Home Damage Resources Windows Doors Ceilings Roofs Walls Services Furnishings Re-building Damaged Homes - Resource Assessment By Richard Edkins Introduction : To re-build and repair requires careful assessments of the resources to hand, as well as of the damage needing repair. Resources may be salvaged, may be local subsoil, stone, brushwood and turf, but will also include a few basic skills and the will to use them. Local builders will be using most building resources for official projects, which may (or may not) be helpful to the community as a whole. Plan of Action : (a) : Maximum salvage of all materials :- : Brickwork, blockwork, tiles and surviving panelling, cleaned and stacked for re-use. : Broken tile and crushed mortar retained for use in pozzolanic cement. : Timber (no matter how small) collected and stacked for re-use in roof elements, floors and furniture. : Wiring and piping carefully separated and dismantled to be used again. The same with electrical and plumbing fittings. : Damaged kitchen fittings ('white goods') retained for cannibalisation and repair or for conversion of the metal parts to other purposes. : Furniture retained for repair, carpets collected for use or later cannibalisation. : Broken glass sorted - any piece larger than 75 mm across retained for lattice window re-glazing. Other pieces may have future use re-melted by a glass-blower. : Broken concrete and loose rock collected for drystone walling, soakaways or other purposes. (b) : Assessment of Available Local Resources :- : Timber, withies, poles and brushwood. : Clay, gravel and sand subsoil. : Local quarry or field stone. : Plastic sheeting, flexible or rigid, whether as sheeting, bags, containers, bottles or packets. : Water supplies for building purposes. : Local buildings built of local materials using local techniques - as a pattern. : Hobby or professional skills in the community : Thatchers, carpenters, joiners. Stone-masons, drystone wallers, bricklayers, plasterers. Blacksmiths, whitesmiths and plumbers. Basket-makers, potters, weavers and other 'old craft' workers. : Limestone of any kind and old lime kilns/sites (heap or periodic). : Tools - for digging, carpentry, building, plasterwork, electrical or plumbing tasks. : Neighbours who will help with the work in exchange for help with their own buildings. : Relief aid 'Food for Work' programmes, which may be of help where homeless people are actively re-building their homes. (c) : Assessment of site :- Rough assessment according to damage class, which is similar to the old Civil Defence A, B, C, and D damage types. It reverses a list on the Damage page, taking account of both the most likely amount of damage and the ease of repair. In other words, light damage is more common than complete demolition. :- Class 4 sites : Replacement of windows, repair of damaged doors, damaged ceilings, damaged services, repair of damaged roofs with salvaged tiles/slates. Conventional building techniques used, but with expedients (improvisations) to replace lost materials such as glass. Class 3 sites : As Class 4, but with major roof rebuilding and internal re-fitting, probably of floor and ceiling elements. Again mainly conventional, but may need to replace partitions and ceiling elements with historic materials which in roofing may mean thatch or unconventional materials. Class 2 sites : As Class 3, but with careful dismantling of unstable elements and retention of stable elements. Some wall rebuilding and reduction in overall height is inevitable. Increased use of historic building materials in walls, maybe to the point of replacing brick or concrete block with stone or compacted soil 'cob'. Class 1 sites : With the possible exception of some lower sections of chimney stacks and basements, site largely cleared to usable foundations. Construction of what is essentially a historic house design within the limits of local materials. All information for re-building given on this site would be needed. Plan of Work : This will obviously depend on the level of damage and the resources needed - and the ability of the householder / neighbourhood group. Here are some pointers in rough order of being carried out.:- Start to salvage possessions and resources as soon as possible. Hold a street or neighbourhood meeting to get help and guard against the looting of resources by thieves and opportunists. If possible, get some professional advice on damage, particularly where there is obvious wall and roof instabilities. Better to carefully dismantle and re-build a damaged wall, than to give it a lick of paint and let it fall on the household. Assess the materials to hand and see what can be obtained by salvage, rubbish recycling and cannibalising 'scrap' damaged resources. Lime for mortar (and some earthenware tiling) can be made in simple kilns if utterly essential. Consider availability of fuel, limestone (or mortar) and clay, then consider a kiln as a community resource. If damage is not too severe (Classes 3 - 4) aim to repair the walls and roof above at least one room for living and sleeping in. As soon as possible, repair the rest. Severe damage (Classes 1 - 2) will mean partially or completely rebuilding the walls and the roof. Repairing Class 3 first, in return for strictly temporary lodging, can earn help to re-build severer damage. Sadly, some Classes 1 and 2 property may have no owners left alive, but - subject to community approval - may be used to repair less-damaged property. Skilled and fit people do complex work. The less skilled and less fit can still help to prepare materials for building or do other light work. If working as a group, neighbours can consider feeding as a group, with the best cooks making best use of available food and fuel. Do wall, roof and other structural work first. Install or repair pipes and electrical cables. Then install ceilings, partitions, windows and doors. Finish wall plaster, painting, pipework and electrical fittings. Finally, provide some repaired or improvised furniture and fittings to make the building into a functional home. Starting from Scratch : On a suitably dry site, a complete new build would be possible using historic building techniques and no salvage at all. This may be one solution when constructing semi-permanent refugee camps as planned towns. Naturally, this would need central planning by the community to ensure that roads, mains water, drains, power and telephone lines, are organised on suitable alignments. The same would hold good about encouraging appropriate tradesmen to set up shop in a 'business district' and leaving space for schools, religious buildings, recreational areas and industrial zones. Home Damage Resources Windows Doors Ceilings Roofs Walls Services Furnishings © 2003 Richard Edkins. Site maintained by Dalbeattie Internet. Last Updated 16th April 2003.