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Homeowner or small builder? These resources will help you get your new building project off the ground. Visit Front Door for more information.
Levelling floors seems like a straightforward job, but it’s often complicated.
Shrinkage, poor workmanship, deflection and the type of materials used can all lead to an out of level floor - and worse, you’re likely to only find out after the job’s finished!
So, how much deflection is…
Parapet walls behave differently to conventional cavity walls because of their location at the very top of a building where both skins of the parapet are outer skins, and as such are exposed to moisture.
Traditionally constructed parapet walls can become saturated with rain and are also subject…
Yes, it is what it looks like!
One of our Building Control teams encountered this DIY toilet installation on a recent project.
The householder had run out of money so had decided to do the internal work himself. The toilet was coupled to the soil stack with flexible ducting usually used for…
One of our surveyors had a bit of a shock recently when visiting a site for a domestic extension.
They were called out to inspect reinforcement prior to concreting foundations but hadn’t been to site previously for an excavation or commencement inspection. The ‘builder’ proudly stood back and…
Render has two primary functions. The first is protection, where the render ‘weatherproofs’ the walls, allowing them to breathe by letting water vapour move from the inside to the outside of the structure while stopping the rain from forcing its way in.
The second function is decoration, where…
Demolition is something you may have to do from time to time. Although not generally considered ‘development’, planning permission may be required - so confirm with your client this is in place before starting any work.
There are two types of demolition - partial or complete removal. Partial…
While a lack of internet connection on a website can be frustrating, having offline masonry on a building site is worse! The photo below shows newly constructed masonry that’s not central on the excavated trench.
It’s a common problem, most often caused by poor…
The building regulations specify limits on water use for newly constructed homes and those formed by converting existing buildings. Water usage from WCs, wash basins, sinks, showers, baths, and white goods such as dishwashers and washing machines are all included in the requirement…
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…