Construction & Building Materials

Following the announcement from the Offi ce for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) regarding Kingspan’s Kooltherm K15 insulation (including two prohibition notices issued by the OPSS in relation to K15) and the withdrawal by the British Board of Agrément of its certifi cate for K15, the National House Building Council (NHBC) has asked registered builder customers for additional information regarding the use of K15 on all sites.

After months of debate and amendments, the Building Safety Bill became law today (29 April), with the intention to ‘create lasting generational change’ to the way high-risk and residential buildings are constructed and maintained, although many of the new provisions in the 262-page Act are not expected to come into force until 2023.

Scott Millins, Quantity Surveyor at Teampol, discusses the technical considerations of insulation for a public sports centre

A builder has been given a suspended prison sentence for allowing unsafe excavation work, which put workers in danger and rendered the neighbouring property unstable.

The Construction Leadership Council has published a document to support UK firms in their response to the impacts of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The construction industry is delivering truly exceptional projects from new buildings constructed using sustainable techniques to reduce its environmental impact, to renovations of tired spaces to create vibrant community spaces.

The McAvoy Group is delivering three new educational facilities valued at £40m on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE). One of these, the Cavendish School near Cambridge, will provide a much-needed specialist school for children with autism. It will be the world’s first International Baccalaureate special autism school, with a range of new facilities including multi-functional learning areas, calm and sensory spaces, and a horticultural room.

Following the announcement last month from the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) regarding Kingspan’s K15 product (including two prohibition notices issued by the OPSS in relation to K15) and the withdrawal by the British Board of Agrément (BBA) of its certificate for K15, this note explains to NHBC’s registered builder customers the impact on NHBC warranty and/or NHBC Building Control where these are being provided on their sites.

CIBSE has released a webinar on testing for air leakage – the uncontrolled movement of air through a building envelope or component due to the porosity of building fabric materials, interfaces between materials and components and imperfections in the construction of the building.

A team of students from Coventry University have developed a concept for a house that can float whenever a flood approaches and shelter people for at least six weeks during catastrophic weather. The house is attached to four anchoring steel pilings that fix the structure in one place. The walls and roof are constructed using galvanised metal sheets, while multiple recycled plastic barrels are tied underneath the ground floor and act as floatation devices.

We speak to Dr Tony Hopkin, Midland Heart’s Head of Construction, Quality and Innovation, about his upcoming CABE webinar where he will present the results from the first construction project to model the Future Homes Standard.

St. Modwen Homes looks at the history of British houses and how they’ve changed to fit our culture and needs through the ages

RIBA is working with NBS to undertake a Contracts and Law Survey. The UK construction industry is often adversarial, and successful projects rely on clear, timely and proportionate contracting arrangements. As we all face on-going Covid challenges, this is as true now as ever before.

Liz Varga FCABE explains how the principles of infrastructure resilience relate to the built environment

Significant cost increases and the introduction of new restrictions on professional indemnity insurance (PII) policies are causing concern.

The government’s new hydrogen strategy will determine the fuel’s future application in the construction industry, with further details to come this year.

The government’s long-awaited Heat and Buildings Strategy, published in November 2021, aims to reduce household heating and buildings emissions. Grants worth £5,000 per household will help ensure that low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps are no more expensive to install and run than fossil fuel boilers. A total of £450m will be earmarked over the next three years for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, part of more than £3.9bn of funding for decarbonising heat and buildings.

Stuart A Johnson Consulting discusses the project management of the new Lambeth Palace Library building

The BSI has launched an identification tool that promises to bring product traceability through the built environment supply chain.

In the scramble to return buildings to use after lockdown, some operations – such as lift maintenance – were not given enough attention