Hot topic: fires for all properties

Fires remain at the heart of the British home, but with so much choice, including fuel type and product choice, before you even consider the design, it can be difficult for housing providers to know where to start. Richard Beaman,... View Article

Tackling the elephant in the room with district heating

Paul Sands of Stokvis Energy Systems reflects on the reasons social housing landlords are returning to the use of centralised heating systems. 2015 was the year that our social housing sector ‘rediscovered’ an appetite for district heating after decades of... View Article

Levelling the playing field

Adrian Pargeter, head of technical and product development at Kingspan Insulation Limited, says that thinner insulation can enable effective design of balconies or terraces for a wide range of properties. The 2015 Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics Report from the Department... View Article

Furnished with efficiency

James Quinn, sales and marketing manager of Fusion Furniture Solutions, discusses the best way to tackle the mammoth task of furnishing your property. Once you have acquired a property and undertaken your refurbishment, there is the ‘small’ task of furnishing... View Article

Celebrating 100 years of Housing

Housing 2016 is Europe’s largest housing event. From 28-30 June, housing professionals from across the UK and beyond will converge on Manchester for three jam-packed days covering all things housing. Falling just days after the EU referendum, there’ll be a... View Article

Complex stone cladding solutions

Tamsin Pickeral, business development manager, Szerelmey, explains how a combination of technology and tradition is overcoming the challenges of stone cladding for the 21st Century. The relationship between a contemporary visual aesthetic and fulfilling structural and legislative requirements is one that... View Article

Buyer beware

Designing a roof requiring tapered insulation is beset with challenges, with consequences for the contractor and specifier. Andrew Rowley, tapered design manager for Gradient Roofing, explains. Designing tapered insulation for a flat roof used to be relatively simple. The Building... View Article

Perfecting the building envelope

Graham Hurrell, commercial director at AluK, discusses how structural facades can optimise the performance of the building envelope. In order to achieve optimal building envelope performance, the envelope itself should integrate and work with other elements of the complete building. By... View Article

Brick, the hero of our built environment

Just because a material was developed 9,000 years ago does that make it old fashioned? Apparently not, as brick is enjoying something of a renaissance. The Brick Development Association explains further. To those of us who work in the industry... View Article

Cover all bases using engineered fit-for-purpose canopies

Canopies UK Managing Director Jason Eastwood says that specifiers need to beware of seemingly cost-effective off-the shelf options for canopies, and discusses the importance of site-specific calculations for bespoke fit-for-purpose solutions. Research suggests that many leading canopy manufacturers apply surprisingly... View Article

Have an open mind on door design

Homeowners, interior designers and architects all agree that doors are more than just a commodity, they are central to the character of any home. James Dean, head of marketing for Todd Doors, explores further. A front door is the first... View Article

At your leisure – High Wycombe Leisure Centre

Mark Smulian reports on Wycombe’s new hilltop leisure centre As patrons swim, climb, play bowls, or use exercise bikes at the new Wycombe Leisure Centre, they will perhaps give little thought to how a complex masterplan and financing arrangement lie behind the construction... View Article

Condensing boilers are growing in popularity

Customer Services and Marketing Manager for Saniflo UK, Ann Boardman, explains what’s so good about condensing boilers and the problem that they solve Condensing boilers are highly efficient boilers that have much lower fuel and running costs than conventional boilers.... View Article

Innovations in steel window fabrication

Steel windows and doors are a beautiful and coveted aspect of many architectural design projects, creating an industrial and sometimes art deco design to buildings in all sectors of design. IQ Metal UK explore Steel windows and doors’ use in architectural... View Article

The resurgence in timber decking

Over the last 30 years, timber decking has firmly established itself as a quick and aesthetic option for external landscaping. Gripsure take a look at some of the recent developments that have helped this growth, along with some key specification... View Article

Passing over pattressing

Gypsum fibreboard is the way forward – and that’s official, says Gary Carter, general manager of Fermacell UK While conventional drywall systems have significant advantages over solid blockwork in terms of speed and flexibility they are inherently not as strong and require... View Article