Sunday 3 June 2012

Diamond Jubilee

Just a short posting this time and with this being the Diamond Jubilee weekend I thought a good topic would be the differences between now and 60 years ago.

Firstly, I should state that I am third generation in the construction and built environment; both my grandfathers were involved in the construction industry (one a builder and the other a plumber) and both of my parents were engineers. And having discussed with them the various changes over the years; the overriding difference they notice/noticed between now and 60 years ago is/was the contradictory, overly elaborate and amount of red-tape involved with even the most simple of projects.

Back in their day (I love it when elder craftspeople or professionals say such things) both planning and building regulations made sense. The rules were less complicated and easier to follow, and it is not like the buildings of the past were any worse than the ones of today. In fact, in many cases they are better. A loft conversion in an older house is often much easier than in a modern one; especially when it already has flooring joists in place and the roof was hand-cut. Plus, there used to be rules like the third bedroom in a house had to be at least 70 square feet/6.5 square metres; these days that can be the size of the second bedroom in a modern house.

So, there we are; perhaps things were better in the good-old-days.

Happy Jubilee to you all.

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