Specifying off-mains drainage

Kevin Roe, sales director of Kingspan Klargester, looks at the drainage options available for different sites. Of the country’s current stock of 25 million houses, around 1.5 million are not connected to the sewer. In all cases the first consideration... View Article

Versatile style

Nicola Seymour of Marbrex explores the potential of decorative yet highly practical internal cladding systems over more traditional wall coverings – from reducing labour costs and timescales to ease of installation; long-term cleaning and maintenance When it comes to creating... View Article

The importance of reducing false fire alarms

False fire alarms are costly, disruptive and detrimental to safety. Each year businesses and public services in the UK have nearly a quarter of a million false alarms costing them and Fire & Rescue Services approximately £1 billion . Every... View Article
FR Coatings Alert

FR Coatings Alert

The Wood Protection Association (WPA) is calling on building designers to double-check the fire performance claims of flame retardant treatments before they commit to a specification. The move follows research for the WPA that has highlighted the potential for products,... View Article

Pooling resources

When two generations of the Wilson family found neither could afford a self build, they did what families do – they pulled together to create a stunning home. By Mark Williams Marion Wilson has abiding memories of looking after her... View Article

Making self build make sense

You may be about to embark on your self build journey but as the experts and self builders at The National Self Build & Renovation Show know, this is just the beginning! Perfectly timed to coincide with the majority of... View Article

Self builders warm to the idea of underfloor heating

Any self build project will benefit from flexible electric underfloor heating. Jenny Smith, marketing services manager at Vent-Axia explains how advances in technology means electric underfloor heating is a choice that is set to grow in popularity Underfloor heating is... View Article

The evolution of the smart home

Rob Sutherland, managing director of Inspired Dwellings, specialists in the design and installation of smart home technology, shows how smart homes are evolving The smart home has been around as a concept since the 1970s. Early smart homes were primarily... View Article

A bright idea

In the last few years roof lights and sky lights have featured heavily in building design and with good reason. Natural daylight is an essential element of any interior space but one that is still all too frequently overlooked. Often,... View Article