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Judith Schulz and Neil Hitchen of ARUP explained their “Top 10 design specification concerns” at a recent conference that forms part of LABC’s “Professionals in Construction” conference series. This conference focussed on controlling the spread of fire in high risk buildings.
ARUP gave an…
How did your interest in construction develop?
In the olden days (1960’s - 70’s), when I was about 12, a teacher asked everyone in my class to tell her what they wanted to do when they left school. I had been building things with Lego for years, so whether that had anything to do with it, I don’…
Poorly constructed or maintained free-standing walls can be a danger. Everyone in the building industry has a responsibility to look for the dangers posed by these walls as they can cause death or injury if they collapse.
The Building Regulations do not control the construction of most free-…
Entries are now open for the Building Excellence Awards 2025 Did a local authority provide the building control for your project? If so, read on:First, you will need to register on our awards platform. If you registered last year you can use the same username and password.Once you have…
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…
The installation or improvement of loft insulation is one of the simplest ways of improving the energy efficiency of a building. Up to 25% of heat lost from a building without any thermal insulation can pass through the roof.
But do building regulations apply to this type of building work?…
Congratulations to all of our 2017 LABC Building Excellence Awards Grand Finals winners!
The event, one of the most recognised in the construction industry calendar, took place on Friday 10 November 2017 at the Westminster Park Plaza in London and winners were announced by writer…
Cavity masonry walls have a cavity for good reason - and it’s not to provide a home for excess mortar or general debris as the images below show!
Allowing mortar (and debris) to accumulate within the cavity and on wall ties can seriously affect the sound insulation performance of a…
Perimeter upstand insulation performs a vital function in the thermal envelope of the building. It’s used to prevent cold bridging at the edge of the floor where it meets the wall. Basically, it stops the heat from seeping out of the edges of the floor where the screed/concrete meets the wall.
A…
Acoustics can be a real nuisance on a conversion project where there is a material change of use (MCOU). Being unsure of differences between material properties could lead to pitfalls; for example, knowing which plasterboard product has the required mass of 10kg/m² as opposed to a 8kg/m² board…