New housing units at CFB Esquimalt expected to cost $86M: DND

[SeaKingTacco]

Yes it was a very common method - but isn’t used any more for several good reasons.

Concrete comes in many different grades - you will not get wood as durable as you can get with reinforced M55 concrete.

Warrior Block in Shearwater is built from concrete and is designed to be so durable as to survive a nuclear blast. As is Nelles Block in Esquimalt. Yet, those two buildings are widely considered to be the worst accommodations in the country. Their durability is part of the problem: they are crap to live in; expensive to fix and really, really expensive to demolish. Which is partly why they have persisted well past their life spans.

 

[Furniture]

There is going to be a Base Housing person in 40 years cursing you and all of us.

That's part or the problem, we expect a permanent solution. CAF housing shouldn't need to last 300 years. It should be built with a plan to replace it as it no longer suits our needs.

I'm guessing that in the 50s when the current PMQs were designed nobody considered that furniture would get so big that fitting it inside a Q would be a problem, or that people would neeed/want a workspace in the home.

 

[KevinB]

Warrior Block in Shearwater is built from concrete and is designed to be so durable as to survive a nuclear blast. As is Nelles Block in Esquimalt. Yet, those two buildings are widely considered to be the worst accommodations in the country.

IIRC That same common design barracks block was used across the CAF, 4 / room communal shower and laundry - radiator heat and no cooling.

CQ in Basements as well as Platoon offices and stores rooms. 2 Coy / Barracks for JR’s

Their durability is part of the problem: they are crap to live in; expensive to fix and really, really expensive to demolish.

They were never designed with any semblance of modern technology. Which understandable made any fixes very expensive.

Which is partly why they have persisted well past their life spans.

Feature not a bug.

Honestly concrete has a lot of thermal mass, so heating and cooling can be reduced.
Ideally a gray water system for recycling water, and other green building options. Solar panels as well.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

That's part or the problem, we expect a permanent solution. CAF housing shouldn't need to last 300 years. It should be built with a plan to replace it as it no longer suits our needs.

I'm guessing that in the 50s when the current PMQs were designed nobody considered that furniture would get so big that fitting it inside a Q would be a problem, or that people would neeed/want a workspace in the home.

My house is 60 years old and certainly not the oldest in the are, some which are well over 100. If the design is done well, upgrades and modifications can be done easily.