If your construction work is taking place outside – and, let’s face it, it probably is! – then there are a lot of things you need to prepare for. One of the most difficult – and also most serious – problems you could face is that of adverse weather conditions.
Incredible heat, heavy rain, and powerful winds can all affect your work. Make sure to take this guide to heart if you want to protect your site properly.
Looking after your materials
Construction materials are hardly the cheapest things to come by, right? And if your materials are adversely affected by the weather, then your project is definitely not going to meet the high quality standards that your company needs to meet. Problems with your frames and foundations can cause serious problems and ruin your reputation.
Perhaps the biggest concern here is that of what could happen to concrete. First of all, concrete isn’t going to set below certain temperatures. So if it’s absurdly cold out there, then that’s going to have a big effect on your timeline! You could look into ways to artificially warm up your site. This isn’t always feasible, however. Another potential solution you could work with is that of precast concrete, which can certainly handle its own even in extreme weather conditions. You can look into companies that provide civil engineering contractors who specialise in precast concrete.
The safety of your workers
If you’re not ensuring that heavy rain doesn’t create big safety risks for your workers, then you’re doing your job pretty poorly! You need to make sure that there’s cover that allows the surfaces workers need to balance on to remain dry. Failing that, you need to avoid making workers perform their duty on surfaces that are too wet to remain dry. High winds will also affect their safety when it comes to high-height working.
Another thing you need to consider is hot weather. A lot of employees – and workers, for that matter – forget the dangers that the shining, boiling sun can bring to a construction site! In these conditions, it’s much easier for workers to succumb to skin problems, as well as exhaustion and dehydration. Make sure your workers are protected when the sun is blasting its rays on your site!
Effects on the ground
Heavy rain can cause some pretty drastic changes to the ground that you’re all working on. This can cause a lot of damage to the foundations of your project. One of the most common problems is that of ground swelling. If your framing hasn’t been set to account for these potential changes, then the entire structure can become malformed in dangerous ways, even if it’s not immediately visible to the naked eye. Excavation can also become nigh-on impossible if the correct methods haven’t been taken to protect the site against heavy rain.
One of the most popular ways of dealing with this is through proper drainage. Industrial level sump pumps are often employed on construction sites to ensure that excess water is removed from the site as quickly as possible. Some companies may also take measures to cover vulnerable areas with something as simple as plastic sheeting overnight. This is definitely something you should consider.
