Symm
After my last post when I was out and about helping Dr. Gerard Lynch, the weather hit hard and the site I was supposed to be working on closed. I was left without a placement. It is not easy being a Bricklayer when the snow heavens open, there is not really much you can do about it. That being said I spent the time working on my NVQ portfolio and various other administration tasks thus not to waste my time.
A week or two on and the site I was supposed to be on is open!
I am now back in South Oxfordshire. I am staying in the same B &B as before in the beautiful town of Henley-on-Thames (a town a find myself slightly falling in love with) and I am working in a little village just outside of town with a company called ‘Symm’.
The site is HUGE I think it’s defiantly up there on the biggest jobs I have every worked on. I am used to walking around having a break in the back of the van, not here, everything is all very professional just as you would expect.
The view from the build to the site office and tea room.
The project that I am working on is a new build garage and pool house. It is not just your average new build though. The buildings have been built using hand pressed bricks, flint and lime to match the existing property.
I am working with two bricklayers an older chap called Steve who has worked with Symm for over twenty years and a younger chap called Connor who has been bricklaying about the same amount of time as myself and has been with Symm around 7 years. They’re both a good laugh. I have missed being on site, I think it’s the banter more than anything. I don’t think there is another job in the world where you can meet people in the morning and by the afternoon you can all be taking the mickey out of each other and its accepted as ‘normal’.
My first week with Symm was a short one due to the temperature, it was still too cold to build. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was inside with the team working on the indoor swimming pool (that is HUGE).
The view from the shallow end
On Thursday it was warm enough to do some bricklaying myself and Connor were given this little project – filling in between the arch.
Before
During
After – The gap at the top was left on purpose due to an issue with a wall tie. (not me being lazy)
I enjoyed building this, nothing technical but after being off site for over a month I was happy to build anything!
This arch (pictured above) isn’t what it seems, from a distance it looks like great traditional craftsmanship, unfortunately it is actually a pre-cast concrete arch with bricks cladded (stuck) onto the face (front) which I don’t like at all!
The arches are not the only pre-cast material on site – the chimney.
One side of the chimney. (not pointed)
Corner close up
Oh the chimney! This ‘chimney’ consists of an aluminium frame that is then covered in polystyrene to which the bricks are then stuck onto using an adhesive. This frame is then secured on the roof.
A view from above.
I think anyone could make a list as long as their arm why these two won’t stand the test of time. I could, but I won’t, I will get carried away and end up writing an essay! That said I would very much like to hear your opinions about pre-cast/pre-fab materials. Have you ever used them? Do you think they will last as long as traditional building methods? Do you like them? (I hope not)
Leave your comments below this post.
-ANYWAY-
The weekend came and I headed home. I took the chance to take a look around St. Pancras Station and hotel in London on my way. If you don’t know about St. Pancras I highly recommend you do a little research on the ol’interweb – it is full of interesting history! I have never been inside the station or hotel before, I have walked past them many of times but never really understood or realised what was inside. Obviously I know about the train side of things but I never really thought about the architecture or the history.
This changed when it was featured on a T.V programme earlier in the week.
Once inside I was not disappointed!
The view from the entrance.
The brickwork inside is amazing, the craftsmanship really stands out.
Amazing gauged brickwork inside the hotel.
I also took a sneaky walk up the top of the hotel where I was greeted by this amazing ceiling detail
Incredible craftsmanship.
I really recommend you go and take a look for yourself if you get the chance.
All in all it is great to be back on site, I just wish there was more to do! Hopefully the weather will pick up and I can crack on.
Great post Sam – I also love St Pancras and usually end up with a crick in the neck from staring up at the building! Hope the promised snow this weekend doesn’t stop work again. Jayne
Great post as always. I wouldn’t be big into the precast idea but I have never used it. I just love the real thing and all the imperfections that come with it. The precast in the photos looks very perfect. I wonder how well it will age.
Love reading your blog Sam! Lots of great insights etc.
While I’m not fan of precast, ( it’s not traditional, it puts masons out of work etc ) it is structurally sound. As sound as concrete anyway.
The chimney however is another story. This is not masonry. It is after all only as strong as the glue used. If it is to be likened to any trade, that would be tiling. No self respecting tile setter would tile over styrofoam. The list could go on and on.
Here in the USA this kind of veneer is at least set in mortar over expanded metal lath.
Keep up the good work Sam, and I hope you get to work on many quality projects that reflect your talents.
Fab post as always and I’m dead impressed that you’re deligent enough to recognise ‘inherent laziness’ so prevalent in the building trade yet so rarely addressed. It’s a problem we encounter all too frequently but we can’t seem to engender a sense of pride, responsibility and self-motivation in some individuals. Oh to get my hands on a dozen like you! Keep up the great work and glad you liked Henley .. my old stomping ground!
Sam, interesting points. Do talk to bob about them in the morning, he will want to hear more. A few bad apples don’t ruin the pot.
The prefab chimneys are very common on new-build housing, particularly with mass developers. Once pointed up you can hardly tell the difference from ground level and you don’t need extra support structure as they can just be plonked on top of the roof trusses. But don’t get me started on the quality of mass developer new-build housing…..
Pre cast !! Pre cast stone houses marketed by the big developers as real stone, what a joke.Are people that stupid !!!!!
Another interesting read! Whenever I’m in London I always walk around like a slack-jawed yokel,
What an excellent read you have created. What most inspires me is your attitude. Never change young sir! My hunger for masonry knowledge has consumed me for nearly 30 years. While I may be a master by definition I continually feel challenged by this trade and the history of its workings.
I have been so disappointed by the young apprentices that have come my way in recent years. They have an attitude that begs humility should they realize they know so little of this masonry business.
My best advice is that like taking notes keeps information in the mind longer so does practicing correct techniques of hand eye coordination. This creates a dynamic memory where your hands relay more information about your masonry task then your eyes and mind comprehend. You will literally feel the work the same way a sculpture or wood Carver does.
I look forward to your next installment, it’s a reminder of the past I reminisce about fondly today.
From the ground, once pointed up, I doubt even a trained eye would spot that it was not real.
As for durability, if the brick slips are decent quality and the mortar pointing likewise, it will likely be the substrate and / or the adhesive that will fail first.
I am a brickie though and I think they are an abomination.
Any true craftsmen would abhor the way modern, some modern,homes are built. I am aghast that a company such as Symm would even contemplate building this in. The pressure of price over craftsmanship will always be there. But I guarantee the electronics within this house will not be so frivolously cheapened. Values these days are completely mixed up. The fact the chimney and arch look real is good enough it seems. The fact they are trash in comparison is irrelevant in this consumerist day and age. We are installing 4 bespoke fireplaces in a new build. £40k the building is timber frame?? Now I know we have timber frame buildings from the 14th-15th century but they were Great British timbers of size and strength. Not cheap pine and plywood. The home we are installing a fireplace in next week is 14th century. Once called the finest home in Buckinghamshire. American owners who fully appreciate the home they live in and have spent fortunes on restoration. Keep up the great work. If your ever in Somerset pop in. Chat with our masons.
Looking forward to a dry day so I can go on the roof and send a pic of our lovely East End century-old chimneys *sits in front of fire in 4th floor flat^