Marley’s popular Weatherboard range has been certified by the leading applied safety science authority, UL Solutions. Following robust independent testing, the fibre cement board solution for external cladding has been certified to meet all relevant standards for performance, quality and safety. The certification provides critical product credibility, meaning specifiers can select Marley’s Weatherboard solution with confidence, knowing its performance and safety credentials have been thoroughly examined. Assessment criteria To achieve UL certification, the performance of Marley’s façade and cladding system was tested in accordance with the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology (CWCT) sequence B – Standard for Systemised Building Envelopes (2005). This satisfies several key performance areas: The Weatherboard fibre cement cladding system delivers a textured woodgrain finish and is ideal for refreshing existing properties or adding significant visual appeal to new developments. With a high coverage rate, it offers a cost-effective solution, along with ease of installation and low maintenance requirements. New colour option Coinciding with its UL Solutions certification, Marley has also expanded the colourway options for its Weatherboard range. The launch of a new blue-grey colour option complements the existing choices of white, light grey, slate grey and black, to further extend specification choice. With blue-grey particularly popular in the Southwest areas of the UK, especially in coastal areas, the new colourway adds another layer of aesthetic appeal for projects in this region. Marley also offers full colour-matched trims and accessories for its Weatherboard range, to ensure all projects offer an aesthetically striking and premium finish. Kevin O’Neill, National Sales Manager, Weatherboard for Marley, comments: “Rigorously tested, our Weatherboard system is UL Certified, meaning the fibre cement solution offers high levels of performance in water resistance, wind durability and safety compliance. It’s the perfect solution for specifiers looking to integrate reliable and compliant cladding solutions into their projects. “This, combined with the addition of the new blue-grey colourway, means specifiers have increased choice and confidence when choosing Marley’s Weatherboard for their external cladding projects.” For more information, visit Marley’s website. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions, through its brands British Gypsum and Isover, has released a new episode of its Building Better series, focusing on the critical retrofit agenda for social housing. The UK’s social housing sector faces mounting challenges as poor insulation and inadequate ventilation exacerbate issues of damp, cold and poor living conditions for occupants. In response, Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions is supporting vital conversations around transforming these homes into warm, healthy spaces that are fit for the future. In its latest episode, Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions collaborates with Iwan Trefor Jones, Chief Executive of Adra – North Wales’ largest housing association – to explore innovative retrofit solutions designed to address the UK’s pressing need for sustainable healthy housing. “Our homes should be safe and secure places to live, not ones that compromise health or quality of life,” said James Maclean, Head of Training Academies at Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions. “Through collaboration with Adra, we’re demonstrating how retrofitting can drive tangible, positive changes that contribute to building better communities across the UK.” The episode also touches on the Social Housing Regulation Act, which prioritises safeguarding tenant welfare, as well as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, a government-funded program that works with social housing providers to improve the energy efficiency of homes. These solutions include: enhanced insulation and effective ventilation systems to improve occupants health and well-being; the adoption of solar panels and air-source heat pumps to create low-carbon, energy-efficient homes and insulation to support energy performance and protect building materials in the long run. Iwan Trefor Jones, Chief Executive of Adra said, “Our priority is to provide homes that meet the highest standards for our residents, where they not only feel safe but comfortable.”  “Our partnership with Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions demonstrates how innovative retrofitting can enhance residents’ quality of life while advancing our vision of sustainable, future-ready communities.” The video spotlights case studies showcasing how retrofitting has successfully transformed existing properties and by sharing these examples, Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions aims to showcase the work of housing providers such as Adra, and how they are making residents health and wellbeing a central part of their refurbishment strategy. Hosted by renowned architectural designer and television personality Charlie Luxton, Building Better delivers inspirational and thought-provoking content on weekly episodes via YouTube and the Building Better Hub. To watch the full episode and discover similar content, visit www.saint-gobain.co.uk/building-better-hub, or to explore the episode in chapters, visit the Building Better YouTube channel and click subscribe to keep up to date with the latest video. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

With a large million-pound investment Selkent, a leading UK supplier of construction fixings and tools, increases its customer fulfilment capacity with the opening of a brand-new warehouse in Sittingbourne, UK. Officially opened by local MP Kevin McKenna, the facility currently has 34 employees with an additional eight roles being recruited for within the local area. As part of the company’s wider growth plans, the new warehouse is accompanied by an office move to Orpington, offering easier commute to its employees and better links between the office and its new Kent-based warehouse. The new warehouse will form a central base for its upgraded delivery fleet operations, using entirely electric vehicles that utilise a new fleet management system, the Podfather. Integrated with the company’s back-office systems, the fleet management software helps to improve the efficiency of dispatch, ensure cost effective and resource efficient delivery management, and support the move towards paperless working. With improved efficiencies the warehouse will enhance the company’s on-site delivery service, helping customers overcome challenges, such as rising costs and supply chain issues, and meet project demands. Founder of Selkent, Julian Bushnell, said: “The new warehouse facility is key to our plans for company growth, enhanced customer fulfilment, and ever-improving sustainable operations. With a focus on delivering construction supplies to projects across the country, the new warehouse in Sittingbourne will act as a hub for our operations and we hope that our facility will provide increased business and careers in the local community for years to come.” Local Sittingbourne MP, Kevin McKenna, said: “The investment into the local economy and resulting employment opportunities is hugely beneficial for Sittingbourne. With ambitious plans to grow the team at the new warehouse, Selkent is leading by example to help improve sustainable operations within the construction industry as well as support their local community through increased business opportunities and employment.” To find out more about Selkent and its latest news, visit https://www.selkent.com/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

The updated Part L regulations, due to be usurped by the incoming Future Homes Standard, provide official consensus on the need to build energy-efficient homes that are less impactful to the environment. This has instigated a rethink in building design and the type of materials that comprise key elements such as cavity walls to not only ensure homes comply with current energy standards, but are also suitably equipped to meet future legislation without the need for significant renovation. Part L regulations, which require new homes to produce 31% less CO2 than previous legislation, highlight a fabric-first approach to building design – along with renewable technologies such as heat pumps – as being integral to attaining the standard. Appropriate insulation is integral to the fabric first principle. A product’s thermal performance, thickness and usability being foremost considerations when compliant building performance and buildability is the target. The introduction of The Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI) will help the specification process. How the Golden Thread Led to CCPI CCPI was initiated by the Construction Products Association’s Marketing Integrity Group in response to Dame Judith Hackitt’s post-Grenfell report: ‘Building a safer future – Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety’. Dame Judith’s report called for the creation of a “Golden Thread” of easily accessible information that blueprints a building’s DNA to safeguard its ongoing management. CCPI aligns with this report’s proposal by providing product information that is clear, accurate, current, accessible and unambiguous. In terms of insulation, this will help specifiers make more informed choices based on a product’s designed thermal performance, and how it is used safely and most effectively. As a manufacturer committed to best practice principles and improving building standards throughout the supply chain, Recticel recognises the value of CCPI in helping to create better-built homes that perform as-designed.   A Board that Fits with Housebuilding’s New Era With Recticel’s rigid full-fill insulation board, Eurowall® +, specifiers have a PIR product that embodies the drive for products that engender smarter working practices. A 90mm Eurowall® + board helps achieve a 0.18W/m2K U-value in 100mm masonry cavity walls. The resulting 10mm air gap makes the installation an easier, less labour-intensive process for bricklayers, which is also a benefit when budget constraints are in place.  Significant to Eurowall® + board’s design is a tongue and groove joint which appears on its four edges. This interlocking feature creates an airtight fit that reduces thermal bridging and moisture ingress. As a board that maximises thermal performance from minimal thickness, Eurowall® + also presents an opportunity for building designers to increase interior space whilst achieving compliance. Available in 90mm, 115mm, 140mm thicknesses, Eurowall® + brings an element of certainty to the building process; specifiers can be assured of its consistent thermal performance and long-term structural stability. Unlike fibrous insulation, which sags and degrades over time when damp sets in, Eurowall® + retains its strength to provide increased protection against moisture ingress and safeguard against thermal bridging. Eurowall® +, is the insulation board for housebuilding’s new era in which occupier comfort and well-being is matched by a focus on designing homes that are suitable for the cleaner, safer world we desire for generations to come. With that in mind, why wouldn’t you use Eurowall® +? Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Adaptavate has just released the testing done to date on Breathaboard, its pioneering low-carbon alternative to plasterboard, confirming that it hits, and in some cases exceeds, the wallboard industry standards. Developed over the last ten years with Adaptavate’s patented technology, Breathaboard is a drop-in solution to reduce CO2 emissions and waste in the wallboard market and the built environment. Adaptavate’s technology intends to make low-carbon, carbon storing and carbon-negative building products available to all. The company’s first solution, Breathaboard, focuses on the wallboard category and the news today confirms its potential to go mainstream. In fact, Adaptavate is already trialling the product across UK building sites and is in talks with global and regional plasterboard manufacturers about deploying its low-carbon technology and plasterboard alternative across the globe. Tom Robinson, founder and CEO at Adaptavate said: “This milestone is a result of the team’s hard work, and the backing we have had over the last two years in building our pilot production facility and labs from the Government and our investors. Our pilot line, commissioned successfully last year, is producing Breathaboard to the incumbent standard, with Adaptavate’s patented low-carbon technology. The announcement today confirms that Breathaboard is a validated drop-in solution for the wallboard market. It gives manufacturers and potential licensees of our technology the reassurance that Breathaboard can enter their markets really soon and is a critical step to realising our vision of bringing low-carbon building materials to walls all over the world.” Breathaboard has been tested by independent UKAS accredited laboratories and can be fully compliant with incumbent standard EN 520 in all applicable performance criteria -exceeding them in some cases. More information about the tests and the results, can be found on Adaptavate’s website. The product is a natural, scalable, carbon sequestering alternative to one of the most widely used construction products, plasterboard. Breathaboard has half the embodied carbon than that of its competitors. It can save up to 4kg of CO2/m2[1] in a market of around 13bn m2 capacity. What is more, this product is installed in the same way as plasterboard but is lighter weight. Adaptavate’s innovation can help the construction industry rapidly decarbonise without changing the way buildings are renovated or constructed.  Adaptavate is now putting plans to build an industrial demonstrator into action to speed up the scalability and adoption of its climate positive technology across the globe. [1] Breathaboard has a saving of approx. 4 Kg CO2 equiv. of GWP per m2 (compared with a standard board from one of the main players in the UK plasterboard market), when measured using the standard defined by EN 15804 +A2 and counting the biogenic storage of our bio aggregate (3 Kg/m2). All calculations are developed through an Adaptavate proprietary tool which has been independently verified by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) Group. This tool not only calculates GWP but also environmental, energy and resource use parameters for in use impacts. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

An epoxy repair mortar was used to repair the damaged concrete substrate in a clarifier tank at a Wastewater Plant in the UK. The system achieved a complete cure despite being completely submerged in water due to a rainstorm during the curing period. In this way, the concrete resurfacing epoxy, Belzona 4131 (Magma-Screed), was an excellent alternative to concrete. It enabled the Customer to bypass the serious problems that would otherwise have arisen had poured concrete been used in the application instead of the epoxy mortar. Severely Damaged Concrete in Need of Repair The clarifier tank, 18 metres (59 ft) in diameter, was suffering from severe deterioration on the concrete base. This had been caused by the combined effects of corrosion and abrasion from the scrapers that run around the clarifier, moving sludge to the centre of the tank. The damaged concrete in the tank had led to a loss of efficiency of the scrapers and premature wear of the rubber scraper pads. In addition, this had caused the pumps operating downstream to become damaged by the pieces of the broken concrete which had been sucked downstream with the sludge. Repouring concrete onto the base of the tank was considered as a repair solution. However, this was deemed inappropriate as the bond to the original concrete would be insufficient. Specification of Epoxy Repair Mortar, Belzona 4131 (Magma-Screed) Following an inspection by Douglas Potts, Senior Fields Solutions Engineer at Belzona UK, the epoxy repair mortar, Belzona 4131 (Magma-Screed), along with Belzona 4911 (Magma TX Conditioner), were specified. Belzona 4131 (Magma-Screed) was selected due to its excellent mechanical properties as well as its abrasion resistance capabilities. In addition, as this system can be fully cured in just three days in temperatures of 15°C (59°F), this makes it an excellent alternative to concrete which concrete typically takes around 28 days to achieve a full cure.   To accompany this specification, case studies and test data were supplied demonstrating the strength and adhesion capabilities of Belzona 4131 (Magma-Screed) to concrete. This, along with the fact that the Customer had used Belzona technology in successful applications before, further cemented their decision to opt for the polymeric technology. Application of Concrete Resurfacing Epoxy Firstly, the surface was power washed, and mechanically prepared using grinders and scabblers. Next, the clarifier was marked into sections and each section was then conditioned with Belzona 4911 (Magma TX Conditioner), using a stiff bristled brush. Screed rails were then used to set the level of the Belzona 4131 (Magma-Screed). 4,500 kg (9920.8 lbs) of Belzona 4131 (Magma-Screed) was then applied using metal floats to a thickness of 6mm (0.24 in).   During the curing process, a rainstorm hit the site and the tank was submerged in water. After the storm, the tank was drained and destructive testing was conducted, with support from Belzona Limited’s Research and Development team, on the patch most recently laid. Other than slight cosmetic damage of surface whitening, the system was found to be fully cured and unaffected. A very different outcome would have been observed had the Customer chosen to use poured concrete for the repair and such flooding occurred. An Alternative to ConcreteThe application and cure was completed in eight days. Had the Customer chosen to use the poured concrete method to repair the substrate, the application and cure would have taken weeks to be completed, rather than days. Thus, by opting for the epoxy repair mortar, this ensured that minimal disruption was incurred to the Plant’s operations.     For more information, please visit: www.belzona.co.uk    Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals