The former and future home of the Financial Times newspaper is being renovated to provide 270,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, complete with a walkable large-span glass roof designed and supplied by Wrightstyle, one of Europe’s leading advanced glazing systems companies. Bracken House is a Grade II Listed
Britcon has secured a contract which will see them deliver two different projects that form a part of a wider transformation plan in the company’s home town of Scunthorpe. The Building and Civil Engineering company was first established in 1990 and since then has developed a reputation for being one
Howarth Timber & Building Supplies will be hosting their award winning Trade Day Bonanza again this year with a variety of deals and competitions. Also, new for this third year of the Bonanza is the ‘golden ticket’ giveaway which has a prize worth £15,000. The Trade Day Bonanza will be
If you are running a landscaping business an integral part of adding the finishing touches to your work will often be the installation of outdoor lighting and power outlets. It is great to see a garden lit up or a water feature as a focal point but you will want
An agreement has been reached between the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) and the Lighting Association Ireland (LAI). This agreement comes as the two lighting associations have been in discussions and come to the conclusion that they share a similar outlook and philosophy in regards to their members and the future
TIMco, one of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of screws, fasteners and fixings, has released its new summer catalogue with 10% more new product lines, taking their offering to over 6,000 products for the first time. The increased number of products offered comes as a direct response to customer demand
An extensive refurbishment project is currently taking place at the Saint-Gobain Weber HQ which is located in Flitwick, Bedfordshire. As part of this refurbishment and used extensively throughout the building is weberfloor. Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and solutions vital to ensuring the wellbeing of all, whether that’s for
RCM, the complete through wall solutions provider for the UK construction industry has announced that they have formed a new charity partnership with the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. The DougieMac hospice looks after adult patients with a palliative or end of life diagnosis. The hospice serves people across North Staffordshire and
An exhibition to showcase the life and work of civil engineer Ove Arup opens at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London tomorrow, 18th June 2016. Above: Ove Arup Arup, the firm Ove Arup founded in 1946, has given the V&A access to its archives and engineering experts to tell
Thursday, 01 September 2016 Thousands of private sector tenants in Scotland have failed to collect their deposit when they moved out of their home, it has been discovered. Staff at tenancy deposit scheme SafeDeposits Scotland have calculated that money due to tenants amounts to more than £500,000. Tenancy deposit schemes were
The former and future home of the Financial Times newspaper is being renovated to provide 270,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, complete with a walkable large-span glass roof designed and supplied by Wrightstyle, one of Europe’s leading advanced glazing systems companies. Bracken House is a Grade II Listed office building, originally built between 1955 and 1958, and lies adjacent to the St Paul’s Cathedral Conservation Area of the City of London, and was home to the Financial Times until the mid-1980s. The sensitive renovation will retain the building’s pink sandstone cladding, an allusion to the colour of the FT’s pages, as well as the astronomical clock over the main entrance, which features the face of Sir Winston Churchill, a personal friend of Bernard Bracken, a former chairman of the Financial Times. The structurally glazed roof light has been completed using Wrightstyle’s SR60140-2 and SR60140-4 profiles for the rafters and purlins, and the company also supplied two full-size test pieces before the main project design was signed off. The access-only roof glazing was comprehensively weather tested and underwent a TN67 test, in which weights are dropped onto the glass to ensure the safety of anyone walking on it. Wrightstyle supplied to Wilde Contracts Ltd, part of the Roger Wilde Group, specialists in glass flooring, who also carried out pre-contract testing. The roof light covers a main atrium area, to maximise light flow to the building’s central core, and replaces old 1970s concrete and glass pre-cast slabs. In a twist of history, it’s been announced that the Financial Times will move back to Bracken House next year after almost 30 years since relocating to Southwark. In 1987, Bracken House became the first post-war building in England to be given listed status. “Wrightstyle systems are renowned for their robust integrity, and have been specified on other roof light projects, both here and overseas – for example on a recent major banking headquarters in Hong Kong,” said Denis Wright, Wrightstyle’s chairman. “We were delighted to work with Roger Wilde on this project which once again underlines the specialist nature of the advanced glazing market, and how our systems are being specified internationally,” he said. Main contractor for the Bracken House project is the McLaren Group. Picture credit: Roger Wilde Group www.wrightstyle.co.uk
Britcon has secured a contract which will see them deliver two different projects that form a part of a wider transformation plan in the company’s home town of Scunthorpe. The Building and Civil Engineering company was first established in 1990 and since then has developed a reputation for being one of the most successful and progressive companies in their industry located in the North of England. The contract for these two project was awarded by North Lincolnshire Council. The projects are a part of the Local Development Framework and a combined £60 million investment in order to completely transform the town. The first project as part of this local redevelopment work is currently being carried out. The £5.8 million project to create a new HQ for Ongo Homes has already been started, with Britcon already at work on the 21,500 sq ft three storey new building. Ongo is known in the area as the largest housing provider in North Lincolnshire. Their new HQ will be located in Church Square, with a stand out porcelain clad exterior and a backlit feature to be installed on the South and West external elevations of the building. For their part in this project, Britcon will be delivering an Air Source Heat Pump which will be installed on the roof, a Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery and a BMS system that will control the internal environment of the building, cutting running costs and CO2 emissions. The work on this project is planned to be completed by March 2018 The second project that has been awarded to Britcon is the £5.7 million extension to Church Square House. This building is the council HQ and where the council leaderships operate from. This extension work is expected to begin in the Autumn of this year, and is expected to be finished by at some point in 2018.
Howarth Timber & Building Supplies will be hosting their award winning Trade Day Bonanza again this year with a variety of deals and competitions. Also, new for this third year of the Bonanza is the ‘golden ticket’ giveaway which has a prize worth £15,000. The Trade Day Bonanza will be returning for its third year and will be hosted at the Leeds United Conference Centre which is at Elland Road. The event will take place on Friday the 10th of November 2017. Last year the event was a success with more than 60 leading suppliers taking part and over 1,000 people visiting over the course of the event day. Hopefully this year will be as, if not more, successful. Howarth Timber & Building Supplies has created an event that is well known and popular for its amazing exclusive deals and competitions. At this year’s event, the new golden ticket draw will be the largest giveaway carried out as part of the Trade Day Bonanza. In order to be entered into this prize draw, visitors need to spend £250 +VAT or more in one single transaction before or during the event. When entered, the customers will be in with a chance to win a Nissan NV 200 van or a Nissan Micra at the event. The holders of the Golden Ticket must be in attendance at the event in order to be in with a shot of winning. Runners up in this draw will be entered into a second draw to win a range of other prizes, among these is a Samsung tablet. The trade day is a popular event for businesses, who use it as an opportunity display and demonstrate their latest products as well as offering a range of one off offers to their customers visiting the event. Tradespeople eagerly await the event due to the massive savings available and the ability to look at the most recent products from the best industry suppliers from all over the country.
If you are running a landscaping business an integral part of adding the finishing touches to your work will often be the installation of outdoor lighting and power outlets. It is great to see a garden lit up or a water feature as a focal point but you will want to ensure the electrical aspect of your work is carried out as safely as possible. Here are some useful safety tips to consider when you are working on an electrical installation outdoors, including a reminder about rules and regulations for mains voltage, cable installation insights, plus suggestions for mixing up your lighting options. Sticking to the code The fundamentals of carrying out electrical work safely involve knowing your limitations and when to get someone more qualified to help with the electrics and ensuring that you stay on the right side of building codes and regulations. Fitting plug sockets, outdoor lighting, and providing power for a water pump all require mains voltage and every one of these cables, wires, and sockets need to be protected by a Residual Current Device (RCD) which is designed to shut the power off instantly when something like a power leak to earth occurs. Someone like RS Components can provide you with all the sockets and circuit breakers you need to meet your outdoor power requirements and maintain the integrity of that power source. Make a plan If you are working on a design plan to give a garden a makeover those plans also need to incorporate details of how you are going to keep all the cables and wiring needed as safe as possible. You never want to see electrical cables trailed around the garden. It is not just unsightly but you are raising the prospect of a trip or fall and inviting a disaster like running over a cable with a lawnmower or hedge cutter at some point. You will need to use a steel wired armored cable if you are going to be burying cables underground together with some warning tape that identifies its presence when anyone is digging the ground in the future. You could also consider laying electricians plastic conduit pipe and then pull the cabling through to the other end, but whatever way you go about it, think safety and have a plan that meets the required standards for an electrical installation. Low voltage options Installing power cables will add to the cost of any landscaping work and a safer and less expensive option to consider would be to see where you might be able to get away with using a low voltage alternative. There are plenty of low voltage lighting options that don’t require any cables to be laid so you can light up the garden in places with the minimum of fuss and greatly reduce the risk of shock or any other electrical hazard. A successful outdoor lighting and power project requires planning and using the right fixtures and wiring in the right places. Get that right and the electrical aspect of your landscaping project should be as successful as the rest of your work.
An agreement has been reached between the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) and the Lighting Association Ireland (LAI). This agreement comes as the two lighting associations have been in discussions and come to the conclusion that they share a similar outlook and philosophy in regards to their members and the future of the lighting industry. It is thought that the two associations can make significant improvements by working together. The Lighting Association Ireland has been in operation for three years, and in this time the organisation has been able to have valuable input into the design, manufacture, distribution and installation of lighting being carried out across Ireland. On the other hand, The Lighting Industry Association has been a dominant part of the industry landscape for the past 80 years and is the largest Trade Association in Europe for professionals working with lighting equipment. The older LIA will be able to offer insight and knowledge to the agreement that has been developed from years of working within the industry. The LAI will offer new and innovative solutions and possibilities for how changes could improve the lighting industry for their members in the future. The LIA has more than 250 members and is considered around the world as an authority in the industry. This means that the agreement will allow all of the members of both of the organisations to make the most of any changes that are made, and the associated benefits. Also, as part of the agreement that has been reached between the LIA and the LAI, all members will share the range of benefits on offer between the organisations, including training opportunities, social events perfect for networking and the LIA’s UKAS accredited lighting laboratory. With Brexit on the horizon, this agreement will create ties that are mutually beneficial for the industry and its continued improvement going forward.
TIMco, one of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of screws, fasteners and fixings, has released its new summer catalogue with 10% more new product lines, taking their offering to over 6,000 products for the first time. The increased number of products offered comes as a direct response to customer demand for a broader range of high quality products from TIMco. The new catalogue, which is now available, details the full range of TIMco products, guides on how to get the most out of the products, environmental and corrosion ratings as well as ordering and delivery information. TIMco’s product range has grown to include more than 6,000 products, including brand new product lines such as Addax X6 impact driver bits, chucks, adaptors, sockets and drill bits. There are also new products from the newly extended SHIELD protection range as well as the usual comprehensive selection of high quality fixing and fastening products under the TIMco brand. Simon Midwood, Managing Director of TIMco comments: “We aim to be the wholesale supplier that supports independents, and this brochure helps merchants extend the range they offer to their customers which makes the end user’s shopping experience quicker and easier. This catalogue includes many new products outside of our core fixings and fastener lines and was launched as a direct result of the research conducted by our marketing team, who found merchants wanted a better choice from their supplier.” Merchants interested in the new product catalogue are being advised to contact their regional sales manager or visit www.timco.co.uk/contacts to download the latest version. TIMco is head quartered in Nantwich, Cheshire and is one of the UK’s largest and most experienced importers and wholesalers of screws, fixings, fasteners, nails and power tools accessories. A family company, TIMco was founded in 1972, starting off in a small unit in Chester city Centre. Now the company has up to 110 members of staff from offices in the UK, Ireland and Taiwan. For more information, visit www.TIMco.co.uk.
An extensive refurbishment project is currently taking place at the Saint-Gobain Weber HQ which is located in Flitwick, Bedfordshire. As part of this refurbishment and used extensively throughout the building is weberfloor. Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and solutions vital to ensuring the wellbeing of all, whether that’s for buildings, transportation, infrastructure and a range of other industrial applications. As part of this, Saint-Gobain Weber is the provider of flooring solutions that are innovative and easy to apply. Refurbishments are being carried out in the 240 ㎡ industrial and commercial floor space of the HQ in Flitwick. The project entails demolishing the old training workshop on the Bedfordshire site in order to transform the area into a new product storage area. The floor of this new storage areas will be pre-treated and primed with the weberfloor 41716 primer, which is ideal for this floor and suitable for all substrates prior to the application of other weberfloor products. Following this weberfloor 4310 fibre flow will then be applied on to the mesh as a high performing pumpable and levelling floor screed. This product has an enhanced level on durability because of the fibre reinforcing in the screed. It was important that Weber worked fast to get the following applied in order to allow more trades to access the site and continue with the work. The facilities that are being renovated are used often by a range of staff and overseas visitor, therefore it is vital that the work is carried out in the shortest time possible. Weber’s extensive collection of floor screeds are all manufactured in the UK and have been developed so that they can deliver optimum speed, durability, strength and smoothness in the finishing product. The product range is known for being one of the most technically advanced available, and therefore an ideal solution for the new Saint-Gobain Storage area.
RCM, the complete through wall solutions provider for the UK construction industry has announced that they have formed a new charity partnership with the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. The DougieMac hospice looks after adult patients with a palliative or end of life diagnosis. The hospice serves people across North Staffordshire and offers free care and support 24 hours a day and 7 days a week through the help and support of staff and volunteers working diligently to have a positive impact on the lives of and journeys of their patients. The hospice sports those living with cancer as well as other non-cancer illnesses that are life limiting. The DougieMac hospice was established in 1973, serving primarily the North Staffordshire area for more than 40 years. The hospice the only one of its kind to offer care only to adults in this area therefore all of the help and work that goes into delivering the proper care is vital. The DougieMac relies heavily on donations from the local community. This is because they need to source 75% of their running costs from voluntary donations in order to keep the hospice running. At the moment it has been calculated that the operational costs for the hospice are just under £12 million a year. RCM have committed to raising as much as possible for the local hospice, and a dedicated to supporting this charity and the good work that they carry out for palliative care patients in the area. As part of their efforts to fundraise for the charity, RCM will be hosting a Corporate Charitable Golf Day to raise money for DougieMac. This event will be held in September and will offer the construction supply company the opportunity the chance to give back to the local community in North Staffordshire.
An exhibition to showcase the life and work of civil engineer Ove Arup opens at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London tomorrow, 18th June 2016. Above: Ove Arup Arup, the firm Ove Arup founded in 1946, has given the V&A access to its archives and engineering experts to tell the stories behind some of the world’s most recognisable buildings and projects. Engineering the World: Ove Arup and the Philosophy of Total Design is the headline exhibition for the V&A Engineering Season. The exhibition runs until 6th November. See our previous report here. This article was published on 17 Jun 2016 (last updated on 17 Jun 2016). Source link
Thursday, 01 September 2016 Thousands of private sector tenants in Scotland have failed to collect their deposit when they moved out of their home, it has been discovered. Staff at tenancy deposit scheme SafeDeposits Scotland have calculated that money due to tenants amounts to more than £500,000. Tenancy deposit schemes were introduced in July 2012 and since then more than 156,000 deposits have been repaid by SafeDeposits Scotland. While millions of pounds have been returned to tenants at the end of their leases, a small proportion of people don’t claim back the money that is due to them. It is those people who SafeDeposits Scotland are trying to track down. A large proportion of missing tenants are students, according to the firm. With the start of the academic year, September is the busiest time for deposits being paid both in and out. The busiest day sees almost 90% more deposits being paid in than the average day through the year. Just over 2,000 tenants have ended their leases without claiming back the money due them, totalling more than £500,000. The clock is ticking and if deposits aren’t claimed back within six years, unclaimed funds go to the Crown, a process which will start in 2018. SafeDeposits Scotland’s finance team do everything they can to reunite former tenants with their money including sending letters to forwarding addresses, emailing, calling and texting. While successful in the majority of cases, some people are more elusive. Money cannot be paid directly back into accounts as this isn’t information that tenancy deposit schemes have been given. The Scottish Government introduced the tenancy deposit scheme in 2012 to make deposits safe for tenants. When landlords and agents take a deposit from a tenant they’re required by law to lodge the money with one of three approved schemes who ring fence the money until the end of the lease. SafeDeposits Scotland is the largest of these three approved schemes in the UK, holds an estimated 60% of all private rental deposits and the only scheme to be based in Scotland. ‘It’s extremely surprising that people can leave their rented property and forget to ask for their deposit back. The vast majority of tenants remember to claim their money but there’s a small minority who don’t,’ said Jennifer Paice, chief executive of SafeDeposits Scotland. ‘Our finance team do a great job in tracking most of them down but there are a significant number they can’t get hold of. We don’t think it’s right that people lose out on what’s due to them so we do everything we can to try and get people the money they are owed,’ she added. Source link