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Canada moves to 2% GDP end of FY25/26 - PMMC

It is not.

Some of the early Cold War shacks were built with reinforced concrete and are an expensive nightmare to demolish. With that said, successive RP Ops/ADM (IE) types have used that as an excuse to therefore do nothing- not renovate; not replace in the empty field across the road.

It is beyond frustrating.
Are you referring to the foundation? Or the structural walls too? Do the combat engineers need a training aid to practice demolition?
 
The whole structure. Warrior Block in Shearwater is a masterpiece in durable construction/terrible living conditions.
Unfortunately then we gotta make the choice, bite the bullet and eat the cost of a demo, or eat the cost of a full gut job
 
Unfortunately then we gotta make the choice, bite the bullet and eat the cost of a demo, or eat the cost of a full gut job
Without looking at the facility or the site plans, probably makes the most sense to rip it all down. The 'standard' layout for a house in the 1950/60/70's doesn't really fit with today's life style. Kitchens and open concepts are now the focus point of all new homes, openness with lots of natural light. That simply didn't exist 50yrs ago.
 
Without looking at the facility or the site plans, probably makes the most sense to rip it all down. The 'standard' layout for a house in the 1950/60/70's doesn't really fit with today's life style. Kitchens and open concepts are now the focus point of all new homes, openness with lots of natural light. That simply didn't exist 50yrs ago.
and then they put the next one 4 ft. from those lovely windows so no light gets in anyway. At least for singles and duplexes, stay with the lot, gut the interior and get a standard 2 or 3 bed design with your open concept living area and do them all the same. They aren't intended for re-sale and they aren't permanent homes. With few exceptions I would guess that most change occupants every 5 years or less. The biggest danger to me is the contract will go to the absolute lowest bidder and they will use every shortcut they can to put as much money in their own pockets as possible.
Second solution, if the footings are solid, cut them off at ground level and design a pre=fab to replace it.
 
and then they put the next one 4 ft. from those lovely windows so no light gets in anyway. At least for singles and duplexes, stay with the lot, gut the interior and get a standard 2 or 3 bed design with your open concept living area and do them all the same. They aren't intended for re-sale and they aren't permanent homes. With few exceptions I would guess that most change occupants every 5 years or less. The biggest danger to me is the contract will go to the absolute lowest bidder and they will use every shortcut they can to put as much money in their own pockets as possible.
Second solution, if the footings are solid, cut them off at ground level and design a pre=fab to replace it.
Having an onsite Project Manager, who is completely separate from the builder, is key in these situations. Hold backs on the final payment until all outstanding issues prior to occupancy are addressed and then have a robust, enforceable 1yr or longer warranty in place afterwards. Also ensure that any builder that doesn't meet the standards are completely barred from any future Federal Government contracts.
 
Having an onsite Project Manager, who is completely separate from the builder, is key in these situations. Hold backs on the final payment until all outstanding issues prior to occupancy are addressed and then have a robust, enforceable 1yr or longer warranty in place afterwards. Also ensure that any builder that doesn't meet the standards are completely barred from any future Federal Government contracts.
We also gotta stop letting shaddy companies that just started out bid on gov contracts, then they magically go bankrupt mid way through build forcing us to find someone to finish the work.
 
Having an onsite Project Manager, who is completely separate from the builder, is key in these situations. Hold backs on the final payment until all outstanding issues prior to occupancy are addressed and then have a robust, enforceable 1yr or longer warranty in place afterwards. Also ensure that any builder that doesn't meet the standards are completely barred from any future Federal Government contracts.
In general this use to be a gentleman with CE when I used to work there. Some of these contracting officers were very good while others were a little more slack. One of them when I worked at CE in Halifax was a beast at dealing with contractors and enforcing things. It wasn't uncommon for a contractor at that time to low ball on the bid and then after starting the project asking for contract amendments because things were now "costing and involving more" than they originally thought. Sometimes we all could hear him talking loud to said contractor informing them they would fulfil the agreed work at the agreed price or he would blackball them from any future bids. Others would often submit amendments instead.
Hold back per say are easy - no invoice should be paid prior to the TA which in this case should be the project manager/contracting officer signs off that all work has been completed. If there is an issue they shouldn't sign off on it. That again is reliant on good staff as some TA's at my current location have complained when we have emailed them asking them to sign off on the receivables before we pay an invoice (have I ever mentioned how much I hate being the sect 34 on things can be). Imagine expecting us to just pay an invoice because we received one.


We also gotta stop letting shaddy companies that just started out bid on gov contracts, then they magically go bankrupt mid way through build forcing us to find someone to finish the work.
bit annoying but in some cases could save a few dollars as some of the work is already done and not paid for :ROFLMAO:
 
Unfortunately then we gotta make the choice, bite the bullet and eat the cost of a demo, or eat the cost of a full gut job
My former police service (well, actually the government ministry that does these things), gutting a 1920s building to 'maintain the aesthetic'. It does look nice but they figured it cost about twice as much as had they simply torn the original building down. The community collage right next door build a couple of dorms in a style that reflected the old buildings. They look surprisingly the same.

Many of the RHUs I have seen on a few bases look to be Cold War-era 1 1/2 storey rectangular boxes. If the thought was to go engineered and plop a new house on the existing foundation, It would probably have to be a custom design since I doubt any builder of engineered homes makes something that would fit that footprint. There might be some savings if the design was repeatable enough. Are most of these places slab-on-grade or do they have basements, or perhaps 'it depends'?
 
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