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The challenge
The Co-op wanted to build a landmark building for its new headquarters. The 16-storey, 330,000sq ft building contains general offices, a call centre, meeting rooms, a restaurant, a café, and test kitchens. There is also car and bike parking, loading bays, and ancillary…
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…
This is a common problem, most often caused by poor survey work or collapse of trench sides - resulting in the actual shape of the foundations not matching the required dimensions of the external walls.
Does building a wall on a foundation really matter?
Well, yes it does because the loads of…
While it’s important to get the design and installation of the pile foundations right first time, one thing you may not have considered are the documents you need to submit to ensure the foundations are approved by building control.
To help minimise any delays you need to ensure your paperwork…
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…
A photo sent in recently by one of our building control surveyors highlighted a common problem found when the right drainage pipe fittings aren’t to hand on site and deadlines need the work doing right away:
In this instance, it’s surface water drainage from a house and detached garage that…
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…
Pebbledash render was primarily used to protect buildings from the elements.
The term is used to describe external rendering where smooth pebbles are thrown or "dashed" onto the topcoat of render before it dries so that they stick to it and provide a weathering surface.
Spar is a close…
We’ve now seen the housing white paper "Fixing our broken housing market" which is principally focused on dealing with the slow planning system.
It remains to be seen if local planning authorities will still be able to override the new options proposed for brownfield and green belt land and…
(Updated 1 May 2020)
Timber staircases are an integral part of many homes across the UK. While the design and manufacture of a staircase is key to its integrity and effectiveness, it’s just as important to install it right.
Poor installation can cause the stability of the stair to be reduced…