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Getting the design of a level threshold right can be tricky. Convenience and accessibility are the main focus, but this can cause water penetration or damp.
The external landing should be large and level enough for easy wheelchair access, but there’s a risk of standing water or surface water…
This is a photo looking down at the floor to a patio door opening and is a relatively common detail where the concrete carries over the internal blockwork to close the cavity.
Using damp proof membranes correctly
The damp proof membrane (DPM) has been cut too short to extend across the cavity…
You may have come across a recent BBC news item about a house collapse in London following basement renovation work.
The property was thought to be worth in the region of £1 million and collapsed in the early hours of 3 April 2017.
(Picture on the left courtesy of the Kingston building…
This image shows an external cavity with the insulation removed because of damp penetration through the wall. If you look closely, the wall ties fall backwards to the internal leaf - allowing water to track across the cavity. This is because the mortar bed to the brick skin is too thick, resulting…
With the new year comes a new update to the Robust Details Handbook. This handbook provides a reference manual for those working on the specification and building of separating walls and floors in new homes. This scheme enables compliance with Part E of the building regulations without the need for…
Roofing is a high-risk activity. Working at height, sometimes with fragile materials, means roofers make up nearly a quarter of all workers killed in falls from height at work. Some of these accidents occur because of sub-standard roof battens.
In a bid to improve safety, a requirement to grade…
On a tiled roof, all the tiles are fixed onto battens with the bottom (lower end) of each tile resting on the top of tile in the row below. At eaves level the last row of tiles (that ends above the gutter) doesn’t have a tile or batten to rest on. Without support this causes the last row to…
Most of us are familiar with the treatment of timber to protect it from rot and woodworm, both for new work and in remedial treatment once damage is apparent.
But what about when there are no real signs of infestation?
Approved Document A makes reference to a notorious beetle called the…
Representatives of the home-building industry are engaged in a nationwide campaign to defeat attempts by councils to ensure more accessible homes are built in their areas, research by the Disability News Service (DNS) has shown.
The objections to councils’ draft local plans concern their…
The Government is looking to increase the levels of housebuilding and MPs are also pointing out the need to make sure the future quality of new homes doesn’t suffer as production accelerates.
An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) put together for Excellence in the Built Environment has…