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Housing - New Build: How much construction water is use building a typical house/flat?

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthorPeter A
    • CommentTimeFeb 19th 2009
     
    I know how long is a piece of string???
    I ask because as usual when it comes to things like the Code and BREEAM they quote certain standards and then when you research you find that another august body wants loads of money to tell you!!!
    So I thought there are loads of informed people on this forum so lets ask them and then take to average answer and then we can all use these figures as targets for construction water use and beat the system.
    Well the BRE only say that targets have to be set, they don't need to be achieved, but it would be nice to set a realistic figure per flat or house.
    Answers on a post card:)
    • CommentAuthorTuna
    • CommentTimeFeb 19th 2009
     
    Is the amount of water used in construction even vaguely significant in terms of the overall lifespan of the house itself? Is there a figure for CO2 per litre or something?
    • CommentAuthorPeter A
    • CommentTimeFeb 19th 2009
     
    No, it's very basic it is from BREEAM they are trying to make the construction industry aware of how much water it uses so each site must set targets and then monitor performance against the targets, just wanted to get a feel for a good average target then add a bit on for a rainy day. In time I suspect figures will appear from the monitoring? But in the short term wanted a guesstimate to get the ball rolling.
    Definitely no CO2 link far to complicated
    • CommentAuthorTheDoctor
    • CommentTimeFeb 19th 2009
     
    so, you have to monitor on site usage, but not the material production usage?

    that gives a far from complete picture, and distorts pre-fabrication against on-site fabrication.

    for instance,
    do you have to count water used in concrete mixed on-site?
    do you have to count water used in concrete mixed off-site?
    do you have to count water used in pre-cast concrete products?

    all result in the same thing, use the same amount of water, but give different results.


    plus, the relevance of this varies dramatically all over the country.
    the South East with its perrenial hose pipe ban, against the perma-damp of parts of Wales and the West coast of Scotland, for instance.
    • CommentAuthorPeter A
    • CommentTimeFeb 19th 2009
     
    Hi Doc,
    Well I did say it's a bit basic, the thinking behind the Code and BREEAM is to get the contractor to think about the way in which water is used on site, construction water supply has never really been respected on site, I've lost count the number of times over the years that I have seen leaking standpipes, hoses split by vehicles, a hose let running filling a water butt, etc etc.
    So to answer your question nothing produced off site is counted, just on site construction.
    I suspect it is just another slant on minimising waste, just wasted water this time.
    • CommentAuthortychwarel
    • CommentTimeFeb 19th 2009
     
    On my site which has 1 detached block cavity wall house of 170SqM floor area, we have used only 20CuM for the construction to date.

    All blockwork complete but rendering and plastering to do.

    I will be able to give a total site water figure in a month or so.
    • CommentAuthorcookie
    • CommentTimeFeb 19th 2009
     
    If construction sites used metered stand pipes like their supposed to do perhaps they would waste less!

    Needless to say if water was as dear as petrol it would be wasted less... I'm not advocating putting up the price of water :op

    Cookie
  8.  
    Does it include the water subbies take for their tea? If not you could probably double that 20CuM tych
    •  
      CommentAuthorali.gill
    • CommentTimeMar 3rd 2009
     
    BRE Understanding Dampness
    "Construction Moisture
    In a wholly or partly new building, the fabric contains water used in concrete, mortar and plaster. In a typical brick and block house about 8000 litres (eight thousand) can be used for mixing...."
  10.  
    In my experience, construction sites attract rainfall at all critical moments and the main problem is getting rid of unwanted water.
    • CommentAuthorcookie
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2009
     
    lol biffvernon... it follows brick layers and white liners around the country.

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