House prices have continued to soar in April, up 1.4% from March and 8.2% YTD to an average of £258,204, according to the latest Halifax index, with no sign of slowing down any time soon. With that in mind, experts at Money.co.uk have offered their expertise answering some of the
When working in construction, building is in the company’s nature. However, the skills are attributed to bricks and mortar rather than a digital presence. In today’s climate, though, a firm simply cannot scale its intended heights without setting a good impression online. A solid website can be the foundation of
For certain kinds of business, the cost of warehousing can be significant. If you have a huge volume of stock to keep, even if it’s just for a matter of days, then it’s vital that you make the most of the available space, while still keeping enough capacity available that
Fences are often overlooked as part of a home’s property, but they play an important role. When a fence is deteriorating badly or is simply too old, it can detract from the enjoyment of the backyard. Eventually, it will come time to replace it with something better and possibly different.
In response to the construction industry’s drive to build a more sustainable future, Sika’s Roofing experts are hosting a live online launch event for its new Green Roof systems on 1 June 2021. All attendees will be in with a chance of winning their very own bee hotel. The launch
Living in New York City can be a dream come true for many people. The bright lights, the celebrities all around, the city that never sleeps. But finding somewhere to live at an affordable rate can be nigh impossible, with the rent trends in New York constantly changing. One option
Countryside, the mixed-tenure developer, and emh group have entered into a development agreement to create a 100% affordable housing scheme in Radcliffe-on-Trent. The developments consists of 55 new homes, fulfilling a joint commitment by Countryside and emh group to provide affordable homes across the East Midlands. To date, this also
Global building materials solutions supplier CEMEX is proud to present VIALOW, a new addition to the VERTUA family of low carbon and sustainable building solutions. VIALOW is a reduced carbon asphalt which comes with the option to offset residual CO2 to make it a CarbonNeutral® product, in accordance with The
Building façade systems provider, Benx, has overhauled its IT infrastructure with a suite of IT solutions from technology partner OGL Computer, to improve performance, and protect and secure data from cyber-crime. Recognising that its legacy IT infrastructure needed an overhaul to meet the business’ growth plans, Benx appointed OGL Computer
Leviat, world leader in connecting, fixing, lifting and anchoring technology for the construction industry, has launched a revolutionary new thermally efficient Ancon windpost designed to minimise thermal bridging in masonry cavity walls. Following extensive research and testing, the patented Thermal Windpost (TWP2), part of the Ancon range of steel construction
House prices have continued to soar in April, up 1.4% from March and 8.2% YTD to an average of £258,204, according to the latest Halifax index, with no sign of slowing down any time soon. With that in mind, experts at Money.co.uk have offered their expertise answering some of the most important questions. Why have house prices risen so much? Here are a few reasons that could have led to a soar in house prices: The stamp duty holiday extension Low-interest rates The desire to move to a new house which has also been fuelled by the pandemic The desire to live out of a city, in a larger home for a similar price In lockdown, a lot of people were able to save money and are now in a position to buy a new home What impact did the stamp duty have? After Chancellor Rishi Sunak brought in a temporary holiday to stamp duty fees last summer, to give the housing market a boost, this led to a huge increase in UK house sales and has been a major factor in pushing people to act – even though the £15,000 saving has been more than swallowed up by house price increases since it was introduced. What has happened to house prices in the past year? House prices have been steadily rising for the past year, with only a small dip at the start of 2021 when the stamp duty holiday was expected to end. There are several house price indices produced by different organisations. They use different factors when assessing house prices in the UK and therefore it’s worth looking at all of them to get the full picture on prices. The following organisations can offer you an insight into house price indices: Halifax, Nationwide, The Land Registry and Zoopla. Will house prices keep rising? The data from Halifax today predicts that prices will continue to rise for the next few months but at some point this year will begin to slow down, at the point when the government’s furlough scheme comes to an end. However, the pandemic has shown us that nothing is ever set in stone and therefore the outlook remains cautious for the housing market. “We expect the market to remain strong at least until the end of the year, with prices supported by a severe shortage of homes for sale and people wanting to make a move and get on with their lives as the pandemic finally recedes and life returns to normal,” said Mike Scott, chief analyst at estate agency Yopa.
When working in construction, building is in the company’s nature. However, the skills are attributed to bricks and mortar rather than a digital presence. In today’s climate, though, a firm simply cannot scale its intended heights without setting a good impression online. A solid website can be the foundation of success for all construction businesses, but only when it’s built with the right materials. The following cornerstones are essential. Design First impressions count for a lot in business. The two items are unlinked. Still, many clients will feel that an unprofessional site indicates an unprofessional business. The initial challenge is to ensure that landing pages set the right tone. Colour schemes and website layouts will naturally play huge roles. However, businesses are advised to invest in Magento page speed optimisation practices too. Because if it takes a website longer than 2 seconds to load, clients begin to lose patience. For similar reasons, choosing the right web host is essential. When 404 error messages are displayed, many people will never return. Visibility Even the best website is redundant if nobody knows it exists. As such, construction firms should view visibility as an essential. Search engine optimisation should be at the top of the agenda. Geographic keywords work best unless it is a global organisation. Essentially, traffic coming from Scandinavia is pointless for a company that only works in Swansea. The pursuit of brand awareness should additionally extend to social media. People will often see houses or business venues they like and then search for contractors. Besides, building a strong social media can promote the sense of professionalism and trust. Even if ‘likes’ don’t directly pay the bills. Trust Building The element of trust is essential for all businesses, particularly when the initial interactions are online. So, any opportunity to incorporate testimonials and client reviews should be grabbed with both hands. It goes a long way to calming a lead’s nerves. Their research won’t be limited to seeing what past clients have to say. They will also want to see proof of what can be achieved. A picture paints a thousand words. Sidey’s new site takes this into account with great photos of past projects. Other firms should follow suit. Celebrating qualifications, certifications, and awards is also advised. Clients only want the best for their construction projects. Contact Details Last but not least, construction firms need to appreciate the field they are in. almost all clients will want to speak with an agent and acquire a consultation before signing off on any project. So, website interactions are simply the first touchpoint. With this in mind, contact details should be easily found. Call redirection and virtual receptionists can help companies maintain a strong image even when busy. Meanwhile, Google My Business listings make it easy for users to call straight from their smartphones. Websites are great for lead generation but further contact is needed to gain conversions. The sooner this is accepted, the better.
For certain kinds of business, the cost of warehousing can be significant. If you have a huge volume of stock to keep, even if it’s just for a matter of days, then it’s vital that you make the most of the available space, while still keeping enough capacity available that you can cope with new orders without any disruption. So how might you rearrange your warehouse for the sake of maximum efficiency? Let’s take a look at a few considerations. Assessing the Floor Plan Your floor plan should make it easy for you to store as many items as possible. But that’s not the sole consideration; your staff will also need to be able to easily access the goods they need. This might mean generous walkways, and traffic being directed to make sure workers aren’t getting in the way of each other. Ensuring that traffic is able to easily flow from one section of the warehouse to the next will minimise disruption and help the entire facility to operate that little bit more efficiently. Before deciding on any changes, it’s worth taking a walk around the warehouse floor, and talking to the people who’ll actually be living with the benefits and drawbacks of any changes. Improving Inventory Management Inventory management has come a long way over recent decades, thanks to a rapid proliferation of technological tools. Nowadays, there’s no need to remember where every single item is, because a computer can do it for you. What is more, the items on your shelves don’t need to be in any particular order, so long as they’re appropriately coded so that every given item is where the computer says that it is. Your inventory and asset tracking management system should follow the Pareto principle, that 80% of outcomes come from 20% of inputs. In this case, it means that a minority of your stock accounts for most of the movement. Generally speaking, the items that are most frequently reached-for should be the ones that are most easily reached. If a worker needs to make ten trips for one item for every one trip for another, then differences in location can have a disproportionate impact on productivity over the course of a working day. Capacity If you need your premises to be able to cope with surges in demand during particular times of year, then investing in temporary buildings might be worthwhile. These buildings can be easily thrown up for just a few weeks, and then disassembled. They can be useful if you need to bridge a gap during a specific period where stock is at a high. Efficient Shelving As well as assessing the larger-scale layout of the warehouse, it’s also worth assessing the shelving more closely. Different kinds of shelves are capable of storing certain items far more efficiently than others. Think about the amount of empty space that’s going unused and look for solutions that will fill that space.
Fences are often overlooked as part of a home’s property, but they play an important role. When a fence is deteriorating badly or is simply too old, it can detract from the enjoyment of the backyard. Eventually, it will come time to replace it with something better and possibly different. Here are four reasons for homeowners to upgrades their fences. 1. Improve Appearances for the Home & Garden When you have already purchased the property and it either lacks a fence, or it is sagging badly and is damaged, it’s time for a rethink. Delineating the property line or boundaries isn’t just useful for the parcel of land; it’s also something that is visually a good thing to do for you and the neighbors. It can avoid confusion and potential disagreements over where their property line ends and yours begins. When replacing the fences or putting one in for the first time, consider what type of fence is best. They come at various price points and are available in wrought iron, vinyl, and chain-link. Each adds a different aesthetic to the backyard, so it’s worth considering how a style will fit into it. To get an idea about the various fence styles, check out northlandfence.com. 2. Increase the Value of the Home A home’s value won’t stay the same when there’s a poor-quality fence or none at all in some places. The valuation is likely to increase by as much as half of the cost of the fence. If it’s a privacy fence that reaches from 4 feet up to as much as 9 feet tall, it’ll be important to provide seclusion for you and possibly your family if you have one too. Choose a fence style that’s in keeping with the rest of the home. It’s likely to have the most upside potential for the expenditure. 3. Prevent Infestation by Termites When there’s an old wooden fence surrounding the property line, it has been susceptible to both the elements and any insects for years. A wooden fence can potentially have suffered a termite infestation because they love wood of all kinds. Even when the wooden slates were originally treated to avoid this, that won’t ward off the risk completely. It would be best to use concrete posts for your fence to make it stronger and stand against termites. 4. Let Your Dog Out with a Safe Place to Run Dogs need a safe place to run around, play fetch, and maybe do a bit of enthusiastic digging too. It’s a great thing to let them burn off some energy if you’re short of time to take them for a walk that day. Let’s face it – dogs love getting outdoors and running around in virtually any weather except perhaps snow. So, a fenced-in garden that’s too high for them to leap over allows the homeowner to let them get more outdoor time. Then they can be walked later in the day when the schedule allows for it. While it’s always hoped that a fence will be of high quality and durability with new homes, many people purchase new-to-them homes as the second owner or later buyer. Depending on the age of the home and the quality of the fences, they may not have held up. Homeowners should avoid waiting until part of the fence has collapsed before thinking about its replacement.
In response to the construction industry’s drive to build a more sustainable future, Sika’s Roofing experts are hosting a live online launch event for its new Green Roof systems on 1 June 2021. All attendees will be in with a chance of winning their very own bee hotel. The launch will cover everything an architect or contractor needs to know about the sustainability and economic benefits of green roofs and what to consider when specifying one. The event is free to attend and suitable for any construction professionals who are interested in the future of sustainable building solutions. During the 45 min session, experts from Sika’s Roofing Team, including Sustainability Manager Sarah Peake, will cover a number of topics, including understanding what constitutes a green roof, the benefits they provide, the different types Sika will provide and their suitability to certain applications, as well as the required design considerations. The launch will close with a Q&A session. Sika’s new systems, available from June, provide solutions for three types of green roofing build-ups – extensive, intensive and biodiverse. These systems will be available as part of a complete, high-performance package from Sika that also includes the waterproofing element of the roof – whether this is hotmelt, reinforced bitumen membrane, single ply or cold-applied liquid solutions. The new Sika Green Roof will be backed by the same trusted technical support that the company has continuously provided over the years. From initial design and specification through to installation, site inspections and final sign off of the roof, Sika’s technical expertise is available every step of the way. As an added bonus, Sika is giving ten lucky attendees the chance to win a bee hotel to aid biodiversity in their own gardens and outdoor spaces. These small structures are designed to be the perfect breeding places for solitary bees, which naturally nest in hollow stems, earth banks or dead wood.
Living in New York City can be a dream come true for many people. The bright lights, the celebrities all around, the city that never sleeps. But finding somewhere to live at an affordable rate can be nigh impossible, with the rent trends in New York constantly changing. One option that can help with that is renting a no fee apartment from the owner rather than a property management team or developer. By-owner apartments in NYC can typically be found at a cheaper rate even in a potentially better location. Best of all, by owner apartments have no broker fees. But they can be hard to find sometimes. To make it easier, we’ve created this comprehensive guide on finding by-owner apartments in NYC. We’ll cover everything you need to know to make the process far less daunting and hopefully get you into a great apartment in no time. So let’s dive right into here, here’s everything to keep in mind when looking for by-owner apartments in New York City. Finding For Rent By-Owner Apartments in NYC New York City has one of the most lively real estate markets in the entire world, so you won’t have trouble finding apartments for rent throughout the city. But the vast majority of the apartments on the market are owned by developers, real estate companies, or property developers. So finding by-owner apartments for rent can be a bit of a struggle, but here a few tips and tricks to keep in mind that will make it much easier: Ask friends and other people from the area — One of the most effective ways to find apartments for rent by the owner in NYC is just through word of mouth. NYC is a big place, sure. But word travels fast, so if you put the word out there to friends and other people that you know, you’ll be surprised at how fast you can hear something. People that are looking to rent out the apartments that they own want to find someone to move in, so it works both ways. Check social media and online posting boards — Facebook Marketplace has become one of the best places not only to find good deals on items or vehicles but also for homes to rent or buy. Similarly, checking online posting boards like Craigslist will go a long way towards finding a great place. Since big companies won’t use these means to advertise, almost all of the deals you find will be for rent by-owner, making the search way easier. Use real estate listing sites — NYC real estate sites like Streeteasy and PropertyClub can be a great place to find by owner listings. Listing sites like these usually also have filters that allow you to only look for options that are listed as by-owner or no fee to skip the need to sift through all the extra stuff. Things to Keep in Mind When Looking at NYC By-Owner Apartments If you’re looking to score a good deal on a high-quality New York City apartment, then by-owner units will typically be your best bet. But sometimes people get caught up in the great value and end up being part of a scam. Here are a few things to keep in the back of your mind during your search for by-owner apartments in NYC: Ensure that the person who’s listing the apartment for rent is actually the owner of the unit. Do a quick online property search to see if you can find the current owner of the property while simultaneously confirming that the address is a legitimate place that can be rented out. Never pay cash for anything that has to do with the transaction, including the deposit. If you give someone cash because they’ve convinced you that they’re the owner, they could easily walk off with your money and you will never hear from them again. Use something that can be traced, such as a check. Verify the landlord/owner’s photo identification before making a deal and starting to transfer any money between parties. Ensure that the person you’re dealing with truly is who they’re claiming to be. Benefits of Looking for By-Owner Apartments in NYC If there were no benefits to renting by-owner apartments in NYC, then there’d be no reason to do so! Let’s take a look at a few of the key reasons why it might be worth it to look for one. Affordability By far the biggest reason to consider looking for a by-owner apartment in NYC is the lower rent that typically comes with them. As one of the most expensive real estate locales in the world, finding a deal in NYC can be tough. But by-owner apartments can often be rented for a lower price, and you also won’t have to worry about broker fees. Easier to Negotiate This one goes hand in hand with being more affordable, but it’s often far easier to negotiate rent when you’re dealing with a single landlord. The big property management companies that own most of the apartments in the city need to charge certain prices to cover all of their bills while also ensuring that they aren’t giving deals to some people and not others. That could lead to a whole slew of issues for them that they just simply don’t want to deal with. More Accommodating Landlords A single landlord is also typically going to be a bit more accommodating for their tenants. If you’re a great tenant and you end up being a day or two late on rent one month, many of them won’t mind as long as you communicate the delay and let them know. They’ll also typically have far fewer rules and regulations when it comes to living in their unit than the standards put in place by established property management companies. Are There Any Reasons for Not Renting By-Owner Apartments? Fortunately, the benefits of renting by-owner apartments in NYC greatly outweigh the potential disadvantages, as long as you’re vigilant and careful during your search. The
Countryside, the mixed-tenure developer, and emh group have entered into a development agreement to create a 100% affordable housing scheme in Radcliffe-on-Trent. The developments consists of 55 new homes, fulfilling a joint commitment by Countryside and emh group to provide affordable homes across the East Midlands. To date, this also includes 105 affordable homes in Grantham. “Working collaboratively is fundamental to the provision of affordable homes and this is at the heart of Countryside’s partnerships model. Working in partnership enables us to efficiently deliver well-designed, high-quality and sustainable homes and we are very proud to be building on our work with emh group to serve the needs of the community,” said Glyn Mabey, managing director of partnerships in the East Midlands at Countryside. “Shelford Road will bring much-needed affordable housing to Rushcliffe, enabling many local families to live in a new home in a high value area that may otherwise have been financially inaccessible. We look forward to seeing this new neighbourhood take shape and to continuing our work with emh group across the region.” Located at Shelford Road, the new development comprises a range of two, three and four-bedroom homes, 30 of which will be available for shared ownership with the remaining 25 available for affordable rent with emh group. The development is set to bring more than £500,000 of Section 106 local investment, including approximately £390,000 towards primary and secondary education, £58,000 towards off-site highway improvements, a £50,000 healthcare contribution and £65,000 towards sport and leisure facilities. “We are delighted that through our strong relationship with Countryside we have been able to contribute towards meeting the housing aspirations of people in Rushcliffe. We are particularly proud of the range of property types we have been able to deliver, going some way to addressing the range of demands of local people,” concluded Chris Jones, executive director of development at emh group.
Global building materials solutions supplier CEMEX is proud to present VIALOW, a new addition to the VERTUA family of low carbon and sustainable building solutions. VIALOW is a reduced carbon asphalt which comes with the option to offset residual CO2 to make it a CarbonNeutral® product, in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. CEMEX announced its Climate Action strategy in February 2020, and in its European operations reduced its CO2 emissions by close to 35% as of December 31st, 2020, ten years ahead of the target date. CEMEX also declared a 55% CO2 reduction target for its European Operations, aligning with the European Commission goal for all member states. VIALOW is a new range of low temperature, low carbon asphalts from CEMEX, which uses a specially formulated bitumen additive to enable manufacture at up to 40°C lower than standard asphalt mixes with no compromise in performance, with the added benefit of achieving up to 20% reduction in embodied carbon emissions. The range includes the VIALOW Zero option, which is a CarbonNeutral product, and complements the CEMEX VERTUA range of low carbon building solutions, further enhancing CEMEX’s Future In Action strategy – committed to Net Zero CO2. As technology and the industry shifts toward low carbon asphalt, the best interim way to sequester the rest of the CO2 footprint, to make it a carbon neutral product, is through carbon offsetting. To do this we are working with Natural Capital Partners, an award-winning expert on carbon neutrality and climate finance, that is harnessing the power of business to create a more sustainable world. VIALOW offers customers a host of other benefits alongside its sustainability credentials. The lower temperature of the manufacturing process can also help to improve the long-term performance and durability of the asphalt, as high temperature in conventional mixes leads to more oxidative hardening of bitumen than is seen in lower temperature variants. Reduced temperature asphalt also offers safety and environmental benefits which include a reduced risk of burns and lower odours, providing a safer and more pleasant working environment for both workers and neighbours to the construction site. The reduced mixing and paving temperatures of low temperature asphalt can reduce fume generation by around 50% for approximately each 10°C reduction in temperature. Furthermore, by virtue of being a low temperature asphalt, VIALOW allows the re-opening of a jobsite more quickly after completion of road works, as the asphalt reaches appropriate trafficking temperatures faster than conventional hot mix asphalt. Alongside minimising disruption and enabling construction programmes to remain on time, this offers further benefits to the environment, as statistics show that stationary traffic caused by road closures creates four times as many pollutants when compared to moving vehicles. The launch of this range follows a report from the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Highways which identified warm mix asphalts (WMA) as an underutilised opportunity to reduce the CO2 emissions associated with asphalt production for road infrastructure. At the time of publishing, the report found that WMAs represent less than 4% of UK asphalt production, yet if all asphalt production in Great Britain had been switched to WMA, it would have saved at least 61,000 tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of cutting almost 300 million miles of car journeys. “Asphalt is an essential part of our country’s infrastructure; roads provide access to employment, social, health and education services, provide access to more areas and stimulate economic and social development. However, we recognise that future construction needs to be balanced with the effect it is having on the environment,” said Carl Platt, Director of Asphalt, Paving, and Building Products for Europe. “CEMEX is totally committed to improving the sustainability of its operations and supporting its customers to do the same. With the launch of VIALOW, CEMEX aims to make it simple for customers to choose more sustainable and environmentally-friendly asphalts that have a lower embodied carbon, offset residual emissions and help drive vital change. Moreover, this industry-leading range of low temperature asphalt is designed to produce faster construction times, minimise disruption and reduce road maintenance costs alongside the added benefit of a carbon footprint reduction.” CEMEX Urbanisation Solutions is constantly innovating to provide customers with a broad range of sustainable solutions for the challenges of urbanisation, with a central focus at all times on its Future In Action strategy – committed to Net Zero CO2. VIALOW is available all year round in all Asphalt Concrete Base, Binder and Surface courses as well as Hot Rolled Asphalt (only where pre coated chippings are not required), Stone Mastic Asphalt and the full Proprietary range.
Building façade systems provider, Benx, has overhauled its IT infrastructure with a suite of IT solutions from technology partner OGL Computer, to improve performance, and protect and secure data from cyber-crime. Recognising that its legacy IT infrastructure needed an overhaul to meet the business’ growth plans, Benx appointed OGL Computer as its IT partner following a competitive tender process. OGL Computer was selected for the wide range of flexible and scalable solutions. “My predecessor had been in the company since it started and so had all our hardware. He was only working with what he’d been given but a lot of hardware wasn’t compliant or bought from reputable companies. The business at that time was turning over around £200,000 but now, with a turnover of around £35 million, we needed an infrastructure that could support our growth. We’d grown so quickly that the company hadn’t had chance to evaluate the IT infrastructure, so they continued to put plasters on it rather than focusing on a long-term strategy,” said Kuldip Bhandal, IT Manager, Benx. “Previously our outdated servers couldn’t handle the load and our growth plans, and this was crucial when discussing our options. Benx needed to invest in a long-term IT solution that was bullet-proof, and that enabled us to easily adapt and scale to manage future growth.” Resilience and growth were particularly important to Benx, alongside being able to control the cost associated with IT infrastructure and services. The OGL IT Solutions team implemented an interim solution that improved performance while the full overhaul was taking place. This gave Benx time to make an informed decision on how it wanted to move forward, based on OGL Computer’s recommendations, rather than being rushed into immediate action. OGL Computer designed a private cloud infrastructure solution, providing centralised resources from OGL Computer’s highly secure UK based data centres. This offered added resilience and protection, while ensuring Benx’ data was available, backed up and secured against any disasters. To increase productivity and collaboration across Benx’ UK offices, OGL Computer migrated the company’s email servers to Microsoft Office365 and deployed Advanced Threat Analytics that provides protected access to the business’ online management portals. VMware Essentials Plus was also installed to keep systems running while essential maintenance was taking place. “We wanted to bring a technology partner on-board because we didn’t have the in-house resource to manage the level of services needed to support Benx,” Kuldip continued. “Three years ago, Benx experienced a ransomware attack and this was a big driver in investing in a system upgrade. The company didn’t have full backups or a tested disaster recovery plan, so it was a shock and left the business down for two to three weeks. It highlighted to us that if you don’t invest in IT you’re going to be in trouble.” Formed in 2002, Benx manufactures, customises, sells and provides advice on materials for construction including insulation, roofing and cladding. Its clients include Premier Inn, Holiday Inn and the University of Warwick. Thanks to its specialist services for the building industry, Benx has grown to generate over £35 million turnover annually, and is currently recruiting team members across its Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and South East England (Essex) office locations.
Leviat, world leader in connecting, fixing, lifting and anchoring technology for the construction industry, has launched a revolutionary new thermally efficient Ancon windpost designed to minimise thermal bridging in masonry cavity walls. Following extensive research and testing, the patented Thermal Windpost (TWP2), part of the Ancon range of steel construction fixings, offers up to an impressive 70% reduction in thermal transmission through the span of the windpost. This guarantees it meets the BRE level for thermal performance provided in BR 443 as a minimum and offers opportunities for more stringent thermal specifications to be met. The Thermal Windpost features integral mineral fibre insulation to ensure continuity of insulation in the cavity, and its innovative design means the windpost sits level with the outside face of partial-fill insulation so it can be taped to further reduce thermal heat loss. This provides the additional benefit of eliminating time-consuming cutting of insulation to fit behind/around the windpost, increasing the overall speed and consistency of installation. Manufactured from stainless steel with a teardrop fold for strength and engineered to minimise weight, the Ancon Thermal Windpost is up to 35% lighter than traditional windposts, making it easier to handle and install onsite. Again, this significantly improves speed of installation by reducing the requirement for complex manual handling procedures for longer lengths. With UK housebuilders facing the ‘zero carbon ready’ Future Homes Standard from 2025, building design for new residential developments must change. The Ancon Thermal Windpost addresses one of the many thermal heat loss issues across a building’s fabric which contribute to the ‘performance gap’ between designed and realised thermal performance, and is part of Leviat continual drive towards innovation with products that improve performance to help create better buildings.
