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In the current economic climate homeowners are naturally more cautious about investing their savings or borrowing to improve their home.
The media is full of horror stories about cowboy contractors and consumers are becoming savvier about their rights and protecting their assets.
Increasingly…
Planning a home improvement project? Not sure where to start? Front Door should be your first destination.
If you’re a homeowner or are involved in a home improvement project, then this is for you. Whether you already have a home improvement idea in mind and need guidance, or want some…
Now fully completed, the University of Brighton's Waste House is Europe's first permanent public building made almost entirely from material thrown away or not wanted with the creators having investigated strategies for constructing a contemporary, low energy building using over 85% ‘waste’…
Open Doors, which is delivered by Build UK in partnership with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) as part of the Inspiring Construction campaign, sees Build UK members open live construction sites and offices for the public to go ‘behind the scenes’ and showcase the huge variety of…
Most pre-1930s houses will have traditional lath and plaster ceilings. Picture courtesy of Malone Associates Ltd
What is lath and plaster?
Laths are thin strips of wood (around 25-38mm wide and 3-8mm thick) spaced around 5mm apart and nailed to the ceiling joists above. Plaster was then…
Are you looking to progress in your public service building control career? LABC’s level 6 qualifications allow learners to develop their knowledge in specialist subject areas and become experts in their field.Our award-winning qualifications are the most comprehensive and relevant, of any other…
Internal insulated dry lining involves lining the inside of the wall with insulated plasterboard and needs joinery-like precision to avoid air leakage and cold bridging.
How to install insulated dry lining
Make sure existing plaster is in good condition if it’s remaining in place.…
You may receive an enforcement notice from your local authority if they believe that building work in or around your home doesn’t comply with building regulations. What this means is that you'll have to rectify or even remove the work which is in breach of building regulations.
I've got an…
LABC's Lorna Stimpson explains how LABC is responding to the need for standardised practices across the profession. (Published in RICS Building Control Journal).
Increasingly, the building industry has become part of a wider national and international business involving many large…
The challenge
The £22 million scheme was to develop a new A&E department, linked to the existing hospital buildings and with a helipad on the roof for the local air ambulance. The new three-storey building is located at the front of the existing hospital which remained operational…