Due to both advances in technology and current cultural tastes, architects and interior designers are using more glazing in their projects than ever before. However, there are safety and legal obligations to consider when using the material – for example, the application of glass manifestations. Although the application of manifestations
The workers take special care while preparing ready-mix concrete in the factory. It is prepared with a batching plant, under specific temperature and conditions. This plant produces the ready-mix concrete in the unhardened and mixed state. The experts of the construction industry use it in various types of products. The
Anyone involved in the construction industry knows how vital access to key building supplies is. These common materials and products are literally the foundations of any house or building that is constructed. Without them, the whole industry would grind to a halt and the fabulous structures that we can erect
The planning stages of a construction project require attention to a whole lot of details, and the type of concrete being used is one that should be near the top of every list of priorities. But what type of concrete is best for your project? iMix Concrete will run through
A purpose-built timber salt farm in Croydon has been delivered by GRAHAM to support the council’s highways maintenance duties during the winter weather. The firm’s Facilities Management Team redeveloped an ageing asbestos barn at Factory Lane into the new facility over a 10-week programme. “The project was completed within the
Metsä Group and Business Finland are joining forces in building a wooden Metsä pavilion to be used in Tokyo during the Olympic games. The pavilion will be built on the grounds of the Finnish Embassy in the centre of Tokyo, Japan. The Metsä pavilion offers multifunctional facilities which lend themselves to
A new publication focussing on collaboration in the design of innovative timber buildings is to be launched at Futurebuild this March. ‘Timber Design Pioneers’ is published by TRADA (Timber Research and Development Association) and supported by the timber industry’s campaign, Wood for Good. The launch will take place on Wood
WoodFest comes to Sheffield in February with a focus on health and wellbeing, low carbon, circular economy, building performance, offsite construction and modular design. The month-long event will feature wood in design and construction throughout Sheffield and Yorkshire. The programme includes an exciting line-up of events, seminars, exhibitions and challenges
The leading London timber specialist Fulham Timber has been recruited by independent merchant buying group H&B to its ranks. “We are very excited about the opportunities that H&B membership will bring to Fulham Timber,” said Fulham Timber director Will Dobbs. “We are looking to continue the company’s growth trajectory and
A contract in Salford, Manchester, to design, manufacture and install almost 9,000 square meters of high-quality façade for Two New Bailey Square, Slaford’s latest sustainable office development, has landed in the hands of a European façade contractor – Staticus. Across an area of 8,700 square meters, Staticus will install a combination of
Due to both advances in technology and current cultural tastes, architects and interior designers are using more glazing in their projects than ever before. However, there are safety and legal obligations to consider when using the material – for example, the application of glass manifestations. Although the application of manifestations is often seen as a formality and a “box to tick”, they can represent a great opportunity as a canvas for design and branding – providing many more benefits than simply complying with the requirements of red tape. What are glass manifestations? In March 2018, a news story surfaced that employees in tech giant Apple’s futuristic glass headquarters (Apple Park, in California) kept walking into glass walls and doors and injuring themselves. At least three people hurt themselves badly enough to need emergency medical assistance in the space of a month, due to Apple’s use of glass which had been specially treated to achieve a perfect level of transparency. Some staff members started to affix sticky notes to a few of the more troublesome glass walls so that people could tell where they actually were, although these were later removed as not being in keeping with the spirit of the building’s design. “We’ve had people bump into the glass,” admitted Apple’s vice president of real estate at the time. “That’s a problem we are working on right now.” In a way, those sticky notes were a basic form of impromptu glass manifestations. In the UK, it is a legal requirement that large glass doors, windows and walls in public places and work environments are clearly identifiable as such – in some circumstances this can be achieved with the placement of conspicuous door handles and so on, or else with the implementation of glass manifestations. Modern manifestations are generally appliances of frosted film that are added to glazing to render it clearly visible to nearby individuals. These treatments also confer an additional safety benefit in that if the glass is struck with enough force to break it, the film will often to some extent hold the glass shards together and prevent the shattered pane from spreading everywhere. There is no specification in the regulations as to a particular design that manifestations are required to have, but they must “[contrast] visually with the background seen through the glass (both inside and out) in all lighting conditions.” Glass manifestations must ideally be clear enough that individuals with visual impairments can easily identify glazing installations in their environment, and they are a health and safety requirement under Regulation 14 of the 1992 Workplace Regulations and also section K of the HM Government Building Regulations. In other words, if somebody were to walk into an unmarked sheet of glass and hurt themselves, the business responsible could be liable for legal difficulties. As well as fulfilling legally-mandated health and safety obligations, however, manifestations can also represent an opportunity to do something interesting with the glazing in a construction or workplace design project. Using glass manifestations for branding Glass manifestations seen in public spaces quite often take the form of nondescript patterns or dots, but there is plenty of opportunity to design just about anything to do the job. Even the government’s Building Regulations state that you can “provide glass doors and glazed screens (including glazed screens alongside a corridor) with … manifestation in the form of a logo or sign, a minimum of 150mm high (repeated if on a glazed screen).” In short, if your glass manifestations are a generic pattern of abstract shapes, it’s possible that you may be missing a chance to build your brand. With a little creativity, stylised glass manifestations can become a bold branding statement for your building or business and can elevate your glazing from something utilitarian and functional into something that communicates your company’s values – ultimately building positive brand associations. There are a wide variety of things that could be printed on glass manifestations. The business’ logo is an obvious choice – and for a predominantly glass-fronted building, manifestations could even represent the main signage for the establishment. For an internal space, glass panels could be styled with the company’s branding colours in order to properly blend into the interior design (or accentuate it). Alternatively, the manifestations on the glass could carry slogans, navigational directions, inspirational quotes or other text for the benefit of employees or the public.
The workers take special care while preparing ready-mix concrete in the factory. It is prepared with a batching plant, under specific temperature and conditions. This plant produces the ready-mix concrete in the unhardened and mixed state. The experts of the construction industry use it in various types of products. The reason behind its popularity is every batch of ready-mix concrete is different and is based on the type of construction project. So, whenever there is a demand for the concrete on-site, the truck can bring the ready-mix concrete to the section where it is required directly. It enhances the flexibility of the project. Therefore, it is used in various civil and residential construction projects. Three Types Of Ready Mix Concrete Plant That You Must Know There are three types of ready mix plants that produce the different types of ready mix concrete. They are as follows. Transit Mixed Concrete or Dry Batch Ready-Mix Concrete Plan Here the mixing of the concrete depends upon the rotating speed of the mixer. It has three stages. When the professional loads water and materials to the drum, its speed is is 2 RPM. After a particular time, it rotates with the average speed of 8 RPM. When the mixture needs to be discharged, it rotates at the highest speed of 13 to 15 RPM. This higher speed makes sure that everything is mixed in the drum properly. Wet-Batch or Central-Mix Plants Another name for this type of plant is a pre – mix plant. It means that the concrete is mixed well in the plant and loaded into the mixer of the truck. The professionals believe that the wet-batch plants provide higher productivity in comparison to the dry batch ready-mix plant. Therefore the former is preferred generally. Shrink Mixed Concrete Plant In such plants, different mixing drums execute the mixing operation. First, the plant mixture does the work. After this, the drum mounted on the truck does the rest. This truck is then transported to the construction site for the further process. Also, the length of the mixing performed on the truck depends upon the extent of mixing done in the drum for the first time. Advantages Of The Ready-Mix Concrete It provides various advantages to the professionals working on such projects. Have a look at these benefits to know better about the ready-mix concrete. Ready-Mix Concrete Is a Quality Product During the on-site concrete mixing, many times the workers do not pay much attention to the quantity and the quality of the materials. They do not consider which tools are good for the process. The ready-mix concrete plant offers the best ready -mix concrete in the controlled conditions. It Saves The Time And Cost Of The Project It is not always easy to meet the deadline of the construction projects. Also, the increasing costs can make things difficult for the clients. To tackle such situations, Ready-mix concrete will save a lot of time. When the workers are not engaged in mixing the concrete for the variety of tasks, it means that they are saving a lot of time. It will help in the quick completion of the task. Structures Made Up Of Ready Mix Concrete Are Durable When you get your dream home constructed, you pray it to be the perfect construction. You put all your hard-owned money on it and pray that you do not have to spend more in its maintenance and repair for a long time. Ready-mix concrete makes it possible for you. It offers durability to the structure that makes it robust. Also, the structure made up of ready-mix concrete will only require a little maintenance. Thus, it is surely going to save you money. It Is An Environmentally Friendly Option When the requirement of the concrete is estimated in the project, the mixer produces only that particular amount. It leads to less wastage of the materials. It saves the area from the pollution of any sort. Therefore, it can be said that the ready-mix concrete provides some major benefits to the structure. If you are impressed by its features and need a trustworthy ready mix contractor like RMS Concrete, you have various options online. You can pick one for your construction projects as well.
Anyone involved in the construction industry knows how vital access to key building supplies is. These common materials and products are literally the foundations of any house or building that is constructed. Without them, the whole industry would grind to a halt and the fabulous structures that we can erect today would not be possible. It is not just construction workers who would be affected though. Without the essential building supplies that we can call on now, architects would not have the tools to plan out the amazing homes they do currently. This makes having access to the right building supplies for the job at hand crucial. One thing that you may sometimes wonder when working on a job is what resources are in a particular product you are using and where they actually came from. Understanding this can not only help you to take on board what is in the building supply you are using but also how it has been made. Where do the resources come from? There are many, many common building supplies that most construction projects will use. If you want to find out what goes into some of them and where the resources come from, then the below should help: Steel support beams – this is a very important building supply as it protects the structural integrity of the building itself. Adding in steel support beams where needed will help to resist any shear forces and any bending of the section on which they sit. Ferrochrome is the main resource used in this material and is a substance mined from the Earth. Eurasian Resources Group is the prime producer of ferrochrome globally and operates in 15 countries, across four continents. It produces a massive amount of this key alloy each year to help the construction industry access the steel support beams they need. Windows and skylights – another common building supply that you will see on all projects are windows and skylights. They are key to letting enough natural light into a building and making it a more pleasant place to be. Glass is the primary resource in both and involves heating sand to a high temperature until it dissolves. Popular for the contemporary look that it can also give to modern structures in terms of large glass walls, for example, it is produced on a commercial scale in factories around the world. Wall insulation – all building projects now will have a focus on making structures energy efficient. A key part of that is insulating walls so that they retain heat and use less energy. The most common way to go about it is with sheets of rigid foam that sit in the cavity between walls. The major resource in these foam sheets is expanded polystyrene. These sheets are made across Europe and the rest of the world in commercial factory operations. Various supplies such as ladders or railings – one very important resource behind many building supplies is aluminium. This substance is a chemical element that is non-magnetic and soft. As a result, it is very handy for use in lots of projects and allowing architects to be creative in their designs. Aluminium is mined from the Earth and then processed to be used in the construction industry worldwide. China is probably the biggest aluminium producer at the moment with over 30,000 tons mined each year. Concrete – if you are working on a big structure or anything involving landscaping, such as road laying, then concrete is a key supply. This material is key for constructing hard-wearing buildings or roads that last for a long time. Along with a commonly found aggregate such as gravel, the main resource in concrete is cement. Cement is produced around the world by mixing various materials such as limestone and sand together before heating them. When set, the resulting compound is ground into a fine dust to become cement. The main places that cement comes from are China and India, though many countries around the world produce it to some degree. Don’t forget bricks Perhaps the most commonly seen building supply on a project are bricks. Although they have been around for a long time, they are still the way that most people expect their home to be built. Traditionally, the main resource found in bricks is clay, which is shaped and fired to produce the final brick. As a natural material, clay is mined from the Earth by mining groups and then processed to be used by brick manufacturers. Resources power the construction sector What the above shows is that without the natural resource groups around the world mining precious resources to use or countries commercially manufacturing them, the construction industry would not be able to function. Without common building supplies such as concrete, windows or steel support beams, it would be impossible to safely construct the structures that we all see today.
The planning stages of a construction project require attention to a whole lot of details, and the type of concrete being used is one that should be near the top of every list of priorities. But what type of concrete is best for your project? iMix Concrete will run through various types of concrete and the applications they’re best suited for. Small wall footings, sheds and floors – C15 C15 is ideal for these kinds of projects. This particular type of concrete allows for non-permanent finishes to be placed on top, such as tiles, which means it is perfect for flooring. It is worth noting that it is only suitable for flooring without any embedded metal, such as steel rebar. Foundations and floor slabs – C20 For foundations for single storey buildings, internal floor slabs and oversites, you need C20 concrete. With a 28-day strength of 20 Newtons, it is strong enough to withstand the loads expected in these environments, without possessing the strength of other, heavy duty concretes. Footings, foundations, groundwork and trench fill – C25 For this variety of applications, a versatile type of concrete is needed, and C25 fits that bill. Used in domestic and commercial applications alike, most commonly in foundations for houses and extensions, it is strong and durable, with a 25 Newton 28-day strength. Driveways – PAV 1 Driveways are expected to withstand a high amount of wear and tear, as well as heavy loads on a regular basis. PAV 1 concrete is ideal for a driveway as it contains air-entrainment additives that create small bubbles, protecting the concrete from freeze-thaw damage. Paths, patios and pavements – C30 With a 30 Newton 28-day strength, C30 is the recommended concrete for those looking to lay a patio or path in their garden , or for the laying of pavements. It can be used for garage bases, too – ‘external light use applications’ also fall into the category of suitable uses for C30 concrete. Reinforced floors, walls and workshop bases – C35 Floors in certain environments are going to have to endure greater impacts than your average domestic flooring. Think of warehouses and other industrial environments – vehicles, machinery and materials make for a very heavy load, and as such the floor needs to be made of a heavy-duty concrete, such as C35.
A purpose-built timber salt farm in Croydon has been delivered by GRAHAM to support the council’s highways maintenance duties during the winter weather. The firm’s Facilities Management Team redeveloped an ageing asbestos barn at Factory Lane into the new facility over a 10-week programme. “The project was completed within the designated time and to exceptionally high standards. We would like to say that GRAHAM were extremely organised, kept all the deadlines, maintained high standards and followed all of the Council’s policies and protocols. They provided regular updates and demonstrations of their work,” said Croydon Council’s Project Manager for Facilities Management, Kaushai Tripathi. Completed as part of GRAHAM’s ‘Hard FM building fabric planned and reactive maintenance works, and multi-trade planned works, contract with Croydon Council, the £450,000 scheme has a service life of over 30 years. This ensures the long-term storage of salt in prime condition for use around the borough’s road network. “We have enjoyed a long-term relationship with Croydon Council since May 2016. The new salt barn is yet another example of the important work that we consistently undertake in support of the Council’s operations. As the snowy and icy conditions continue to present challenges to motorists and pedestrians, this salt barn guarantees the integrity of the salt that is spread across the borough’s roads network. It is therefore a core piece of infrastructure and we are proud to have delivered it to the very highest standards,” commented GRAHAM’s Operations Director, Gareth Smyth.
Metsä Group and Business Finland are joining forces in building a wooden Metsä pavilion to be used in Tokyo during the Olympic games. The pavilion will be built on the grounds of the Finnish Embassy in the centre of Tokyo, Japan. The Metsä pavilion offers multifunctional facilities which lend themselves to many kinds of events: exhibitions, seminars, celebrations and relaxation. It will serve as a meeting place for Finland’s Olympic team during the Summer Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. The Metsä pavilion is an excellent example of the advantages offered by industrially manufactured wood elements. The building uses Kerto® LVL (laminated veneer lumber) products produced by Metsä Wood, part of Metsä Group. Building with Kerto® LVL elements is fast and the lightness of the material enables construction on top of existing buildings, as is the case in Tokyo. Similar elements can be used also in buildings of larger scale. “The pavilion takes advantage of high-quality wood products – which function as a long-term carbon store – in a variety of ways. The pavilion can be transported to the site as ready elements, unloaded, moved again, and re-assembled. This is in line with Metsä Group’s goal to replace fossil-based products with renewable and recyclable materials,” says Mikko Saavalainen, SVP, Business Development, at Metsä Wood. The Kerto LVL products to be used in the pavilion’s construction are ecologically sustainable and efficient in terms of their material. The production process of the materials and elements generates very little waste. The elements will be pre-assembled at the plant of Metsä Wood’s partner company and, thanks to this, assembly on site will be rapid. The architectural design of the Metsä pavilion will be carried out by Helin & Co Architects. The design is based on the Kerto® LVL-based elements freely available to everybody in Metsä Wood’s Open Source Wood service.
A new publication focussing on collaboration in the design of innovative timber buildings is to be launched at Futurebuild this March. ‘Timber Design Pioneers’ is published by TRADA (Timber Research and Development Association) and supported by the timber industry’s campaign, Wood for Good. The launch will take place on Wood for Good’s stand at G50 on 6 March at 4.15pm and is a one-off opportunity to get a copy of the publication in print, while stocks last. Pulling together the most successful partnerships in timber design, the publication shares the lessons learned and obstacles overcome by multidisciplinary teams which produced buildings including the award-winning Cowan Court by 6a Architects, the BREEAM excellent-rated Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care and the award-winning Vortex at Bloomberg’s new headquarters. These particular projects will be the focus of three seminars at Futurebuild offering delegates the opportunity to hear each building’s journey from design to completion from the architects, structural engineers, project managers and technical directors. Each case study explores different approaches to problem-solving and how effective collaboration led to innovative designs for timber buildings. ‘Timber Design Pioneers’ covers key themes such as wellbeing, sustainability, interiors, process, and complex briefs. TRADA’s Membership and Marketing Manager, Rupert Scott, says: ‘TRADA is honoured to collaborate with Wood for Good in producing such an indispensable publication. We hope it inspires others to work together in partnership across disciplines, so that as an industry we can continue improving the quality of our timber buildings.’ Christiane Lellig, Wood for Good’s Campaign Director, shares: ‘This project is as much about inspiring new pioneers in timber design as it is about celebrating innovation and driving change in the way projects are approached and delivered; a kaleidoscope of solutions mirroring the different perspectives in multi-disciplinary teams.’ The timber design pioneers case studies will be available for free download following the launch at Futurebuild. For more information, visit trada.co.uk
WoodFest comes to Sheffield in February with a focus on health and wellbeing, low carbon, circular economy, building performance, offsite construction and modular design. The month-long event will feature wood in design and construction throughout Sheffield and Yorkshire. The programme includes an exciting line-up of events, seminars, exhibitions and challenges celebrating the versatility and sustainability of building with wood, organised by the UK timber industry’s campaign, Wood for Good. Christiane Lellig, Wood for Good campaign director, said: “WoodFest Sheffield promises to offer a fantastic opportunity to bring all those involved with the built environment to explore what can be achieved when we work together.” “Each event is a chance to learn and share about the use of timber in architecture, particularly around health and wellbeing and offsite construction. It provides a platform to discover what’s happening in the region and to be inspired by timber design.” WoodFest kicks off on 7 February with Small Project / Big Challenge, an evening seminar with sustainability-focused Sheffield architects Paul Testa Architecture and Jon Carr Structural Design along with Sheffield University. They will discuss design and structural challenges with examples including the multi-award-winning Hen House. On 8 and 9 February TRADA will run its annual student challenge at Sheffield University for students of engineering, architecture, architectural technology, quantity surveying and landscape architecture. Judged by high profile engineers, architects and quantity surveyors, multi-disciplinary teams will compete in an intense 48-hour challenge to design an exemplary student accommodation predominantly from timber. On 21 February, Sheffield-based consultancy, Ollio, and experts from the Kollider projects will host a healthy building evening seminar along with a networking and drinks reception. A tour of timber door, window and stair manufacturer JELD-WEN’s production facilities will take place at 10am on 28 February. This will offer the chance to see first-hand how timber doors are made in the company’s Sheffield factory, from the timber arriving on-site through to the finished product leaving for distribution. The tour will include a presentation followed by a drinks reception for all attendees. Managing forests in a sustainable way is vital to protect these important ecosystems, reduce the impact of climate change and to preserve plant and animal species for the future. On 28 February, the PEFC (the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) will deliver a lunchtime CPD to explain how to procure sustainable timber and timber from sustainably managed forests. Further events include window-specialist Bereco hosting a CPD session on noise and health in the build environment at their Sheffield showroom. There will be a behind-the-scenes tour with Sheffield timber merchant Arnold Laver including a networking lunch, followed by an afternoon CPD. Visitors will have the opportunity to see their production facilities including roof truss manufacturing and its treatment plant. Striking examples of great architecture and design, such as the Hunt House – featured in The Modern Timber House in the UK book, will offer visits focussed on sustainability and wellbeing within the Sheffield region. This will be followed by an exhibition and further evening event on offsite construction and modular design at The Arts Tower. Keep checking the WoodFest Sheffield web page to book your place, find out more details, confirm dates and see further added events. Partners include: Arnold Laver; Bereco; Constructing Excellence Yorkshire & Humber; Halliday Clark Architects; IstructE; JELD-WEN; Paul Testa Architecture; PEFC UK; Sheffield University and TRADA. Book your place for any of the WoodFest Sheffield events here. www.woodforgood.com
The leading London timber specialist Fulham Timber has been recruited by independent merchant buying group H&B to its ranks. “We are very excited about the opportunities that H&B membership will bring to Fulham Timber,” said Fulham Timber director Will Dobbs. “We are looking to continue the company’s growth trajectory and believe that the competitive buying deals that H&B offers, and its excellent rebate system, will make a real difference to our growth potential as well as our bottom line. Margins are very tight in timber at the moment and being part of H&B’s great deals will offer us the margin protection that will allow us to grow.” A family-owned builders merchant based in Brixton and established in 1984, Fulham Timber turns over more than £12 million per annum. From a branch network in Balham, Brixton, Colliers Wood and Croydon, the company manages to supply a full range of timber and other building materials to local tradesmen, contractors, and the general public. In addition, a thriving saw mill is also being run in Colliers Wood. “We felt we had outgrown our previous buying group and were looking to take the next step. We did a lot of research and after conducting full due diligence, we chose H&B for more than just its great buying; for its flexible and accommodating style. We also believe joining H&B will streamline and improve our buying, especially since we have recently centralised our whole buying process. And we will have access to a broad portfolio of products which will allow us to expand our product offering and improve profitability across a wide range of goods,” added Will. H&B managing director Steve Parkins said that Fulham Timber fitted the profile of the perfect H&B partner – “dynamic, locally strong, and with a real commitment to growth, service, quality, and innovation”. Through its growing membership of independent builders merchants, H&B manages to reach sales of approximately £1 billion a year. It currently has over 75 merchant members, with more than 215 branches, trading in partnership with around 280 suppliers.
A contract in Salford, Manchester, to design, manufacture and install almost 9,000 square meters of high-quality façade for Two New Bailey Square, Slaford’s latest sustainable office development, has landed in the hands of a European façade contractor – Staticus. Across an area of 8,700 square meters, Staticus will install a combination of unitised timber and aluminium stick façades, with panels being manufactured in its Lithuania-based factory before being delivered to the site. “An interesting aspect of this project is the external structural steel frame with its visible connections and splices left exposed and protruding from the façade. Whilst this is unique and looks extremely striking, it means that we will need to use special sealing and prefabrication techniques to build the cladding units and overlay the façade panels. It is an extremely complicated installation,” explained Staticus’ UK MD Paulius Gurksnys. Apart from the external structural steel frame, there is another interesting element of the development included in its timber features on the ground and first floor. Staticus will install aluminium façade onto the timber profiles, milling connection joints into the profiles to create an aesthetic, natural view of the timber framing. “Two New Bailey Square is a fantastic project and winning it marks a fitting end to 2018. We have grown our presence in the UK exponentially this year, opening a new office in London and taking on lucrative contracts in the City, Manchester and Liverpool. This positions Staticus strategically for further expansion in the first quarter of 2019, so we are looking forward to what we anticipate will be a very successful year,” added Paulius. Part of the masterplan for Salford Central, the Two New Bailey Square development will deliver 9,500 new jobs and 180,000 square metres of commercial space.