A lesson in house building for Wigton school children

Sean explained to the 26 (no.) 5-7 year olds about the various stages of house building including excavations, drainage, what houses are built of, scaffolding, insulation, plumbing, double glazing and sustainable elements of the properties. The children asked lots of questions and easily remembered the different coloured pipes, which are used for the different utility connections. He went on to explain the importance of site safety and why they all had to wear high visual jackets and hard hats.

During the site visit, pupils commented:

• ‘I was excited because we got to see really big diggers and have a look upstairs in the house – Lucy Brown, aged 6.
• ‘I loved wearing the jacket and the hard hat. We had to wear them to keep safe. Andrew Tear, aged 6.

Katie, who organised the school visit with Story Homes, said: “The children had a great time visiting Kirkland Fold and they now feel more a part of this development especially as it is right on our doorstep. It was a great opportunity to show them how the homes have been built, why its important to be safe on-site, and also a chance to teach them about how new homes can have a positive impact on the environment.”

Sean Trodden added “We had a great morning with the children from neighbouring St Cuthberts School. They were all very well behaved and asked some really interesting questions. I was surprised by how much of the information they took in as there are so many stages to building a house.

Sean will take samples of building products to the school which will include coloured pipes, pea and base gravel, hardcore and insulation plus other commonly used building materials, which will encourage them to think further about the building process. They will also receive a site safety DVD to watch in school.

The 59 two, three and four-bedroom homes, are being built by Story Homes, part of the Story Group. Some of the energy saving measures include: 300mm loft insulation, 60mm rigid insulation under the concrete floor slabs and 50mm insulation in the cavity walls – meaning better insulation and improved heat retention. External lights on passive-infra-red (these knock on when movement is detected and dont just ‘stay-on), low-emissivity double glazing (keeps heat in the house) and A-Rated kitchen appliances, low flow taps and dual flush toilets.

The Marketing Suite at Kirkland Fold is open Thursday – Monday, 10.30am – 4.30pm. For further details and to arrange to view, please contact Catherine on 07811 395421, email: KirklandFold@storyhomes.co.uk