A North London housing trust is advertising a construction framework expected to be worth up to £200m over the four-year term. Newlon Housing Trust is looking to build 2,000 new homes by 2,000 and is seeking expressions of interest from building firms interest in joining a framework agreement for the
Ffasiwn Bildar star Gavin Orson has encouraged young people across Wales to consider a construction career by taking part in Open Doors 2016. Open Doors, which runs from Monday June 13th to Saturday June 18th, is a joint initiative between the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Build UK. Welsh
SAS International, manufacturer of ceiling and partitioning, has sold its distribution subsidiary, SAS Direct & Partitioning, to SIG. SAS International chief executive Todd Altman said the sale would enable his company to concentrate on design, manufacture and supply. SIG Distribution managing director Paul Gordon said: “SAS Direct will further enhance
North Manchester Health, Safety and Advisory Group (NMHSAG) About the award Do you know anyone worthy of receiving a young person health and safety award in recognition of their efforts in the work place? Why not encourage and support them to enter for the 2016 Jeff Marsh Award. The award
Nationally home sales fell 0.9% from May to June in Canada while prices were up 11.2% year on year, according to the latest index data. It means that monthly falls in sales activity has left transactions down 2.6% below the record set in April 2016, the home index from the
Brokers should be able to profit from the ongoing changes to the buy-let-sector, said David Whittaker, Managing Director of Mortgages for Business at today’s Financial Services Expo (FSE) Manchester, the premier exhibition for the financial services industry in the North of England. Whittaker pointed out that 93% of all buy-to-let
Continuing to raise the bar on building standards across the UK, Bureau Veritas building control services proved invaluable during the recent construction of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey. Due to open its doors on 11 June, the new £22.9m gallery and museum will display over 300 treasures
In response to housing challenges and environmental issues in urban areas, extending buildings upwards is a logical solution. As part of an urban development project in Poissy, near Paris, 33 new apartments were constructed on top of existing residential buildings. The apartments were built with prefabricated wooden modules made from
Stax Trade Centres has underlined its position as a leading UK workwear supplier with the introduction of a new mobile showroom which is now making visits to customer premises. Mounted on a road trailer, the new showroom allows Stax to provide workwear displays to individual customers and help them select
One of Europe’s leading advanced glazing system suppliers has introduced an innovative leaf and half leaf fire resistant door system. The new system complements Wrightstyle’s existing unlatched door range, which was the first unlatched advanced glazed system on the UK and international markets. The doors, which have leafs of different
A North London housing trust is advertising a construction framework expected to be worth up to £200m over the four-year term. Newlon Housing Trust is looking to build 2,000 new homes by 2,000 and is seeking expressions of interest from building firms interest in joining a framework agreement for the programme. The framework is structured into three lots according to contract value: up to £10m, up to £25m, and more than £25m. The procurement documents are available at: https://www.localgovsourcing.co.uk This article was published on 27 Sep 2016 (last updated on 27 Sep 2016). Source link
Ffasiwn Bildar star Gavin Orson has encouraged young people across Wales to consider a construction career by taking part in Open Doors 2016. Open Doors, which runs from Monday June 13th to Saturday June 18th, is a joint initiative between the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Build UK. Welsh construction sites taking part in Open Doors include: Gavin, 27, was crowned the Model Builder in the recent S4C series which aimed to transform the image of Welsh construction workers. During Ffasiwn Bildar Gavin took part in a variety of tasks including bricklaying, plastering and carpentry, winning a cash prize of £3,500 and the opportunity to model for the Dickies 2016 catalogue. Commenting on the Open Doors campaign Gavin said: “Open Doors is a great opportunity for people interested in following a construction career. “Site visits are a very good route into the industry. I used to visit sites when I was 13, during the summer holidays. It gave me a taste of what construction work is like.” Gavin, who recently started his own plumbing business, added: “Construction is an excellent career choice because if you have a trade behind you you’re sorted for life. It’s a safe career bet as there’ll always be a need for building work. I’ve been busy throughout my career and the opportunities in Wales are picking up.” More workers are urgently needed in the industry, as CITB predicts over 230,000 new construction jobs will be created in the UK over the next five years. Figures from the Construction Skills Network 2016-2020 estimate that over 27,000 construction jobs will be created in Wales during the next five years. Meanwhile the predicted growth rate in Welsh construction output for the same period, 7.1%, is almost triple the UK average (2.5%). Suzannah Nichol, Build UK Chief Executive, said: “I joined the industry after a visit to a local construction site. Hopefully Open Doors can get even more young people and others looking for something new to get involved in to pursue one of the many construction careers we have to offer. “Construction is a great place to be and the buzz onsite is infectious. We can’t wait for Open Doors visitors to feel that same buzz and see what the industry is all about.” Mark Bodger, Strategic Partnership Director of CITB Cymru Wales, said: “Open Doors is an excellent way of inspiring more people to consider a career in construction. It is a great opportunity to showcase how rewarding a career in the sector can be. “Anyone interested in pursuing a career in construction should visit the industry website – Go Construct.” To sign up for an Open Doors event visit opendoors.construction. Twitter: @OpenDoorsUK #opendoors16 Source link
SAS International, manufacturer of ceiling and partitioning, has sold its distribution subsidiary, SAS Direct & Partitioning, to SIG. SAS International chief executive Todd Altman said the sale would enable his company to concentrate on design, manufacture and supply. SIG Distribution managing director Paul Gordon said: “SAS Direct will further enhance the SIG Interiors business by extending our portfolio to include a very strong product and service proposition for the commercial interiors sector, supported by a specialist, design led technical team and a range of partitioning systems particularly suited to the London technical specification markets.” SAS Direct was established in November 2010 and has its headquarters in Reading. SIG has also reported a 1.4% fall in annual revenues for 2015 to £2,566.4m, although UK & Ireland sales increased by 5.7%, and pre-tax profits rose 32% to £51.3m (2014: £39.0m). Commenting on the results, chief executive Stuart Mitchell said: “While making good progress on the Strategic Initiatives and infill acquisition programme, we were disappointed by the Group’s 2015 performance, having been adversely affected by weak trading conditions in Mainland Europe and the UK RMI market, as well as movements in foreign exchange. “We have already taken a number of actions to improve performance including further increasing our customer focus, reducing procurement and supply chain costs, and growing our value added businesses. “This year we continue to expect good growth in the UK new build construction market, primarily driven by the residential segment. Lead indicators also suggest that demand should pick up in the UK RMI sector as 2016 progresses. “In Mainland Europe, while the trajectory of any recovery at this stage remains uncertain, trading conditions in France have improved, with the housing market stabilising and a return to growth for SIG in Q4 2015.” This article was published on 9 Mar 2016 (last updated on 9 Mar 2016). Source link
North Manchester Health, Safety and Advisory Group (NMHSAG) About the award Do you know anyone worthy of receiving a young person health and safety award in recognition of their efforts in the work place? Why not encourage and support them to enter for the 2016 Jeff Marsh Award. The award is open to nominations for young people age 16 – 25 years who have contributed to improvements in occupational health and safety. The Award is offered by the North Manchester Health and Safety Advisory Group. NMHSAG is a member of Safety Groups UK and The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. Further information Closing Date 15/04/2016Winner notified 15/05/2016Prize Awarded June 2016 (Date TBA) For more details visit the 2016 H&S Young Person Annual Award web page or contact Kelly by e-mail on mailto:khaslam@olceurope.com. Source link
Nationally home sales fell 0.9% from May to June in Canada while prices were up 11.2% year on year, according to the latest index data. It means that monthly falls in sales activity has left transactions down 2.6% below the record set in April 2016, the home index from the Canadian Real Estate Association of Canada (CREA) also shows. There is also considerable price differences depending on location. For example if Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver are left out of the equation prices are up 8.4% year on year. Sales activity was down from the previous month in about half of all markets in June, with declines in Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Greater Toronto having eclipsed gains in comparatively less active housing markets. ‘While national sales activity remains strong, there are still significant differences in housing market trends across Canada,’ said CREA President Cliff Iverson. ‘While home sales activity and price growth are running strong in B.C. and Ontario, they remain subdued in other markets where home buyers are cautious and uncertain about the outlook for their local economy,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures show that two storey single family home prices continued to post the biggest year on year gain at 15.5%, followed by one storey single family homes up 14%, townhouse/row units up 13.6% and apartments up 9.8%. While prices in nine of the 11 markets tracked by the index posted year on year gains in June, price growth continues to vary widely among housing markets. Greater Vancouver with price growth of 32.1% and the Fraser Valley up 35.5% posted the largest annual gains. Greater Toronto recorded price growth of 16%, Victoria was up 15.7%, up 10.6% in Vancouver Island, up 7.9% in Greater Moncton, up 4.1% in Calgary, up 3.6% in Regina, up 1.9% in Greater Montreal and up 1% in Ottawa but prices fell by 4.1% in Calgary year on year and by 1.4% Saskatoon. The national average price continues to be pulled upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which remain two of Canada’s tightest, most active and expensive housing markets. The actual, not seasonally adjusted, national average price for homes sold in June 2016 was $503,301, up 11.2% year on year. However, if these two housing markets are excluded from calculations, the average price is a more modest $374,760 and the gain is trimmed to 8.4% year on year. June sales extended trends observed the previous month, according to Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. ‘As was the case in May, the monthly decline in national sales activity was led by the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and markets in or around the GTA,’ he said. ‘In keeping with the law of supply and demand, exceptionally low inventory combined with high demand continues to translate into strong price growth in these housing markets, where year on year price gains have been running in double digit territory since late last year,’ he pointed out. Actual, not seasonally adjusted, sales activity was up 5.2% year on year in June but annual increases have been steadily losing momentum since February 2016 while the number of newly listed homes increased by 2.2% in June 2016 compared to May. The data shows that new supply climbed among a broad majority of all local markets, led by Greater Toronto, Oakville-Milton, Montreal, Quebec City, and B.C.’s Fraser Valley. The return of activity in Fort McMurray following its evacuation in May also contributed to the national increase in new listings. With sales down and new listings up, the national sales to new listings ratio eased to 63.3% in June 2016, compared to 65.3% in May. A sales to new listings ratio between 40% and 60% is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings below and above this range indicating buyers’ and sellers’ markets respectively. The ratio was above 60% in about half of all local housing markets in June, virtually all of which are located in British Columbia, in and around Toronto and across Southwestern Ontario.The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. There were 4.6 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of June 2016, which is unchanged from May’s reading and the lowest level in more than six years. The number of months of inventory has been trending lower since early 2015, reflecting increasingly tighter housing markets in B.C. and Ontario. It currently sits near or below two months in a number of local markets in British Columbia, the GTA and environs and Southwestern Ontario. The Aggregate Composite MLS Benchmark price rose by 13.6% year on year to $564,700, the biggest gain since December 2006 and for a fifth month in a row year on year price growth accelerated for all benchmark property types tracked by the index. Source link
Brokers should be able to profit from the ongoing changes to the buy-let-sector, said David Whittaker, Managing Director of Mortgages for Business at today’s Financial Services Expo (FSE) Manchester, the premier exhibition for the financial services industry in the North of England. Whittaker pointed out that 93% of all buy-to-let business comes via the intermediary sector and that the increased complication involved with writing buy-to-let business means advisers should be in the driving seat. Whittaker said: “Brokers can certainly profit [from these changes] as they are much more fleet of foot than lenders. You have the opportunity to be the biggest winners out of these changes.” However, Whittaker did warn advisers that with greater requirements from lenders in terms of borrower income details and a growing increase in workload, now might be the time to push lenders for larger fees. He commented: “Advisers need to remind lenders that the new market involves lots more work and you deserve to get paid for it.” Whittaker described the likely measures to come out of the FCA’s CP11/16 on buy-to-let mortgage underwriting as “MMR on speed” warning advisers they will “have to collect shed loads of income data from your customers”. He said while, in the past, buy-to-let mortgages might have been something advisers could have sorted out over a cup of coffee, from now on they would be getting “all your attention”. Whittaker outlined a number of potential worries for buy-to-let advisers in the future with the potential changes to lenders’ underwriting standards including how they might maintain lender and compliance requirements around: • The visibility of borrower’s income and validating that income. • Potential discrepancies in borrower’s tax returns. • Having the required portfolio data for professional landlords. Looking at the future of the buy-to-let market and the anticipated gross mortgage lending figures and lender activity, Whittaker asked the audience to predict what the lending figures might be like for 2016. 63% suggested it would hit the same figure as 2015, £35billion, while 27% thought it would inch up to £37.5bn. Whittaker said: “I would be happy with £35bn again because I think it would send a message to [George] Osborne that the market has listened, the buy-to-let sector has listened and we’ve toned it down a bit. However, IMLA are predicting £43bn and if it does go to this level you can expect all the regulators to revisit us. £35bn might get Osborne off our backs.” Further details on Financial Services Expo Manchester are available here: http://www.financialservicesexpo.co.uk/fse-manchester/ Source link
Continuing to raise the bar on building standards across the UK, Bureau Veritas building control services proved invaluable during the recent construction of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey. Due to open its doors on 11 June, the new £22.9m gallery and museum will display over 300 treasures charting the Abbey’s thousand-year history. It has been built in the medieval triforium – a 50ft stretch of gallery previously hidden from the public – which offers spectacular views of the Palace of Westminster and across Parliament Square. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries will be accessed via the newly-built Weston Tower – the first major addition to the Abbey Church since 1745 – which includes an intricately designed staircase and lift. During the construction, a key challenge for Abbey staff, heritage architects, the fire service and the main contractor was to preserve the historic building’s Grade I-listed features while maintaining the highest fire safety standards for the public gallery’s vast collection of artefacts and exhibits. As such Bureau Veritas, a global leader in Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC), was called upon to provide Approved Inspector Building Control Services to the project. Using its extensive experience in fire safety, the firm’s dedicated team was able to provide sound regulatory and legislative advice, which proved instrumental in developing a robust fire safety solution essential to meeting the Abbey’s complex design needs. Core to this was taking a holistic approach to fire safety, where Bureau Veritas assessed travel distance aspects, reviewed complex evacuation modelling, as well as reviewing lighting, exit signage and fire alarms so that they met safety regulations while being in keeping with the surroundings. For instance, during the construction of Weston Tower, the team work tirelessly to confirm that the tower’s lift was well equipped with firefighting measures such as a dry riser, without compromising the building’s historic façade. Throughout the project, Bureau Veritas also held numerous workshops for the client, designers, architects and other contractors in order to help manage risk throughout the building lifecycle and subsequently reduce costs. From early involvement during the design stages through to site inspections and final certification, the company was able to give designers confidence that the project will comply with Building Regulations and all relevant legislation. As a result, the team succeeded in making sure The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries met its building control obligations in time for opening. Andy Lowe, director of building control at Bureau Veritas, comments: “We are absolutely delighted to have delivered a solution that not only ensures Westminster Abbey maintains the highest standards in accordance with building regulations for the two million people who visit the iconic church each year, but one that is also in keeping with the building’s magnificent historic features.” Ptolemy Dean, Surveyor of the Fabric at Westminster Abbey, said: “We were incredibly impressed by Bureau Veritas’ building control services during this project. The firm worked meticulously with the Abbey team, contractors and the fire service to certify the striking new tower and museum achieved building compliance. We’d like to pass on our thanks to Bureau Veritas for the invaluable part they played in helping to achieve our vision for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries.” For further information, call 0345 600 1828 or visit www.bureauveritas.co.uk
In response to housing challenges and environmental issues in urban areas, extending buildings upwards is a logical solution. As part of an urban development project in Poissy, near Paris, 33 new apartments were constructed on top of existing residential buildings. The apartments were built with prefabricated wooden modules made from fast, light and green Kerto® LVL products. Thanks to the prefabrication and light wooden structures, the construction took only six months to complete. Prefabrication and use of wooden structures make building extensions fast and economical. Metsä Wood’s Kerto® LVL (laminated veneer lumber) is an ideal material for designing and constructing additional floors in urban environments. Wooden modules are light to transport and lift. Prefabrication ensures quick installation. The construction work for the wooden extensions in the Beauregard neighbourhood of Poissy began in September 2016. The building renovation project was managed by the property owner Vilogia and the Parisian architectural agency Virtuel Architecture. The 33 new apartments, each with 2–3 bedrooms, were constructed on the rooftops of three buildings, with a reinforced structural design. The modular housing units were installed at a rate of roughly one to three apartments per day. The construction project also included installation of three elevators and extension to the staircases. “What’s interesting about the solution for vertical urban development is the prefabrication”, declares Laurent Pillaud, architect at Virtuel Architecture. “Each house is made up of three or four modules and one roof; the production of the modules took one month. Then the modules were delivered and each was installed directly on the rooftop in one day.” The joints between the modules were carefully planned. The wooden modules could be lifted directly to the right place and quickly connected to other modules and to roof structures. Well-thought of design minimised the amount of work and hassle at the construction site. A company CMB assembled the wooden modules at their production hall in Mauléon. CMB is renowned for its exceptional expertise in modular construction. Prefabrication guaranteed the quality at all levels: interior paintwork, toilet facilities, flooring, internal and external woodwork, etc. Building upwards with wooden modules Today, the hyper-urbanisation of cities is a multifaceted problem, posing social issues as well as issues concerning respect for the environment and health. Building vertical extensions using wooden modules is a logical and appropriate solution to the housing crisis in urban areas. Between 1990 and 2011, over 1,200 vertical developments were authorised in the city of Paris alone, whilst over 31,000 planning permission files were submitted, along with over 65,000 planning permission requests. These figures stand as proof of the growing interest in vertical urban development. Open Source Wood initiative Metsä Wood believes that construction using wood and modular building extensions are the most practical and environmentally sound solutions to addressing rapid global urbanisation and climate change. However, not nearly enough knowledge about modular wood design and building is shared, so wood construction remains a limited sector of the construction industry. That’s why Metsä Wood launched Open Source Wood – a pioneering open innovation project aimed at facilitating knowledge sharing and growth in modular wood construction. Read more and join the initiative at opensourcewood.com
Stax Trade Centres has underlined its position as a leading UK workwear supplier with the introduction of a new mobile showroom which is now making visits to customer premises. Mounted on a road trailer, the new showroom allows Stax to provide workwear displays to individual customers and help them select from the large number of workwear garments which the company can provide. “The mobile showroom is a great resource for us to have at our disposal, and it reflects the breadth of our workwear offering,” explains clothing product manager Jason Ellis. “We are now using it to take Stax out to customers, saving them the inconvenience of having to leave their office or contact us to request samples. We can take a bespoke workwear display to the customer and introduce them and their staff to the many options which are available. “The trailer represents another important element of the service that we offer to our workwear customers,” adds Jason. “We use it to show how we can provide whatever type of garments and workwear are required, and to demonstrate our abilities to customise garments in terms of corporate colours and logos. Customers can also see the quality of our workwear for themselves, and that never fails to impress. The trailer increases the level of contact we have with customers and it also provides a valuable source of feedback from the people who actually wear our garments.” The Stax Trade Centre in Glasgow houses the company’s own dedicated workwear showroom and production facility. “This allows us to handle various operations such as embroidery and heat-sealing on-site. It means we can fulfil large-scale orders which require bespoke garments and still meet tight customer deadlines,” concludes Jason. The Stax branch currently provides workwear services to a wide range of businesses, ranging from small independent traders through to local councils, and major commercial organisations. Over the past 4.5 years the business has supplied 1.5m pieces of workwear including boots, gloves, knee pads, masks, eye and ear protection, polo shirts, coveralls, helmets, wellington boots and aprons. For more information or to arrange a visit, go to www.staxworkwear.co.uk
One of Europe’s leading advanced glazing system suppliers has introduced an innovative leaf and half leaf fire resistant door system. The new system complements Wrightstyle’s existing unlatched door range, which was the first unlatched advanced glazed system on the UK and international markets. The doors, which have leafs of different sizes, provide integrity and insulation, for either 30 or 60 minutes (EI-30 and EI-60). There can be several reasons for having a double leaf door with different leaf sizes – for example, where the opening is restricted in width, or for other ascetic, design or space restriction reasons. The system therefore allows for easy pedestrian traffic using one operating leaf, with the other leaf coming into operation if bulkier equipment is being moved through the doorway. One leaf (the master) is the access door that is used for pedestrian traffic, into and out of the building or offices and can either be latched or unlatched. The other smaller leaf (the slave) is a fixed door held closed by flush bolts at the top and bottom, but which can be opened to make a wider opening for furniture and equipment to pass through. Wiltshire-based Wrightstyle used 23mm Pyrostop glass for the EI-60 test, in a very large master leaf of 1472mm wide x 2450mm high, to cover for all configurations. This latest door system follows the introduction of a series of thermally broken fire doors earlier this year, and which are fully compatible with Wrightstyle’s SR60 curtain walling system, to provide 90 minutes of integrity and insulation (EI90). Together, they add further options to Wrightstyle’s already extensive range of fire and smoke resistant doors, which include unlatched doors in double or single leaf format – a breakthrough fully-glazed fire door system. All Wrightstyle’s unlatched doors are therefore now available in single or double leaf format, or leaf and half leaf, and fully glazed using non-selective door leaf push/pull technology, offering a wide range of surface finishes including stainless steel. Wrightstyle was the first company to develop a glazed unlatched door system, and has since raised concerns with government about the inadequate enforcement of fire specifications contained within the Approved Document B and the usage requirements of certification data. “We have first-hand experience of unlatched doors with untested or incompatible fire-resistant glass are being accepted as fire doors within the regulatory definitions despite the fact that they are clearly not within the permissible limitations of their supplied test certification,” said Denis Wright, Wrightstyle’s chairman. “Our new door system means that we now offer a complete range of fire doors, for internal and external use, and which are fully tested and compliant,” he said.
