Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Mon, Aug 1st 2016 Partitioning systems from fermacell will showcase at this year’s Education Estates show. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Specialist building board manufacturer Fermacell will debut its schools offer for new-build and refurbishment projects at this year’s Education Estates event (October 18-19, Manchester Central). Its stand (E17) will demonstrate the many ways in which German-engineered fermacell partitions are especially ideal for the education environment, being particularly robust and damage resistant. Even if they are damaged, they are exceptionally easy to repair. With this in mind, Fermacell is using the Education Estates exhibition, conference and award dinner event to launch its new lifetime “Impact Warranty” which guarantees Fermacell will supply repair materials or replacement boards in the extremely unlikely event of damage. In addition, the multiple acoustic and fire requirements as specified in BB100 and BB93 can be met with just six fermacell partition types, simplifying the specification and installation of the product. This compares to many more combinations with conventional drywall systems Due to their density, partitions made from Fermacell generally do not require pattressing when attaching fixtures and fittings such as wipe boards and TV screens which means that they are much more cost effective and flexible than conventional drywall. It was the boards’ excellent load-bearing properties which got them specified by specialist timber frame manufacturer Scotts of Thrapston for a start in a new sector. Scotts in Northamptonshire have 95 years’ expertise in the equestrian and garden buildings sector but recently decided to try and break into the education sector by supplying modular classroom buildings. They specified 153 of fermacell’s 1200mm x 2400mm x 12.5mm boards for their first such project, Weldon Church of England Primary School, in their home county, and have not looked back since, also using fermacell for another school and an office building. The fermacell panels were used to line the walls and ceilings of a £175,000 replacement for a 20-year-old modular building including a classroom, group room, lobby, toilets and storeroom. Fermacell boards have also been or are being used at Redbridge and Bank View Schools in Liverpool, Ellon Academy in Aberdeen, Civitas Academy in Reading, Lane End School in Highgate, London, Harrogate High School and the University of Nottingham’s sustainable chemistry building. Fermacell systems are now also available through bimstore. Downloadable in the Revit format, more than 30 Fermacell systems for walls, floors and ceilings can be accessed via the UK’s largest BIM portal, www.bimstore.co.uk, as well as through www.fermacell.co.uk. The Fermacell BIM components include steel and timber stud partitions, steel and timber wall linings and SFS wall systems as well as dry floor screed and steel frame and timber ceilings. This BIM capability is complemented by a “Modern construction needs modern materials” CPD which explains how fermacell is made, how it conforms to relevant standards, where it can typically be used, what product options are available, and its performance characteristics and installation process. ENDS  Source link

A plumber arranged for fraudulent gas safety checks at landlords’ tenanted properties leaving a gas boiler in a dangerous state and putting the lives of the tenants at risk. Gary Lynch, aged 36, arranged for Neil Walker to undertake the landlords’ gas safety checks at tenanted properties on 14 separate occasions between February 2013 and May 2015 despite Neil Walker not being a registered gas engineer. Gas safety records produced used a false Gas Safe Register registration number and a fictitious address for Neil Walker. Gary Lynch claimed to have met Neil Walker in a pub and instructed him to undertake the landlords’ gas safety checks for him, as the agent for the landlords, but Gary Lynch did not undertake any checks on whether Neil Walker was registered to legally undertake such work. One gas boiler that Neil Walker passed as safe was subsequently found to be ‘Immediately Dangerous’ and was potentially leaking poisonous carbon monoxide into the tenants’ property. The tenants had been suffering from headaches and dizziness and contacted Wales and West Utilities who isolated the gas supply to the boiler and contacted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who investigated Gary Lynch’s activities. During that investigation Gary Lynch was not able to provide any information or contact details for Neil Walker. Gary Lynch was sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court. He had previously been warned by HSE in 2014 about undertaking gaswork whilst not registered following previous concerns. Gary Lynch of Fletemoor Road, Plymouth, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for each offence suspended for 18 months and was ordered to pay £2,000 in costs. HSE Inspector Simon Jones, speaking after the hearing, said: “Gary Lynch’s negligence could have cost lives. All landlord’s gas safety checks must be done by registered Gas Safe engineers to ensure the highest standards are met to prevent injury and loss of life. Mr Lynch knew this but carried on instructing an unregistered man and put the lives of tenants at serious risk from deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. Further information about gas safety can be found at  http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/ Notes to Editors The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/  HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link

In the short term we believe that both prices, and rents, will remain stable, but we cannot be certain about the next quarter as political instability, and market unrest, could lead through into prices in the housing market The British people have cast their vote and we are to leave the EU. As a cloud of uncertainty unfolds over the UK housing market, Property Reporter takes at look at how the market has reacted with comments from those within the industry. David Cox, managing director of Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and Mark Hayward, managing director of National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), commented: “The outcome of today’s EU referendum will create a period of uncertainty among homeowners, buyers, investors, landlords and developers.  We can expect international investors to look a lot harder at the UK as a market; this will have a consequential impact upon the house building sector as investment may be stalled.   In the short term we believe that both prices, and rents, will remain stable, but we cannot be certain about the next quarter as political instability, and market unrest, could lead through into prices in the housing market. We believe that the UK housing market is resilient, as is the supply chain that drives it.  But as we indicated in our Brexit report1 last month, the bigger impact may well be in the skills necessary to drive UK housing development, and this is now a major concern for UK buyers and renters.” Stuart Law, Chief Executive of Assetz Property, comments: “Today’s result to leave the EU has only increased the cloud of uncertainty cast over the British property market, but it is not the time to just sit back and watch the events unfold. Now is the time for buy-to-let investors to turn their attention away from the Capital, which could experience difficult times ahead in terms of economic and currency uncertainty. Cash rich investors should instead look to the Northern Powerhouse, which still remains a strong contender for those seeking to protect capital and produce an income well above bank interest rates. We still expect prime London prices to continue falling and many of the tens of thousands of luxury homes in the pipeline to be mothballed as demand from all over the world fails to meet that potential level of supply. The rest of London will definitely be hit by a perfect storm of several factors hitting house prices which is great news for house-buyers but not for investors and homeowners. We know that the City is going to relocate large numbers of highly paid bankers to Paris, Dublin and the rest of Europe and the loss of these highly paid house buyers and renters can only have a negative effect. Add that to the new buy to let mortgage interest tax and we see no appeal for speculative house price growth and negative cash-flow in London for the foreseeable future. The rest of the country, however, is likely to be far more stable and we expect house prices to be very slow to react, if at all, as a minor economic slow-down is balanced by low mortgage interest rates and huge demand for housing. Rents outside London will remain strong and continue to grow steadily, created by a modest reduction in house building as the banks reduce lending again.” John Phillips, group operations director at Spicer Haart and Just Mortgages, says: “It will be an interesting time over the next few days, I expect people to panic like mad and then things will calm down again.  Similarly there will be a slight economic slow down while people decide how things will affect them and then it will pick up again after a brief period of adjustment.   The mortgage market had been racing away again reminiscent of pre-2007, but then slowed down a little bit in the couple of months building up to the referendum back to more normal levels and I think that this is what we will stay at until the end of the year. In some ways this is a positive for the housing market as it will bring more normality back to the market. We still have a chronic shortage of houses so I don’t think that house prices will drop or that people will stop buying or selling.  What we still need it for house builders to up their level of building again, although this may stay depressed for a little while to come. The beauty trade wise is that in the next two years we have the best of both worlds, we will still be in the EU but we will also be able to start trading freely with the rest of the world.  There are already calls for referenda in other EU countries, so in the next two years the EU is likely to look like a very different place.” Russell Quirk, CEO of hybrid estate agent, eMoov.co.uk, had this to say: “Many will be running to their nuclear bunkers now that the apparent end of the world is nigh. But before they do, they might want to take a breath and sit tight. We’ve voted to leave the EU and regardless of personal views we must respect the democratic position of the populous. We don’t anticipate any tangible difference where the UK property market is concerned and the supply and demand balance that is currently dangerously out of kilter will see little sign of stabilising itself. Going forward the UK market will go from strength to strength, perhaps with wobbly knees at it emerges from the clutches of the EU, but it will soon find its feet again. There may be many buy-to-let landlords and second homeowners rushing to list their property for sale in order to maximise their profit, before the “Armageddon” on the horizon destabilises the pound. Ironically it will be these people flooding the market with additional stock that may see prices cool ever so slightly.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is today (15 July 2015) calling for expressions of interest to design its new Research Medal, part of the President’s Research Awards Scheme. The new award will sit alongside the other prestigious President’s Medals – Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The competition is an opportunity for architects, designers and craftsmen to submit designs that reflect the history of the President’s medals, the importance of research to RIBA’s mission and activities and the impact of research on architectural practice more broadly. RIBA President Stephen Hodder said: “The new President’s Medal for Research will recognise and celebrate world class architectural research. For 10 years, the RIBA has taken seriously the achievements of students and researchers in original technical and cultural research through our research awards programme. The medal will reflect the important contribution and impact that research has on innovation in practice, and the heritage of our own history of medal commissioning. We welcome thoughtful and bold designs for this unique opportunity.” The competition will be held in two stages. For the first, the RIBA is seeking expressions of interest from individuals and teams for the design of the new medal. Entrants are asked to provide information regarding relevant experience and, where possible, examples of previous work in this field, as well as a brief statement outlining their design proposal. Entries will be anonymised before the judging panel invites six shortlisted candidates to provide full drawings and proposals for the medal. Honoraria of £250 will be awarded to the shortlisted competitors, and a prize of £2,000 awarded to the overall winner. The competition will be judged by an eminent panel including Philip Attwood, Keeper of Coins and Medals at the British Museum and President of the British Art Medal Society, and the RIBA President and past President. The deadline for expressions of interest will be 09:00AM (BST) on 10 August 2015. The deadline for shortlisted candidates will be 09:00AM (BST) on 14 September 2015. – Ends – Notes to editors 1. For more information members of the press should contact: Gagandeep Bedi, Press Officer, RIBA: gagandeep.bedi@riba.org 020 7307 3814. Non press queries should be sent to MedalComp@riba.org.2. Full Competition Guidelines and a registration form for the open stage of the competition are available at www.architecture.com/ResearchMedalComp 3. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members www.architecture.com 4. Follow us on Twitter for regular RIBA updates @RIBA  Posted on Wednesday 15th July 2015 Source link