Posted on 27/08/2009 at 14:52 by Rebecca Maund, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
In the run-up to the August bank holiday, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the body behind leading surveying and construction
professionals, has put together some surveying advice to help make your seaside construction a winner on the beaches this year.
1. First choose your site
? First make sure your site is sustainable. Location is everything - choose a spot that is not on the route to the sea, the ice-cream van or the toilets, so your castle will not be trampled.
? Plan this carefully. Are the neighbours happy? Local objectors can ruin a development project, so consult them on what you plan to do.
? Make sure the sand is firm and can be compacted.
? With a thought for tides and global warming, check that rising sea levels will not wash it away.
2. Project management and surveying
? Next get your earth-moving equipment ready. You will need large and small buckets and some spades. Paper flags can add the finishing
touch!
? Next, like any professional surveyor, make sure that your site is level and stable - subsidence is fatal and nobody really wants to build the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
? Compact the surface and plan your project.
3. Planning your construction project
? You will need a skilled and willing workforce. Mum and Dad make good employees and should see the project through to the end. The secret of success is to give them different jobs to do and some tight deadlines to make sure the project is delivered on time.
? Draw out the shape of a wide base on the sand to support your castle and firm this thoroughly to act as your foundations.
? Then set the workforce the job of constructing the base. This needs to be firmed too. Then start building the first row of castles using the larger buckets. Think about how to use the smaller buckets to build a high-density high-rise development to rival the glass towers of
Canary Wharf.
4. Landscaping and water feature
? When your creation is finished you might want to create a moat around it. Dig this a little distance from the castle, so that the sand
does not collapse into the water.
? When you have finished your excavations, compact the sand to prevent water soaking through.
? Send your workforce off to the sea to collect water and fill to the brim.
? Think about building another castle nearby. You could go on to build a whole city of castles that way if the workforce can be persuaded
to carry on.
5. Your project on show
? Just like all the best property developments, put your flags at strategic points on your castle.
? Some good photographs will show your professional skills off to best effect.
? Now sit back and admire your efforts, ideally with a well-earned ice-cream, and think about how you could do this for real as a Chartered
Surveyor.
If you are interested in finding out more about surveying as a career,
visit http://www.rics.org/JoinRICS/careersinsurveying