In not a construction worker or have much of a clue how it works but I was wondering about rainy areas and constructions.
I assume that some party of the construction have to be done on a dry environment or to let thinga dry before continuing to other parts.
Some areas have a lot of rain (e.g the British island) so how does it work? Does having a rain for a week is a problem to build a house?
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You just work through it. I know it sounds like a basic response, but that’s the truth. The customer pays your company X amount of dollars to get a job done and you do it. I live in the Pacific Northwest, it literally rains 10 or so months of the year over here. I’ve actually spoken with people from England who tell me it’s like they left home to come visit home. But yeah, more or less, the work just gets done.
I’m not saying it happens flawlessly, but people just manage to get it done. I’m not a foundation guy or cement construction guy, but back when I did HVAC/R work, the weather didn’t matter, just get the job done. Half the time the customer doesn’t give af about the limitations of the weather. If you don’t think you can do the work right that day, they will go to the first dude who lies and tells them it’s totally doable.
Compressor changeout on a rainy and windy day? Fuck no it shouldn’t be done, but yeah, everyone out here will do it.
Many construction operations can be undertaken in the rain and you just work through it and aim to get the building watertight as soon as possible.
Where there are sensitive things like concrete or mortars that don’t like getting too wet (or if you’re opening up an existing building) you can either put a temporary roof over the top or in really wet environments you can change the concrete recipe so it can cure properly even in heavy rain (there is also concrete that can cure underwater!)
It is also possible to manufacture large parts off-site and just drop them into place, which limits your time in bad weather.
And lastly, lots of hot tea for the builders!
The whole point of construction in a wet climate is to make a dry spot where they don’t occur regularly. Foundations are make of concrete, or concrete blocks, because that material is water resistant. Concrete cures under water as well as it does in dry conditions (actually, it cures stronger). Then you put up walls and a roof. The concept is to have a single layer of materials (two at most) until the house is “weathertight”. Then you use a heater inside to dmy out the wall studs and roof rafters. Then you finish the inside.
You use big tarps to keep the water away from the construction site. There are of course practical limitations to what can be put under tarps but those are rarely critical things. You also have large heaters that can be used to keep things warm and dry under the tarp. Most things which can not handle water will still be able to handle some water as long as it can dry out afterwards so transporting and storage may still be done in the rain.
So typically when the construction start you set up some containers for supplies, offices, break room, etc. and stretch a tarp between them for outdoor storage. The heavy machines that dig out the foundations can work in the rain. Workers get equipped with rain gear and weather proof equipment. You might need pumps to keep the water out of the pit but usually not as you want the foundations to have drainage in the end anyway. Once the foundations are dug you pore the concrete in the rain. And then you may cover the foundations with a large tarp and use heaters to get the conditions right for curing concrete.
When building the house you generally rush to get the roof done, or at least the beams in place so you can tarp it. Wood can safely get rained on but not for many weeks so you want to get the roof and sides done as soon as possible and keep it under tarps. You do also get scaffolds that can be built in the shape of the house so the tarps can be put on this scaffolding.
Tarps, popup tents, etc.
Know the local weather patterns, e.g. if it rains in the afternoon, get the trenching/diging done before lunch and place sandbags/berms to redirect water.
Raise the roof in the morning so it can offer some protection from the rain.
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