Serv writes:
Took a walk down Grafton Street for the first time in ages. By God is it in some poo state already. The cheap ass bollards, bins and lamps are chipped to bits. Not to mention dirty and vandalised. Worse the cement between the paving is washing away so they’re all coming loose.
I’m not an engineer but is this a serious flaw in the construction material? Where the council has already repaired they can’t even match the old paving. Can we really trust these guys to pave over College Green?
Anyone?
Pics: Serv
Sponsored Link
It’s the difference between builders and craftsmen. There has, and continues to be an awful eye for detail in the aesthetic of structure in this design free land. We couldn’t wait to destroy much of the offerings our colonial over lords gave us and now stubbornly seek to make all structure ugly and gaudy. IMO.
It’s true. DCC building, siptu, central bank etc. All very nasty
You know that the builders don’t design the buildings right?
What buildings? I know that many buildings are not designed but rather built.
Chipped bollards
Oh the shame…..
as you said you are no engineer …
It must have been a John Tierney production
“I’m not an engineer but…”
I’ll stop reading so.
I’m a cop you idiot!
Whoever decided that the paving on Grafton St to be changed to grey slate should be shot. Did they not realise the Irish environment already has a grey sky? You wouldn’t go installing grey carpets and then paint your ceiling grey as well.
Are you saying you preferred the cheap and nasty red bricks? The granite, not slate, was picked so that it looks better when wet, it reflects lights when wet to be brighter on an overcast day which is most of the year here. A lot of it is Wicklow granite, so the Council should be lauded for using local materials, thus keeping the embedded energy low.
Grafton St looked way better with the red paving.
no it didn’t it was a national embarrassment, it was cheap, nasty, unsafe, poorly built, and without texture and variety, pedestrian streets such as Grafton St should be finished in cut stone – if you only regard these things in terms of colour you are going about it wrong
I don’t believe that you can tell people what their opinion is…
I preferred the red brick myself.
The red brick paving was laid in the late 80’s, therefore it survived over 20 years of heavy vehicular traffic.
It wasn’t “cheap, nasty, unsafe, poorly built,”
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but an opinion that is not informed and cannot be defended with objective analysis is worth substantially less – The red brick was cheaper than cut stone, it was chosen as it it was the cheaper option. It is less durable, 20 years as you claim is nothing for an urban surface, the stone that was installed now can last forever if properly maintained. It was nasty in that it had no surface variation or texture and was very badly detailed. It was unsafe in that bricks easily came loose, the glazed white bricks had a poor slip resistance. Water got under the bricks due to the nature of the material, poor detailing, workmanship and maintenance causing bricks to pop out when the water froze, creating an unsafe surface, particularly for those with mobility difficulties. It was very badly built, falling into disrepair after 10 or so years of occasional delivery traffic – not heavy traffic as you claim – is a disastrous performance for an urban surface.
All very important, but doesn’t really address the complaint, which was about the colour. If only there was some way of combining pleasant aesthetics with high-quality engineering standards. The impossible dream…
How is this better? It’s proved much less durable.
None of the granite used came from Wicklow. It’s from China, cheap ass stuff.
http://www.thejournal.ie/cheap-granite-an-embarrassment-for-dublin-city-council-says-an-taisce-1033269-Aug2013/
I’m not saying you’re wrong but that article doesn’t mention what was used on Grafton Street.
Only the sides are the Wicklow granite. The centre part is a lighter Portuguese granite.
It’s not any kind of stone at all, it’s just hardened chewing gum.
http://youtu.be/_iYqWtIm0zI
Brilliant tune, one of their finest.
Thanks. Great album too.
(To anyone who hasn’t come across it, the album is called ‘If I Should Fall from Grace with God’. It’s well worth a listen.)
Take off the nostalgia goggles. Its always been poo.
The bins and bollards are awful, can’t understand why they didn’t go for steel like Henry St.