MEDITE SMARTPLY, the market-leading manufacturer of sustainable wood-based panels, has successfully completed extensive testing with a UKAS-accredited laboratory on flooring solutions featuring SMARTPLY MAX DB and SMARTPLY SURE STEP DB. The OSB panels used in timber flooring systems for internal residential floors have achieved the airborne sound insulation performance of 40dB as required by the Building Regulations in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Compared to the traditionally used chipboard solution, these flooring systems offer a host of benefits. Opting for SMARTPLY MAX DB enables a thinner, stronger and 30% lighter alternative. Opting for SMARTPLY SURE STEP DB provides an airtight, durable, and slip-resistant solution, ticking all the boxes for operational goals. Roly Ward, Head of Business Development at MEDITE SMARTPLY, commented: “Peace and quiet are essential for a comfortable and healthy home environment. We are excited to bring to the market new applications for our products that have been tested in flooring systems and offer sound reduction while providing the construction industry with a lighter, safer, airtight, and sustainable flooring solution as an excellent alternative to traditionally used materials.” MEDITE SMARTPLY has tested its new 18mm SMARTPLY MAX DB in flooring systems. The panel helps achieve 40dB, which is required for internal residential floors under the Building Regulations in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The panel also offers weight savings, allowing for easier handling on the construction site, as well as simpler transportation and reduced costs. SMARTPLY SURE STEP DB is an airtight, tongue-and-groove panel with a high-performance coating. Using it as an airtight layer for flooring or decking can contribute to sustainable building practices and reduce energy consumption for heating. This solution complies with building regulations and is certified as airtight. What’s more, SMARTPLY SURE STEP DB’s unique coating enhances durability during the construction phase and ensures slip resistance in all site conditions. SMARTPLY OSB panels are highly durable because of their manufacturing process. The cross-orientation of the wood strands is key; this alignment allows for greater surface coverage for the adhesive, resulting in the panel’s superior strength. SMARTPLY OSB is a sustainable material that can add value throughout the supply chain. Sourced from sustainably managed and accredited Irish forests, SMARTPLY wood-based panels not only store carbon during the growth of trees but also continue to lock it in throughout the manufacturing process and the entire lifespan of the product and the buildings in which they are used. SMARTPLY’s OSB panels are fully certified, UKCA and CE marked, legally sourced, and sustainable. Because OSB is made of wood strands, the whole tree is used, and nothing is wasted. The entire SMARTPLY OSB range has been manufactured using no added formaldehyde, contributing towards healthier environments for dwellers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. “SMARTPLY OSB has one of the lowest embodied carbon of any mainstream building material. This makes it ideal for building energy-efficient homes – offering a warmer home and a reduction in energy consumption – keeping us on track towards a net-zero future,” added Roly Ward. SMARTPLY MAX DB and SMARTPLY SURE STEP DB are engineered OSB wood-based panels that meet regulatory requirements and exceed expectations, making them a smarter choice for specifiers, housebuilders, contractors, and homeowners. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

External wall insulation specialist Alsecco has introduced technical packs to support early, accurate specification and ensure that information required for the golden thread is in place from the start of a project. Providing brick slip systems, render and external wall insulation, the manufacturer has taken steps to give stakeholders, especially on high rise projects, the information needed to successfully specify projects at the initial engagement stage. Pulling together essential information including a U-value calculation for the project, condensation risk analysis, certification, technical and safety data, the packs contain all the information required to demonstrate that Alsecco’s systems meet the design specification – and are compliant with the relevant regulations. In addition, the technical team at Alsecco create a suite of drawings for the packs to support the application and installation of the systems, with the option to update and change this on site at a later stage within the design process. While providing the level of detail needed to demonstrate how the products would perform within the project specification, including thermal efficiency and weather performance, the packs also ensure that the level of detail required to support the golden thread is in place from the start. Ben Robinson, Technical Manager at Alsecco, said: “The introduction of the Building Safety Act has understandably seen the demand for comprehensive information around all building systems increase rapidly. “In meeting this need from the outset we aim to take a forward-looking approach that puts in place all the detail that is needed to support the progress of a project through the gateway system, and to provide the detail that will support the golden thread for the lifetime of the building. “As a manufacturer we are committed to supporting the highest standards in construction and have the digital tools and technical knowledge to offer that to specifiers, architects and contractors as soon as interest has been lodged in a scheme. “While having the correct certification will be vital for the gateway scheme it is also essential that calculations for U-values are correct and that an accurate condensation risk analysis is in place to inform the correct use of systems to fulfil the criteria, ensure lasting quality in the build and to increase application processing speeds for our valued partners.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Landscaping and building materials specialist opens centre amongst London’s thriving London Bridge design community Marshalls has opened a new showroom for landscape architects and designers at The Leather Market. A short walk from London Bridge station, the centre is designed with creativity in mind, enabling visitors to visualise its product ranges virtually and experiment with a wide variety of material types. Following eight years at Compton Courtyard, Clerkenwell, Marshalls has chosen to relocate to this vibrant new location recognising the growth of the SE1 postcode as a hub for landscape architects and designers. The Leather Market is also conveniently situated just a five-minute walk from London Bridge Station, making it easily accessible from various parts of London and beyond. The new unit at The Leather Market offers customers a creative and inspiring environment. It features a workshop-style setting with advanced digital features, enabling customers to explore ranges and laying patterns using augmented and virtual reality technology. The space offers a hands-on approach to testing materials and design concepts, with clients able to touch and feel physical samples and explore various colours, textures, and finishes. The modelling area helps turn digital models into reality with the ability to set out miniature street scenes with their chosen options.   The Leather Market also boasts additional facilities, including various-sized meeting rooms available for hire, a separate break-out space, an on-site café and catering services. James Gosden, National Specification Manager for Marshalls Landscape Products, said: “Whether customers are networking, seeking inspiration for a scheme or development or just want a location to mind-map ideas, our new Design Space is the perfect environment to spark creativity. Located in the London Bridge area, we’re now much closer to many of our customers, too, making it easier for them to pop by at a time that suits them. We can’t wait to start welcoming people to this exciting new space.” Alongside its new London showroom, Marshalls has a second Design Space in Birmingham, located just a five-minute walk from Birmingham New Street Station. To book, visit marshalls.co.uk/commercial/design-space Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

BMI Redland, the specialists in pitched roofing solutions, are celebrating 40 years of Cambrian Slate – the innovative engineered slate tile which has paved the way for responsible roofing and even won the prestigious Queen’s Award. The launch of Cambrian Slate was a world-first for the roofing industry in the mid-80s, bringing a natural slate roof tile to market with all the qualities of an engineered product. The system represented an entirely new approach to recycling by taking some of the large amount of waste rock generated by the slate quarrying process and turning it into an attractive, durable slate tile. Cambrian made it possible to balance traditional aesthetics alongside engineered performance and sustainability. Reflecting the ground-breaking nature of Cambrian, during 1984, its development was kept tightly under wraps, with a brand-new factory built in Wales – just a few miles from where the slate is quarried – which remains the heart of production to this day. Within a decade of its launch, Cambrian also won the 1991 Queen’s Award for Technological Achievement. BMI’s commitment to innovation has seen further developments over the last four decades, with the most recent being its compatibility with the Redland PV InDaX Adapt in-roof solar system. “When we launched the Cambrian tile in the mid-80s, it was the world’s first natural slate composite tile, combining the best of traditional Welsh slate with the quality and uniformity of an engineered product,” says Mat Woodyatt, Product Manager at BMI. “In the years since its launch, the tile has helped housebuilders and roofers to elevate levels of quality, maintaining traditional natural slate aesthetics and even prioritising sustainability – so it was well ahead of its time. “It truly is a product for the whole team to be proud of and it is genuinely reflective of the innovative culture that our company is built on.” Suitable for a wide range of projects and architectural styles, Cambrian Slate is a specially engineered system, which can be specified with Cambrian fittings to create a complete system. Made using over 60% responsibly sourced Ffestiniog Welsh slate, it is lightweight, suitable for pitches as low as 15° and simple to install. BBA certified, Cambrian comes complete with a 60-year product guarantee alongside a 15-year weathertightness, durability and design liability guarantee when specified using SpecMaster. Discover the full potential of Cambrian at  bmigroup.com/uk/cambrian Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals