The brave new world of low carbon retrofit

A large-scale retrofit project to bring energy efficiency of social housing across Northumberland and County Durham up to a C rating saw a housing association deploying robots to upgrade homes with minimal disruption. James Parker reports. The Socal Housing Decarbonisation... View Article

Shaping the future of buildings & decarbonisation

InstallerSHOW – the UK’s largest event for influential installers and specifiers of heat, water, air and energy technology – will discover one of the biggest challenges on the road to net zero, the tools and solutions for decarbonising buildings.  Taking... View Article

Opening up the black box on Part F and ventilation

Following the changes to Part F and Part L of the Building Regulations, housebuilders have been set the challenge of balancing carbon emissions with sufficient airflow to keep homes healthy. The importance of ventilation to health and wellbeing has been... View Article

Biodiversity Net Gain – Changing hearts and minds

Meadfleet’s Operations Director, Samantha Hursey, comments on the need to engage customers in new biodiversity regulations: The Environment Act 2021 required that all future developments produce at least a 10% uplift in biodiversity which will become mandatory in November this... View Article

Top class casing solutions for education

For many schools, colleges and universities, decorative casing and wall lining solutions are an integral part of both new build and refurbishment projects. The presence of large numbers of students is a key influence on the use of decorative casings... View Article

A good quality of flooring for social housing

With Blacktex sheet vinyl floors from Beauflor®, affordable housing refurbishments can benefit from a floor that’s fast to install, durable and comfortable in use. The BBC has reported that anti-poverty campaigners are calling for housing associations to stop ripping out... View Article

JACKOBOARD® embraces flower power!

JACKOBOARD®, the market-leading brand of construction boards and tiling backerboards from BEWI, has helped notch up a major win at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. Working with the multi-award winning G.K. Wilson Landscape Services led by Company Director Gareth Wilson,... View Article

Is SuDS finally becoming mainstream?

The Government recently announced its legislation change to Schedule 3, of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in England; Wales did so in 2019. This requires new build developments to submit a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) proposal for approval... View Article

ROCKWOOL SoundPro is here

ROCKWOOL SoundPro is a new guide to support specifiers in designing acoustic insulation into education and residential buildings. The guide will help you to: Understand the importance of good acoustic design Learn how to enhance the acoustic capabilities of building... View Article

Top marque for Gilberts

The UK premiere of Land Rover’s new branding concept, re-imagining modern luxury design with sustainability, has been unveiled at one of the marque’s most prestigious dealerships, Stratstone Mayfair. The new image for Land Rover meant a similar new image for... View Article

The rise and rise of SuDS

Mark Manning of water management specialists SDS discusses upcoming legislation on surface water management, and how SuDS will increasingly be the solution Legislation scheduled for introduction in England next year (presently subject to a period of further consultation and full... View Article

Decked out in aluminium

Harriet Keohane from Saige Premium Composite Products shares essential pointers for architects and designers specifying aluminium decking for new build or retrofit projects, to ensure the safety and functionality of outdoor spaces There are key considerations when it comes to... View Article

Take the lift and slide route

Ryan Thompson from SIEGENIA UK explains why architects need to consider lift and slide doors as an aesthetic and secure alternative to the near-ubiquitous choice of recent years that is bifold doors With the recent hot summers and the events... View Article

Break the mould with thermal breaks for balconies

Thermal bridges in balconies considerably affect the overall thermal transmittance of building envelopes and, according to Nicolas De Vrieze from Leviat, can be the main cause of building defects such as condensation, mould formation, and degradation of materials. Here he... View Article