Do you want to renovate your house or flat but you cannot do it on your own? If you do, it is worth to hire some specialist in this field. A professional painter or even decorator who will change your flat into a unique place. However, there is a question
Manufacturer’s aluminium glazing systems used again at Bournemouth University. Frequent Kawneer specifiers Atkins has used the manufacturer’s architectural aluminium glazing systems again, on a unique building which forms a new £27 million gateway to a leading UK university. Kawneer’s AA®100 zone-drained and capped curtain walling forms triangular screens some 25m
Modern businesses need access to reliable internet if they’re to function. If a substantial portion of the workforce are self-isolating thanks to COVID-19, then this need becomes especially pressing. But for decision-makers weighing the cost of investing in new broadband technology, the breadth of options can be a little bit
20,000 Sq Ft Supermarket Constructed On Behalf Of S Harrison Developments Leeds-based Castlehouse Construction has handed over a new build Lidl on James Street in York. The supermarket has been built on behalf of Yorkshire property and development company, S Harrison Developments, which has transformed the 2.36 acre disused site
Stephen George + Partners LLP (SGP) has overseen the completion of the third and final phase of St. Modwen Park Doncaster. Having masterplanned the whole 27-acre site, SGP successfully designed and delivered the last £7 million phase, comprising more than 108,000 sq ft of industrial space, in February 2020. Working
Shruti Trivedi, partner and head of planning at Roythornes Solicitors, comments on housing secretary Robert Jenrick’s planning proposals announced this morning following the Budget. She said: “The commitment being proposed by the government this morning should be welcome news for the industry, particularly in relation to the promise of significant additional funding to support the aims outlined by MP Robert Jenrick. “As with most cases however,
Derbyshire construction firm Wildgoose Construction, headed up by new managing director Andrew Tilford, continues to expand its management team having secured £20m of new contracts during the first two months of 2020. Wildgoose Construction, based in Alfreton, has seen steady growth against an uncertain backdrop in the construction industry over
For almost 51 years, stevedoring company, ZHD Stevedores, based in Dordrecht in the Netherlands, has been using Bobcat skid-steer loaders to clear the holds of ships and to move material around so that the grabs on the large unloading cranes on the dockside are kept busy. This way of working
Students go to university for academic interest, future careers, not to mention social life. Usually, they start their studies at a local university, which allows them to save money while trying to obtain a bachelor’s degree. At one point to another, they decide to transfer to a different school. They
On the back of ongoing concerns in the sector regarding the Coronavirus, David Cox, ARLA Propertymark Chief Executive raises the concerns of Propertymark to the UK Government in hopes for guidelines. David Cox raised the question of whether the Government will issue guidance for the sector on how to deal
Do you want to renovate your house or flat but you cannot do it on your own? If you do, it is worth to hire some specialist in this field. A professional painter or even decorator who will change your flat into a unique place. However, there is a question – which painter on the market is good? Read this article and find out about the ways which will help you to find the best painter in your district. 1. Preparation before you start looking for specialist 2. Ask for pricing more than one painter 3. Don’t be afraid of asking Preparation before you start looking for specialist Before you start looking for a professional on the Internet or ask your friends for instructions, make a list of things that need to be done, taking into account the necessary preparations. Thanks to this, the painter will be able to prepare an accurate estimation cost. What is more, you will be able to answer all the person’s questions and make the schedule of the work more accurate. Ask for pricing more than one painter It is highly advisable to ask for a quote from at least three different painters. If it is possible, invite them to your home to see the rooms that need to be painted. As a result, they will take into account all stages of work including preparation for painting and some additional works as well. Don’t be afraid of asking Before you sign the agreement with the painter, it is recommended to ask as many questions as you can regarding the renovation. What is more, it is worth to write them down in the agreement to avoid misunderstandings in future. Some of the important questions worth asking are following: – Who will rearrange the furniture and protect it and clean it after painting – some companies provide only painting services, they do not clean and rearrange the furniture after the work is done. – Is the service covered by a guarantee – every reputable company should provide the guarantee, if you hire a small one, it is worth to check it. – Is the painter insured – in case of accident, you can have some problems regarding healing the worker. – Can he provide references from previous clients – references should be verified before you sign the agreement. – What is the estimated working time – it should be also included in agreement. – Is the painter responsible for purchasing the paint or the customer should do it on his/her own – if the painter will buy it, it is also worth to set the details. Article prepared in cooperation with Ignas Limited – Painters and Decorators in London.
Manufacturer’s aluminium glazing systems used again at Bournemouth University. Frequent Kawneer specifiers Atkins has used the manufacturer’s architectural aluminium glazing systems again, on a unique building which forms a new £27 million gateway to a leading UK university. Kawneer’s AA®100 zone-drained and capped curtain walling forms triangular screens some 25m wide and 15m high for the main atrium at Bournemouth University’s 5,000m2 Poole Gateway Building, while Kawneer’s thermally-superior AA®720 entrance doors were used throughout the building and its AA®190 TB automatic sliding door was used at the campus side entrance lobby. In addition, Kawneer’s AA®541 fixed-light windows were used to create openings within both the rainscreen and masonry facades while thermally-broken AA®543 tilturn windows were used alongside aluminium spandrel panels as insertions to the curtain walling. Kirsty Pesticcio, senior architect at Atkins, said: “The glazed elements have a significant impact on the building and the Kawneer products interfaced really well with the masonry and rainscreen façade. “The triangulated gateway form was very complex in nature so we had to ensure fixings were angled with precision to tie into the structural members. Kawneer-approved installer Leay were engaged early within the design process to ensure the developing design met both our design concept and technical constraints of the products chosen.” The building was targeting a BREEAM “Excellent” score so upper BRE Green Guide ratings for material specification, aligned with budgets, was important. The Poole Gateway building is a state-of-the-art combined technical facility for the university’s faculties of Science and Technology and Media and Communication, the latter of which houses the UK’s only recognised Centre for Excellence in Media Practice. The two-year build by main contractor Willmott Dixon comprises a steel frame, SFS infill and composite concrete decked floors. Although the building is primarily divided by internal stud partitions, there are many technical studio spaces which had to be designed and installed as a ‘room in room’ construction using timber frames. Specialist sub-contractor Leay had a team of up to six on site for three winter months. Leay’s business development manager Mike Watts said: “The main curtain wall screens are essentially large triangles. The transom locations were staggered in design in an attempt to prevent hard lines being established in the overall design. “The transoms were set out by us to keep glass specification the same thickness on the project and also to optimise the material on the project efficiently to keep wastage down and therefore cost. “The project was also designed to limit the amount of intermediate steelwork to make the atrium feel as open plan as possible as well as to dead load the full screen down onto the ground-floor slab. “We proposed the use of Kawneer products on this scheme from the outset as we knew they would represent the best value for money and also achieve the structural requirements of the scheme. Working alongside the architect from an early stage, we were able to quickly assist with mullion sizings to allow setting out to be established and avoid potential clashes at a very early stage.” Atkins’ brief was to deliver a new gateway building on the eastern edge of the university’s Talbot Campus which sits just inside the border between Bournemouth and Poole and would be predominantly used by students from the two faculties, providing a range of high-quality technical facilities to support undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as research. Kirsty Pesticcio said: “We believe the client is delighted with the overall design and how it meets the original brief of a gateway building to their campus.” NESTA (National Endowment for Science Technology and Art) said: “Almost half of all graduates from specialist VFX [visual effects] courses who gained employment in the industry had graduated from Bournemouth University”. Graduates have worked on Hollywood blockbusters such as Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, Gravity, Star Wars, Madagascar and Interstellar, which won an Oscar in 2015. The Poole Gateway building is one of three at Bournemouth University which feature Kawneer systems. They have also been used on a £40 million new home for the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. Again designed by Atkins, the Bournemouth Gateway Building features Kawneer’s AA®100 curtain walling with feature face caps on tall atrium screens along with AA®720 window vents and entrance doors and AA®190 TB doors. The Kawneer systems here were installed by fellow Kawneer-approved dealer Aluminium Sashes for main contractor Kier. The Bournemouth Gateway Building is due to open in September 2020. Kawneer systems were also used on the original £22 million BREEAM “Excellent” Fusion building which features Kawneer’s AA®100 zone-drained curtain walling, AA®541 top-hung casement windows, AA®545 low/medium duty swing doors and series 190 doors. These were installed by approved dealer AB Glass for Willmott Dixon to a BDP design.
Modern businesses need access to reliable internet if they’re to function. If a substantial portion of the workforce are self-isolating thanks to COVID-19, then this need becomes especially pressing. But for decision-makers weighing the cost of investing in new broadband technology, the breadth of options can be a little bit on the confusing side. Just what are all of these types of internet connection, and what do they mean? Let’s take a look. Fibre Broadband The gold standard for broadband speed is fibre-optic. This relies on pulses of light being transmitted along optical fibres. There’s no resistance to worry about, and the signal does not degrade in the same way that an electrical one would. Traditionally, the signal from the telephone company will arrive at your local cabinet via a fibre-optic connection, and then be distributed locally over copper wire. This is known as a fibre-to-the-cabinet, or FTTC, connection. FTTP Fibre-to-the-Premises, or FTTP, is a much rarer technology. It eliminates all of the copper from the signal chain, resulting in blazing-fast speeds. By making the switch to ‘full-fibre’, where the entire signal chain takes place over a fibre-optic connection, you’re effectively bringing the telephone exchange closer to your place of work. Unfortunately, this is impracticable in many cases. One solution posited by Openreach is the introduction of a compromise called G.fast, which effectively speeds up existing fibre lines. ADSL Broadband Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line has been around for decades. It isn’t anywhere near as fast as fibre broadband, but it still accounts for more than half of the UK’s broadband connections at present. This proportion is likely to decrease as fibre-optic infrastructure is rolled out. Those in more remote and rural locations may find that they’re unable to get access to full-fibre, despite government pledges of £5 billion to get the infrastructure expanded. In most cases, ADSL represents the inferior option. With that said, this is often reflected in the pricing, and many businesses will not have a choice but to go with it. By investing in the right hardware and connectors from RS Components, you’ll be able to eliminate performance bottlenecks within the premises, and ensure that you’re squeezing maximum utility from the older tech. 5G One option that mobile workers might be interested in is 5G, which promises to allow for rapid-streaming video from just about anywhere where the signal allows. One of the biggest advantages of 5G is its ability to tolerate large gatherings without any dip in service – though given recent events, it’s unlikely that this virtue will be leveraged in the near future.
20,000 Sq Ft Supermarket Constructed On Behalf Of S Harrison Developments Leeds-based Castlehouse Construction has handed over a new build Lidl on James Street in York. The supermarket has been built on behalf of Yorkshire property and development company, S Harrison Developments, which has transformed the 2.36 acre disused site into a 20,000 sq ft Lidl, creating circa 40 new jobs for the local area. The new Lidl, which backs onto Foss Island Retail Park, forms part of the retailer’s target to open 1000 stores in the UK by the end of 2023. It boasts 130 parking spaces, including four bays with EV charging and is the second Lidl to open in York, the first being on Thanet Road. Phil Dewell, Construction Director, Castlehouse Construction commented: “We are delighted to work with S Harrison Developments to complete the York Lidl store which supports the retailer’s ongoing store expansion and regeneration programme in the UK. It’s rewarding to see a site that has languished for years changed for the better and to serve the local community.” Andrew Wharton, Project Manager, S Harrison Developments said: “It is hugely positive news to see investment on this scale in this part of York on a site that has had many uses over the years, from waste disposal site and packaging factory to a storage facility for tv props. The two large industrial buildings had fallen into disrepair, so it was an exciting development to work on, which ultimately will support the economic sustainability of the local area and create jobs, as well as being a great place to shop.”
Stephen George + Partners LLP (SGP) has overseen the completion of the third and final phase of St. Modwen Park Doncaster. Having masterplanned the whole 27-acre site, SGP successfully designed and delivered the last £7 million phase, comprising more than 108,000 sq ft of industrial space, in February 2020. Working with St. Modwen and Lindum Construction, SGP designed the three units of 34,464 sq ft, 21,614 sq ft and 53,072 sq ft to complete the 247,000 sq ft development, which was granted outline consent in March 2016. SGP designed and delivered the first two phases of the park in 2016 and in 2017, and the speculative units were quickly occupied by Bosch Automotive, DB Schenker and Thornhill Engineering. Steven Clegg, Principal Architectural Technologist at SGP, said: “The project provides accessible and adaptable space in a modern envelope that uses robust yet cost effective materials. The clean, crisp contemporary design appeals to a wide cross section of users and has been well received in the market.” Rob Richardson, Senior Development Manager at St. Modwen Industrial & Logistics, added: “We are delighted to have worked with SGP on this scheme and to have reached completion of the third and final phase. The new warehouses are testament to our ability to bring forward much-needed industrial and logistics development and we look forward to welcoming businesses to these new, high-quality units.” Built on an established 27-acre brownfield site off Wheatley Hall Road, one of the main arterial routes into the city, the business park offers versatile high bay warehouse and office space, with separate parking and yards and segregated access to each area.
Shruti Trivedi, partner and head of planning at Roythornes Solicitors, comments on housing secretary Robert Jenrick’s planning proposals announced this morning following the Budget. She said: “The commitment being proposed by the government this morning should be welcome news for the industry, particularly in relation to the promise of significant additional funding to support the aims outlined by MP Robert Jenrick. “As with most cases however, the devil is in the detail. It will therefore be interesting to see if the promises and aspirations, such as the deadlines for local plans being put in place and ensuring greater transparency over land ownership, are met in practice with tangible legislation or a regulatory framework that can be legitimately monitored and enforced. “Measures such as working within the permitted development rights regime have historically been put to good use and so those provisions – at the very least – should be welcomed by many as having realistic prospects of being successful. “In any event, we will have to carefully monitor developments to see what changes are forthcoming and to be proactive and quick to capitalise on opportunities that will benefit our clients.”
Derbyshire construction firm Wildgoose Construction, headed up by new managing director Andrew Tilford, continues to expand its management team having secured £20m of new contracts during the first two months of 2020. Wildgoose Construction, based in Alfreton, has seen steady growth against an uncertain backdrop in the construction industry over the past 12 months despite suffering from the effects of a series of delays to new projects starting on site during 2019. The recent project awards include 77 houses at Newport Pagnell, Milton Keynes, for Paradigm Housing Association, a 60-bed care home for Avery Healthcare at Monsell Gardens, Leicester and 22 homes at Marston Montgomery, in Derbyshire as part of a development for sister company, Wildgoose Homes. Alongside Andrew’s recent appointment to managing director, other departments within the 120-year-old construction company have also been bolstered with the appointment of a new Head of Design Management, two new design and build managers and the further bolstering of the operational delivery teams. The new structure has also opened up opportunities to new staff joining the industry including a University Placement student and a Management Trainee. Executive Chairman Jonathan Wildgoose said: “We have made a significant investment in personnel at Wildgoose Construction alongside the appointment of Andrew as our new managing director. “We are one of the largest and oldest family owned construction businesses in the region with a strong history of more than 120 years and we are investing in the future with this new generation of Wildgoose employees who will help us to take this business from strength to strength. “We are delighted to have secured preferred contractor status on several national frameworks and we also have a healthy order book going forwards after a challenging year, which has seen delays to several contracts starting on site because of various marketplace factors that are affecting the construction industry as a whole.”
For almost 51 years, stevedoring company, ZHD Stevedores, based in Dordrecht in the Netherlands, has been using Bobcat skid-steer loaders to clear the holds of ships and to move material around so that the grabs on the large unloading cranes on the dockside are kept busy. This way of working was introduced to be able to unload or load a ship as quickly as possible so that it can sail again, as idle time costs money in shipping. Any part of the load that remains out of reach of the grabs on the cranes is collected and removed by the Bobcat loaders using hydraulic sweeper attachments. The Bobcat skid-steer loaders for this work including the new S770 models that ZHD Stevedores has just purchased, have to undergo many modifications before they are delivered to the company. This work is carried out by Inter-Techno, the Dutch importer for the Bobcat range for more than 40 years and Inter-Techno describes this as creating a ‘port edition’ of the skid-steer loader, after special modifications are implemented in the company’s workshop in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. This special edition machine was developed jointly with ZHD Stevedores. ZHD Stevedores is a family business that provides stevedoring services for a large number of clients in Dordrecht and at three locations on the Moerdijk industrial park. A number of important customers are located on the ZHD site, where they carry out production processes with materials that enter via the port. ZHD takes care of the storage and transfer of the materials for them. This can vary from steel rolls and scrap to bulk materials such as coal, iron ore, slag sand, pebbles, gravel, sand, sugar, salt and basically anything that can be loaded and unloaded with a grab. To meet this demand, ZHD Stevedores has more than 100 grapples at its disposal. Over the years, ZHD has invested heavily in flexible mobile and floating cranes with a high capacity to optimally serve its customers in Moerdijk, Dordrecht and Rotterdam. The showpiece machines include a self-built 50-tonne self-propelled floating crane (gripper company, general cargo 100T), a 170-tonne hydraulic tyre crane and another two self-propelled 25-tonne floating cranes (40T general cargo) in Antwerp, Belgium. The floating cranes are used to load big sea-going vessels including the largest Capesize ships or to transfer their cargo to inland vessels and coasters. Operators Request Bobcat Machines The method of discharging ships using skid-steer loaders has been around since the 1960s. It proved to be the most flexible solution. The circumstances and the materials involved make it impossible to use other methods such as conveyor belts or suction systems. Initially, Bobcat skid-steer loaders were almost always used for this work at ZHD, with the exception of the period between 2000 and 2009. “When new skid-steer loaders had to be ordered in 2008, our operators were able to try out a new Bobcat S330 model with air conditioning. This worked much better than the skid-steer loaders of another brand that were in use at that time. At the request of the operators, ZHD Stevedores switched back to Bobcat skid-steer loaders in 2009,” said Jan Elferink, material management manager at ZHD Stevedores. In 2009, the first Bobcat machine to be purchased was given the number 28. Currently, there are 16 machines in use; with numbers from 36 up to 51. At the end of January 2020, two new Bobcat S770 skid-steer loaders – given the numbers 52 and 53 – were delivered to ZHD Stevedores to replace the machines with the numbers 36 and 37. ZHD has kept one of the two older models and the other one has been sold at an auction. Modification and Maintenance Before they can be used for unloading work, the Bobcat skid-steer loaders undergo a number of important modifications, which are mainly dictated by the environments in which the machines must operate. All modifications are made at Inter-Techno in Apeldoorn, after which the machines are delivered ready for use in the corporate colours of ZHD Stevedores. Regular maintenance and repairs are carried out by ZHD Stevedores itself. Whilst a dedicated engineer is responsible for the maintenance work within the material management department, ZHD has also added extra Protection Plus warranty for the machines, which offers an extended warranty period of three years to provide extra security in case the company’s engineers are faced with a problem they cannot handle. In this way, ZHD has ensured that the loaders are up and running again quickly with little or no downtime. Protective ‘Fresh Air’ Cab “The modifications on the machines include the treatment of plugs and cable harnesses with a special moisture-resistant coating. The moist and dusty environment is not good for the electronics on board,” Jan Elferink explained. “The adjustments to the cabs are also important. Drivers used to work in an open cab with a cage construction, but the requirements for working conditions and safety have become increasingly strict. To protect the driver against dust, overpressure cabs have been used for around 12 years to keep the dust out. The air that is blown into the cab goes through a P1 and P3 filter that captures very fine particles. P3 filters remove particles up to 50 x WNG (Legal Dutch Limit Value) so drivers no longer need to wear air masks.” The standard cab on Bobcat skid-steer loaders is both ROPS (Roll-Over Protection Structure) and FOPS (Falling Object Protective Structure) certified, but to protect the driver even more, instead of the glass in the door of the machines, this is replaced by Bobcat-Lexan, a very strong plastic material that is very difficult to break or damage. In order to give the driver even better all-round visibility, a special ZHD rear-view camera is mounted on the rear hood. Tough Design Made Even Tougher A number of modifications have also been made on the outside of the Bobcat loaders. First of all, the machines are sprayed in the house colours of ZHD, blue and yellow. Four additional tie down points
Students go to university for academic interest, future careers, not to mention social life. Usually, they start their studies at a local university, which allows them to save money while trying to obtain a bachelor’s degree. At one point to another, they decide to transfer to a different school. They think about attending university abroad. The United States is renowned for higher education opportunities, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that international students apply to American universities. Do you want to study in the United States? If the answer is yes, you’re in luck. It’s not that hard. The transfer of credit from non-U.S. universities Thanks to the flexibility of the credit system, you can transfer from any university to a U.S. university without losing your valuable academic credit. You can transfer up to 75 credits from your prior studies. For a B.A., you need a minimum of 45 credits. Determine how your foreign credit is evaluated by consulting with the admissions counselor or international student advisor. The more credits you’re able to transfer, the fewer courses you have to take. And the more likely you are to earn your bachelor’s degree. Demonstrating English language proficiency International transfer students are required to take English proficiency exams to demonstrate that they have a good command of the language. Educational institutions want to ensure that students can cope with the demands of the degree-level study. Standardized testing includes TOEFL. The test focuses on how English is deployed in academic settings. If you manage to pass the TOEFL, you’ll assure the American university that your English skills are strong enough to enable you to succeed. The score you need depends largely on where you choose to study. Applying for admission The transfer application process isn’t complicated, but you could use a little bit of help. With proper assistance, you can successfully navigate the process. Work with experienced counselors that will provide useful information, strategies, and tactics to help you meet your admissions goal, all in an effort to make your transition smoother. It’s ideal for international students thinking about applying to several highly-selective schools. If the road you’ve previously taken doesn’t fulfill your academic needs anymore, seek opportunities in your field of study. Universities in the United States are becoming a popular study destination for Chinese students. If thousands of students go abroad to study, why shouldn’t you? You’ll get more than a tangible degree. The transfer timeline for international students The recommended timeline for a 美国大学转学 reflects that of prospective first-year students. To be more precise, it’s necessary to kick off the application process 12 months in advance. Students who want to begin studying in the autumn should send over the application materials in early spring. On the other hand, those applying for spring have to submit their application materials by early autumn. There is no deadline as far as some institutions are concerned. However, they do have priority dates that you must respect.
On the back of ongoing concerns in the sector regarding the Coronavirus, David Cox, ARLA Propertymark Chief Executive raises the concerns of Propertymark to the UK Government in hopes for guidelines. David Cox raised the question of whether the Government will issue guidance for the sector on how to deal with the Coronavirus situation or whether it will at least step in should local authorities start prosecuting landlords when landlords are powerless to act. David used the following example to explain his point: “If a tenant were to have the virus or be in a period of self-isolation, what happens if something goes wrong in the property (for example the boiler stops working). The landlord/ agent /contractor will not go in to avoid contracting the disease and spreading the pandemic. “However, that means there is a tenant with no hot water or heating for two weeks (or longer if the Government extends the period of self-isolation). This puts the landlord / agent in breach of Section 11 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (duty to maintain property etc.), any selective/ additional /mandatory licensing conditions, Homes Act 2019, Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) under Housing Act 2004 and open them up to unlimited liability and/ or a Banning Order.” David also raised Propertymark’s concerns regarding the consequential impact the virus will have on agents and landlords when getting themselves ready for the electrical regulations which comes into force in July. He flagged that Government may want to consider relaxing the deadlines to give both the industry and supply chain longer to become compliant. Propertymark hopes to receive a response on the issues raised soon and will keep the sector informed on any further progress.