Hello BIMfans,
Last year on the 10th of October I went through the biggest milestones of my life (so far!) the fiancée and I got the keys to our first house. However, once the initial excitement wore off I was actually stunned at how archaic the whole process is.
We had bought the most expensive item we might ever buy, and all of the information was given to us as loose disparate bits of paper; this was 2015 not the 1980s!!
However, I came up with a solution. My work at BRE is principally focused around Building Information Modelling (BIM), so I decided that I could apply my skills and knowledge around BIM to produce an Information Model about my house. Not only that, as BRE’s mission is to “Build a better world together” I decided foolishly bravely to share what I have done so that others can benefit from the experience; so then There’s No BIM Like Home was born.
There’s No BIM Like Home documents my journey from a pile of paper to an intelligent set of information about my home. Currently still ongoing, the blog carefully considers various elements of the BIM Level 2 process that will culminate with a set of full BIM Level 2 deliverables. So far, the graphical model I’ve developed has helped me in a number of ways. I have used it to send quantities for builders to quote against, and plan out where I am move furniture around the house. In addition, all the data I have about my house means that the warranty documents for my Thermostat and the FENSA certifications for my windows are available at a push of a button. In the future, I will be able to uses it to run my own SAP Calculations, and test what retrofit options will work best.
The blog itself includes a number of different elements. There is:
- The BIM blog, where I am progressing my information model based on a series of Plain Language Questions I wrote myself about my information needs;
- Smart Homes blog, a new feature where I will be discussing the smart home products I have such as my Nest Thermostat, Philip Hue lights, and Amazon Dash buttons;
- Documents, free to view and download compliant BIM Level 2 documents I have created for my home including core briefing and execution documents;
- Engagement, Interactive elements such as this Stereo Panorama of my living room that can be used with VR glasses; and
- Discussion, where I post opinions pieces such as my piece ‘The Great British BIM Off’ where I compare Construction with Baking.
This blog is done by me in my spare time, not because I have nothing better to do (despite what my ‘friends’ may lead you believe!); but because I have seen through my work at BRE the real value in having good asset data, and to be perfectly honest; if it is good enough for the UK Government, it is good enough for me!