Gas safety in 2021

Joe Beesley of CORGI explores how landlords can stay on the right side of gas safety regulations. In 2020, a new problem significantly exacerbated the age-old problem of access to residents’ homes to perform gas safety checks and repairs and... View Article

One size does not fit all

LISTEN HERE 🔊 John Mellor of Glidevale Protect explains why specification matters in roofing membrane and ventilation products. Specifying pitched roofing underlays for new build or refurbishment projects is often a confusing subject with so many options available on the... View Article

Post-pandemic paving

LISTEN HERE 🔊 Outdoor space has taken on a fundamental new importance with Covid-19. Chris Hodson of Interpave explains why a fresh approach is needed when designing and selecting paving for housing, to meet a wide range of new requirements.... View Article

A flood of enquiries

LISTEN HERE 🔊 With many homes still being built on flood plains, and flooding an increasing risk, there are a host of issues for housebuilders to address when it comes to drainage. Chris Green of ACO Water Management explains further.... View Article

Estimating a full recovery

LISTEN HERE 🔊 Marcus Jefford of Build Aviator explains how some of the supply challenges faced by housebuilders and developers as a result of Covid can be relieved with the help of intelligent estimating software. The coronavirus has had a... View Article

Why specify recycled plastic?

LISTEN HERE 🔊 Sarah Mitchell of Goplastic explores how and why landlords and social housing providers should utilise recycled plastic in their projects. The world’s annual consumption of plastic materials has increased from around 5 million tonnes in the 1950s... View Article

Avoiding pitfalls from roofs

LISTEN HERE 🔊 Marley’s Stuart Nicholson pinpoints the most common roof specification pitfalls, and advises housebuilders on how to avoid them for a best practice approach. The quality and security of pitched roofing in housing has seen some huge improvements... View Article

Reducing drainage noise

LISTEN HERE 🔊 Adam Cafer of Polypipe Building Services discusses how sound pollution can be reduced, especially in tall building drainage systems. With one third of the UK workforce currently working from home, issues such as noise pollution from building... View Article

The advantages of electric heating

LISTEN HERE 🔊 Bill Walters of The Electric Heating Company explores how advances in technology and new energy efficiency standards mean there’s never been a better time to invest in electric heating. Electric heating is continually becoming an increasingly viable... View Article

The future is contactless

Paul Smith of Häfele discuss how remote access control is central to the future of hospitality design, in a future which has to function with Covid The announcement of a new national lockdown has added yet more strain on hospitality... View Article

Seeing a smart future beyond the pandemic

Neil McSporran of NSG Group discusses how ‘smart’ antimicrobial glass for tackling infections beyond the pandemic, and how smarter building materials will help designers to create safer environments Curbing the transmission of diseases will be a priority for those who... View Article

Multiple benefits

With different fires presenting different challenges for buildings and occupants, Barry Sargent of Nittan looks at the factors that make multi-sensor alarms a safe choice Fires come in different forms, and different alarm sensors perform different functions; in addition, false... View Article

Porcelain performs inside and out

Jamie Gledhill of Brett Landscaping looks at how porcelain paving can deliver on aesthetics and function in both domestic and public realm settings in the context of Covid When creating community or shared spaces, architects are balancing a raft of... View Article

Ask the Architect: Damien Lee of WGP Architects

Damien Lee of WGP Architects answers ADF’s questions about what drives him, and how he has tackled the challenges posed by the pandemic What made you want to become an architect? I grew up with architecture in the blood. I... View Article

The natural solution

Charlie Sharman of Cantifix discusses how the recent months have reminded us how much we need sunlight, and how glass technology innovations can help architects design for maximised natural light There are many lessons we can take from 2020 about... View Article

The visible future

Conversions from office to residential under Permitted Development Rights are becoming more commonplace as we move to widespread home working. Structura UK’s Manny Patel looks at the implications for facades Life has changed radically under Covid-19. The epidemic is changing... View Article

Multi-functional glass

The conversation around fire safety glass tends to focus on fire protection alone. However as Andy Lake of Pyroguard explains, when specified correctly, this glass can be combined with other products to create a multi-functional system that offers so much... View Article

Adding space, made easy

LISTEN HERE 🔊 Ann Boardman of Saniflo highlights how, despite the uncertainty of the past few months, homeowners have carried on investing in upgrading their properties, and drainage connections are key to how their spaces can be reconfigured or added... View Article

DfMA: the great offsite hope

LISTEN HERE 🔊 With productivity in construction a more acute problem than other sectors, Nigel Ostime of Hawkins\Brown says that architects need to embrace offsite Design for Manufacture and Assembly as the panacea which also delivers the quality they want... View Article

Reinforcing the message

William McDowell of Hambleside Danelaw puts the case for why GRP rooflights in metal roofing systems can help solve the many problems such as light levels that face architects when designing industrial buildings Think rooflights and you might think of... View Article