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Fires on building sites cost the construction industry over one million pounds per day, with over two thirds of them started deliberately. All buildings under construction are vulnerable and no construction method or material is immune: brick and stone can crack, flake and disintegrate; concrete…
UPDATE: S106 charges are gone
Section 106 agreements can be a nightmare for developers – they’ve been known to add months to the planning process, stalling work and potentially adding avoidable costs to a project or even leading to the abandonment of others altogether.
Also known as ‘…
To deliver real thermal performance within a masonry cavity wall construction, it’s essential that the insulation is tightly fitted to the inner leaf of the cavity and that individual insulation slabs are tightly butted together. This will prevent cold air from getting through the insulation layer…
As a landlord if there are gas appliances in the building, it’s your responsibility to ensure that annual gas safety checks are carried out on your properties by someone who is Gas Safe Registered. A copy of the safety report must be given to new tenants before they move in.
If you operate a…
Today many builders are exploring the efficiencies and quality benefits of pre-manufacturing and offsite construction.
As part of this drive, builders increasingly use timber spandrel panels in low-rise housing and apartments. Traditional brick and block gable ends and party walls are open to…
A recent Government announcement that affects homeowners in England wishing to increase the size of their homes has been making the news recently.
Temporary measures (due to expire 30 May 2019) that allowed homeowners to build bigger single-storey rear extensions without the need for…
As announced in the autumn budget on 22 November, a new £25 million fund has been launched to help local authorities deliver the high quality, well designed homes this country needs.
Housing and Planning Minister Alok Sharma announced on 4 December 2017 that the Planning Delivery Fund is…
There’s only one month to go until the deadline for entries in the LABC Building Excellence Awards 2022.
If you’ve worked on an outstanding project that was completed in 2021 and your building control provider was the local authority, then now is the time to enter!
The awards focus on…
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is planning to update Approved Documents B (Fire safety), and M (Access to and use of buildings). Before doing this, the DCLG sought the opinions and comments of actual and potential users of the documents to make sure that the new…
The Flood Resilient Repair Home: How flood proof design in high risk areas can help prevent disaster
It might seem strange to be talking about flood resilience at a time when a water drought appears to be the news of the moment. However, flash floods from dry ground and the inevitable winter storms are likely to feature in the headlines at some point during the year.
This is because more than…