We’re stripping the houses back to brickwork, and we’re fully re-plastering, putting in new kitchens and bathrooms, installing new heating systems and totally rewiring. We’re also giving them new roofs and soffits and fascias. It really is a lot of work!
The team of young trainees has given the project a boost. The FHM Apprenticeships are going really well,” Chris says. “A lot of them live in Shiregreen so they have a real affection for the area and know people here. It works both ways, they get a lot out of it and we get a really enthusiastic workforce. They’re a good set of lads and I think they’ve had a big boost from seeing the changes they’re effecting in modernising peoples’ homes and making a positive difference to a community. It’s the feel good factor all round, really.
I am a big fan of Apprenticeships having been an apprentice myself. They’re very good things and I know it worked well for me. It gives you a better understanding of the work and a greater appreciation of the industry. Naturally, the sheer extent of the work means tenants have had to ‘live around’ the disruption and the building team have had to be thoughtful in their treatment of the customers. Obviously they’re living in a building site for as long as the work lasts but the reaction has been really good – they want the work done too.
The current phase has to be finished by the end of November, so it’s an intense schedule, yes!
Shiregreen is a former council housing estate, built in the 1930s and 40s, and was in need of some TLC. A lot of houses have had the same families in them for generations and really could do with some improvements, you know, they still had pot sinks and so on.