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Author Archives: The Helpful Engineer
Babylonian Law: The first building regulations
The oldest structure in the world is a 23,000 year old stone wall, at a cave entrance, in Greece. It is known as the Theopetra Cave. Ireland oldest structure, New Grange, although older than the Pyramids, is still comparably young at an estimated 5000 years … Continue reading
How to increase seating capacity on trains
One of the advantages of travelling by train is that it gives you time out to read, chat, stare out the window or think. And it occurred to me on my daily train commute that the seating layout on Irish trains could be … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged carriage, dmu, increase capacity, ireland, Irish rail, seating, Train, trains
1 Comment
Make your own steam engine
With the school holidays upon us many kids are probably wondering what to do with their free time. Well why not help them to build a simple steam engine. I had a go myself some time ago, I made a … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged make your own, putt putt engine, steam engine, things to do, toy
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Immersion heater verses boiler to heat water at home
Did you ever wonder whether it was cheaper to heat your hot water tank with your immersion heater or your oil/gas boiler? Well we have done the sums so you don’t have to. Below is a comparison between various different ways of heating your hot water … Continue reading
Posted in Energy Conservation
Tagged Comparision, cost, Energy conservation, furnace, gas, hot water tank, immersion, Oil Boiler
4 Comments
Irish Rain: Keeping Ireland dry
It is often said about Ireland’s wet and mild climate that ‘it would be a great Country if you put a roof over it’. People saying this often forget that it is the wet weather that makes the countryside look … Continue reading
Posted in New Building Issues
Tagged buildings, ireland, rain, roofs, shelters, wet weather
2 Comments
Thoughts on road signs
Following on from our last post about road signs, I came across this ‘road closed’ sign in the Wicklow Mountains today. The sign seems to indicate that the road ahead is closed due to snow and ice. But the tyre … Continue reading
Funny and confusing Irish road signs
Despite much work by the Local County Councils many Irish road signs still leave a lot to be desired and they can cause great confusion. While driving around I have taken pictures of the worst examples and have shown some of these below, … Continue reading
Ireland should buy an aircraft carrier with its aid budget
The recent theft of €4 million from the overseas aid given to Uganda, by Ireland, should lead to a rethinking of the Irish foreign aid programme. Despite Ireland’s serious economic woes, it has still managed to fund an aid programme … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged aircraft carriers, boat, foreign aid budget, infrastructure, ireland, Irish, ship, Uganda
6 Comments
Hand sketches: The buildings of the Phoenix Park
Hand sketching remains a very important part of the engineers skill set. Its a quick and easy way to communicate complex building details and concepts. Now that we can scan and e-mail sketches it means that little of the detail … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged artist, buildings, dublin, hand drawings, sheelagh duff, sketches, The Phoenix Park
1 Comment
