and I tried to stick to parts that clearly had few residents left.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Hebe,

    Brownlee is giving a 'state of the recovery" speech tomorrow first thing: I wonder what he will come up with to neuter the "two years of it" protest (this coming Tuesday September 4 is two years since the 7.1)

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/7581782/Brownlee-to-give-state-of-recovery-talk

    Will we get an Avon River Park, or will that barrel of pork be saved until the general election? Will we get an Ecan we can vote for? Will we get a say in our city's recovery?

    Christchurch • Since May 2011 • 2899 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to Hebe,

    Brownlee is giving a ’state of the recovery” speech tomorrow first thing

    Hmmm. I don't know who his talk is for. Chch ppl know the state of the recovery, and I would have thought businesspeople did too.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    But on the brighter side, the Council will have a decision on the fate of the Sumner library before June next year . Wow, Sumner feels pretty special now. And they say this is a priority ...go figure.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    Coastal Pathway good. We like this.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Geoff Lealand,

    I felt much the same when I was last in Christchurch; just photos of the remaining cinemas and the row of teetering shops in High Street, where I found the old Shirley Temple scrapbook years ago,

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Hebe, in reply to Lilith __,

    Coastal Pathway good. We like this.

    I do too. The council has seen sense at last on this one. Maybe they are planning to hook the path to the not-yet-promised Avon river park corridor that could take in the riverside red zone that Russell traversed. Then you could bike/walk from the Square to Scarborough and Taylors Mistake.

    About six years ago Philip Carter wanted to create a similar walkway to the Coastal Pathway as a tribute to his late mother -- the council turned him down.

    Christchurch • Since May 2011 • 2899 posts Report Reply

  • Hebe, in reply to Lilith __,

    a decision on the fate of the Sumner library before June next year

    And my beautiful South Library's fate will be decided by December. That is not actually doing anything, mind. That is just _deciding what to do._I have promised myself not to swear on PA , but don't they realise that the loss of the South Library is the tipping point for a lot of people in south Chch. There is fuck all else in the way of community facilities left open apart from the parks. On the up side, a lot of the Port Hills tracks are okay now.

    Christchurch • Since May 2011 • 2899 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to Hebe,

    Book 'em...

    the loss of the South Library...

    I'm surprised they haven't parked a library bus down there (or nearby) periodically (as it were)...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Hebe, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Nah, town or Spreydon are deemed near enough. I visited the new Peterborough Street library a few days ago and instantly fell in love: the Killeen artwork outside, the huge variety of journals and magazines, the free wifi and more. It's a cross-country trip to reach, though Kilmore St opening should help us.

    Life will look better next month when the St Martins New World returns.

    Christchurch • Since May 2011 • 2899 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    it's a bust

    a library bus

    We get the library bus out here, and of course we’re glad of it. But I see the same titles on the shelves over and over. It’s no long-term solution. And certainly not for another couple of years! We need a pop-up library. Come on, CCC. Libraries are community hubs, and we really need them.

    I went to Central Library Tuam, which is awesome! They’re having troubles with the new space-age self-issuing system (you stack your items on the issuing desk and it automagically knows what they are): the door alarm was going off constantly while I was there, which drove me nuts and meant I didn’t linger. But what a treasure trove of books! The NZ collection’s there too.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to Hebe,

    Bibliofancy...

    the new Peterborough Street library...

    The newer Tuam Street one (by the Bus depot) is pretty good, too...
    <snap!>

    Big book fair on this weekend also:
    Bookarama today thru Sunday at the Addington Raceway (may be a ball game on round there tomorrow too!)

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    Well that's OK then!

    Gerry's vision gives pride of place to a children's playground. Not thriving retail, not innovative business, not performing arts, not energy efficiency, not beautiful architecture, not vibrant community. Not even pools, gyms, libraries, and walking tracks.

    A fucking children's playground. Let's aim high.

    "One important part of the frame, in the northeast, will be the new children's playground. We will build them a playground from where they can view the rebirth of their city through their childhood years.

    ''It will be the best playground in the world - not a fun park, but a playground".

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

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