For almost every purchase in life, cheaper is not necessarily better value. Yet, when it comes to homes, buyers often deceive themselves into thinking that, if there are similar sized homes in the same location, then the lowest priced home is better value. This is not true and potentially an
Sika-Trocal, part of the Sika Group, has appointed a new Area Technical Manager, strengthening its Midlands team by doing so. Donna Owen joins the company from Building Innovation where she held the position as Key Account Management for roofing and tapered insulation. Sika-Trocal provides flat roofing membranes that are suitable
Seymour Civil Engineering is nearing completion on its award-winning role at the North East’s first ‘super roundabout’. Work on the £75m Highways England Silverlink triple decker roundabout is scheduled to finish in just weeks with Hartlepool-based Seymour Civil Engineering contracted by John Sisk & Son to install £8m highway and kerb drainage. Seymour has been
Energy Assets Utilities (EAU), one of Britain’s leading utility network construction specialists, has appointed David Burbidge as Managing Director for England and Wales to drive growth in residential markets and to build on its success in commercial energy schemes. David brings 30 years’ energy, utilities and asset management expertise to
A mineral tile that is ultra-green, even by Armstrong Ceilings’ standards, and a bespoke version of a metal tile feature on the £1 million conversion of a former farm building into the headquarters of a wind farm developer. Community Windpower’s new head office in the old market town of Frodsham,
For almost every purchase in life, cheaper is not necessarily better value. Yet, when it comes to homes, buyers often deceive themselves into thinking that, if there are similar sized homes in the same location, then the lowest priced home is better value. This is not true and potentially an expensive mistake. Value is not cheaper. Value is spending wiser and investing in the future. Economists judge value on three criteria: efficiency, effectiveness and economy, whilst investment is about future returns. Taking these in turn: Efficiency: Is your new home the best design for you and your lifestyle? How far is it to work, shops or schools? Is the public transport good enough? Can I get to see my friends and family as easily as I would like? Are the bedrooms big enough for a decent sized wardrobe? Effectiveness: Does the kitchen/living space create a family hub? Where will the children do their homework? Do I have a utility area? Where is the visitor parking? Do I have a useable private garden with patio? Do I have a good-sized balcony or terrace in my apartment? Economy: Are the kitchen appliances up to expectations? Do I have fast broadband? Do I have a well-specified home with quality doors, furniture and fittings? Investment: Am I part of a much larger development where my home has little individuality? Will my new home hold its premium because I am in a good area with few new homes? Is the quality of my home including fittings, sufficiently good to ensure that it will present well when I sell? On many larger developments, you are probably paying for a house type that has been repeated many times and similar to homes on other developments built in the area. And, as every small compromise adds up, the positive advantage of ‘cheaper’ is outweighed by the negative impact of the home’s imperfections. It may not be good value and will certainly not be a wise investment. If you want real value, you have to look beyond price. At Troy Homes, the directors are involved from the outset to ensure the homes are designed with the customer in mind. Invariably their homes are bespoke, to ensure they fit the location and market. Even as the site is built, they may need to make changes to improve the home. They invest all their own personal knowledge and drive for excellence in every home. And this is reflected in the Troy Home you buy – every detail has value with the focus on exceeding customer expectations. When you search for property online, your criteria will be limited to location, price, size, new/old, etc. These are all important, but they are one dimensional. Such a yes/no, black and white search needs a holistic approach – is this the best home for me for now and in the future? What will my home be worth when I sell? Will it be unique and desirable? If you can positively answer these questions you would have bought a value-for-money home. By Richard Werth, CEO of Troy Homes
Sika-Trocal, part of the Sika Group, has appointed a new Area Technical Manager, strengthening its Midlands team by doing so. Donna Owen joins the company from Building Innovation where she held the position as Key Account Management for roofing and tapered insulation. Sika-Trocal provides flat roofing membranes that are suitable for a wide range of applications including new build, refurbishment, solar and green roof specifications. “This is an extremely exciting opportunity for me. Sika-Trocal is a leading light in the roofing industry and renowned as an innovator of high-quality solutions. I hope my experience will prove beneficial and further the company’s superb service offering,” said Donna. She will lean on over 20 years’ construction-based sales and development experience in the new role, working with Area Technical Managers and the applications team. “The chance to work for such a high-profile employer as Sika proved too great to resist. It offers a huge, but very rewarding challenge. I’m looking forward to meeting my new colleagues and taking this next valuable step in my career. I’m particularly excited about being involved with the Bombardier and Rock Roofing projects and hope to hit the ground running,” Donna said. “Forging excellent account relationships and possessing good industry knowledge are traits I like to think have helped me progress in my chosen field. It sounds old-fashioned, but I truly believe success is built on hard work and a willingness to learn,” she added.
Seymour Civil Engineering is nearing completion on its award-winning role at the North East’s first ‘super roundabout’. Work on the £75m Highways England Silverlink triple decker roundabout is scheduled to finish in just weeks with Hartlepool-based Seymour Civil Engineering contracted by John Sisk & Son to install £8m highway and kerb drainage. Seymour has been on site for 102 weeks to date and has been crowned ‘Supply Chain Partner of the Year Civils UK’ at the Sisk Supply Chain Awards for the last two years for its work on the project, with particular mention made about the quality of work and its collaborative approach. Ryan Browell, Contracts Manager at Seymour, said: “It’s definitely been one of the largest projects that I have been involved in throughout my career. “I think the main challenge has been working around traffic management. We worked collaboratively with a host of other contractors such as those looking after the piling, bridges and laying of the roads.” He added: “We are very pleased with the work and we know that it’s going to make a real difference on one of the UK’s primary transport corridors.” Seymour has installed drainage utilising the latest shaft sinking and microtunnelling techniques which has enabled continuous traffic flow on the A19. The four key areas of Seymour’s work involved: Main highway and land drainage Trenchless crossing undertaken by micro tunnelling techniques Sinking three shafts – the deepest being 13.5m deep Installation of combined kerb drainage It has also provided 24-hour on-site support. Health and safety on this project has been of the highest calibre, working to Highways England’s ‘Raising the Bar’ standards given the nature of the location of the works and the risks involved. The scheme in North Tyneside, at the A19 and A1058 Coast Road junction, has been ongoing since summer 2016. Three layers have been created – the Coast Road on top, a junction in the middle and the A19 on the bottom. Once complete, the project will dramatically reduce queuing time for motorists travelling along the A19 at peak times. Highways England has confirmed the scheme is on schedule to finish in March and the work is now entering the final stages. Picture caption: Ongoing work at Silverlink.
Energy Assets Utilities (EAU), one of Britain’s leading utility network construction specialists, has appointed David Burbidge as Managing Director for England and Wales to drive growth in residential markets and to build on its success in commercial energy schemes. David brings 30 years’ energy, utilities and asset management expertise to his new role, having served in senior management positions with Power On Connections, Eon and Babcock International. “I am very excited to be joining EAU at a time of significant opportunity for the business,” said David. “We are expanding our utility network construction capabilities to include fibre-to-the-home to satisfy growing demand among housebuilders for a one-stop solution to all their utility needs. “At the same time, we continue to invest in our success in commercial Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR) schemes, while actively exploring emerging opportunities in the distributed generation market.” David will be responsible for EAU operations based at Northampton and Birstall (West Yorkshire). His focus is on developing an agile connections business that sets the standard for network construction, meets all customer utility requirements through a unified service offering, and creates asset ownership opportunities for the Energy Assets Group. He will also play a key role in driving EAU’s strategy to expand the reach of the company’s products and services across Britain. Says David: “I am delighted to be part of a team with a clear vision for the future, working alongside like-minded people who share the same ambition, values and principles.” On 1st February 2019, EAU announced that all of its utility network design and construction operations, including Future Energy Group and Dragon Infrastructure Solutions, were being rebranded as Energy Assets Utilities. The company employs 300 people and also has operational centres in Livingston and Alva in Scotland. www.energyassets.co.uk
A mineral tile that is ultra-green, even by Armstrong Ceilings’ standards, and a bespoke version of a metal tile feature on the £1 million conversion of a former farm building into the headquarters of a wind farm developer. Community Windpower’s new head office in the old market town of Frodsham, Cheshire, uses 300m2 of the new Dune eVo MicroLook tile in the back offices and canteen, and 250m2 of acoustic mineral tile Perla 0.95 dB (which performs to Sound Absorption Class A) in closed cell offices, both on the ground floor. In addition, 900m2 of metal MicroLook 1800mm x 300mm metal lay-in planks have been used in open-plan areas and corridors on the first floor. The new fully-recyclable Dune eVo tile and grid, the first ceiling system in the industry to gain Cradle to Cradle accreditation, provides Class C sound absorption as well as a brighter white aesthetic and excellent durability due to a reinforced fully-painted edge. The metal tiles at Community Windpower were specially over-perforated so their ultra-micro perforations continue around the edges of the plank to give an even greater aesthetic and acoustic performance. The highly light-reflecting Armstrong systems were specified for the 20,000ft2 steel-frame building by Community Windpower managing director Rod Wood on the recommendation of specialist lighting manufacturer XAL who provided lighting throughout the new office. The precision of the Dune eVo and Perla tiles was particularly needed to maximise the indirect illumination from XAL’s scheme, notably the suspended Mino linear system upstairs and XAL’s ultra-slim Task office system in the downstairs boardrooms. He was looking for ceiling systems that were “modern, artistic and bespoke” to complement the lighting systems. “They are one of the key features interfacing with modern lighting designs,” he said. “The linear panel works well with the rectangle structure of the building and their clean and bright features also help with this. They have accommodated pitch issues well as well as light wells, air-conditioning and lighting. “Armstrong had products that suited our building and the contractors were confident they could be installed. I’m very happy with the result.” The Armstrong systems were installed over two weeks, on the upper floor to sloped internal eaves, by a team of up to eight from Heatons Ceilings who are a member of Armstrong’s Omega national network of approved specialist sub-contractors. Chris Heaton said: “The metal ceiling is at high levels/atria in the building which made it challenging to install but it really does look amazing from the ground floor. There are not many jobs with this specification in such long planks, especially as they were sloped to both sides. Instead of having a 10mm border the edges were perforated edges for aesthetics as well as acoustics. It is a little special and kind of a one-off. The Armstrong products worked and performed well to give a fantastic end result.” Community Windpower is at the forefront of wind energy development in the UK with over 800MW built, under construction and in development. As proven renewable energy specialists, the business is experienced in the identification, design, development, construction and operation of onshore wind farms and currently has six operational wind farms in Scotland, with a further three approved for development. More information is accessible via the Armstrong Ceilings website https://www.armstrongceilings.com/commercial/en-gb/.
