INFOGRAPHIC: Interesting facts about steel that you should know!

 

Steel is undoubtedly the backbone of our built environment. Steel is used in almost every sector of our industry, including energy, construction and housing (the largest consumer of steel), automotive and transportation, infrastructure and machinery – to name but a few. Seeing as the steel industry employs over 2 million people worldwide and can be seen everywhere around us, buildingspecifier thought it would be a good idea to delve a little deeper into the world of steel and shed light on a material that is so integral to our lives. We spoke to metal roofing experts, Country Towne who kindly put this infographic together, which highlights a few interesting facts about their favourite substance. Enjoy!
Steel

Infographic courtesy of Metal Roofing experts Country Towne.
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Colour palette research shows consumer taste is not all black and white

Extensive James Hardie colour research has noted an emerging trend towards monochrome and muted design styles over the last five years, with architects opting to create elegant design statements in black, grey, white and off-white hues, in line with changing tastes of homeowners.

Monochrome might be leading the way in terms of volume, but it’s not an entirely black and white picture when it comes to UK house design:

  • In the last year, monochrome shades have accounted for over 70% of all cladding sales. Five years ago, the same palette would have accounted for just under 50%.
  • From the Hardie colour palette, Arctic White – a pure white – Soft Green and Light Mist (off-whites with hints of pastel blue and green) make up more than a third of all the company’s UK sales today.
  • Blue is becoming increasingly popular with sales of lighter and darker shades doubling over the past three years.
  • Sales of reds and greens are down by 20% while browns, previously integral to achieving an authentic wood effect, now account for less than 10% of all Hardie sales.
  • The James Hardie colour research is showing distinctiveness in palette choices across the UK, with remarkable differences in preference separated only by a few miles.
  • After white, one of the biggest sellers in Essex is Midnight Black, accounting for nearly a quarter of all James Hardie sales there. Yet in neighbouring Kent, it is one of the least used Hardie shades.
  • Elegant light blue weatherboard Light Mist has doubled its sales in Essex, but in Devon it is rarely used. These differences can to some extent be explained by environment, not just fashion trends.
  • No matter which county, in coastal areas, the consistent desire for pastels. Creams, pale blues and greens still dominate coastal sales, reinforcing how classic British seaside chic doesn’t look set to go out of style any time soon.

Rob Windle, James Hardie’s European commercial director explained: “As a leading materials manufacturer, we believe in developing products that will give architects the maximum design flexibility, not just in following the current design trends but in paving the way for future innovation.

“For us, colour choice in facade design is a key part of this. Colour palettes are changing and we aim to provide the right tools to design homes that will last for generations to come.

“Over the past decade, we have seen a real design shift taking place in the UK residential sector. The muted brick and block-style housing of the 1990s has been replaced with mixed-use building products and accents in next-generation smart materials such as fibre cement. The use of colour is also an increasingly important design consideration.”

The new Hardie research is showing homeowners are increasingly seeing the exterior of their home as an opportunity to make a personal design statement, much like the interior of their house. This is resulting in more flexible briefs for architects, lending the freedom to design with more colour creativity in mind.

And this shift is producing some stunningly bold results, with mixing colours, materials and installation techniques including horizontal, vertical and even diagonal cladding.

Popular material blends comprise red and yellow brick with render, cladding or hanging tiles; render and cladding; wood and fibre cement or metallic cladding together – mixing of natural materials and advanced technology is now another emerging trend James Hardie is observing.

Housebuilders are being braver too – top developers are paving the way with design statements. Berkeley Homes’ 750 house village development at Green Park in Reading boasts seven different coloured facades currently under construction, with more colours to come.

According to James Miller, buyer at Bellway Homes Kent office, “There are local differences in the colours we choose for facade cladding. This is mostly connected to environmental characteristics. For instance, in the South East, where we have many leafy suburbs, we would tend to avoid green shades as this would cause housing to ‘blend in’ too much to the surroundings, rather than providing a contrast. Ultimately we aim for the best colours to complement the natural environment”.

For more information please visit www.jameshardie.co.uk.
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British citizens rank 53rd in Environmental Impact study

A new study from price comparison website MoneySuperMarket visualises the way people across the world affect the environment

  • Britain has a greener population than France, Germany and the United States – but is only 16th in Europe for green living and 53rd worldwide
  • Air pollution in the UK is more than double that of the US – and linked to 40,000 early deaths a year

A new study from MoneySuperMarket today reveals how people impact their environment, both in the UK and throughout the world. The new research highlights the individual contribution to the world’s climate – as well as highlighting areas for improvement for each country.

Britain managed to rank 53rd overall for individual impact on the world*, boasting a greener population than France, Germany and the United States. Overall, the UK is only 14% worse on an average score than Mozambique, the top-scoring country for environmental awareness, and 51% better than Trinidad & Tobago, the worst.

But the country shows up poorly when it comes to energy usage – only 22 per cent of UK energy is green, so even low usage has a higher impact in the world compared to Bhutan or Albania, where energy is nearly 100% green.

The French perform even worse, with green power at a low-ranking 17 per cent of their total usage. They also throw away seven per cent more waste than the UK every day.

And while Ireland is near the bottom of the rankings (99th overall) due to high waste and mid-level wastewater treatment, our air pollution is more than double. The United States, too, rank lower than Britain at 101st, but their air pollution is only 2.9µg/m3, compared to our 7.6µg/m3. This air pollution is linked to over 40,000 early deaths in the UK a year**.

Britain Among the Worst in Europe for CO2

Despite somewhat positive overall standing for per-person CO2 emissions, the UK’s results are poor compared with much of Europe, with 71% of other continental countries producing less of the greenhouse gas per capita.

9% of the UK’s CO2 emissions emanate from the capital each year, with industrial contributions only 22% higher than domestic.

Landfill Concerns

Previous UK policies have attempted to reduce the size of landfill, with limited success. Only 25% of municipal waste in the UK is recycled, with 49% being sent directly to landfill.

The average British citizen throws away 1.79kg of municipal solid waste a day – a higher amount than 50% of other European countries, including Sweden and the Czech Republic, and higher than anywhere in South America or Asia, with the exclusion of Sri Lanka.

As well as being an eyesore and damaging to the immediate local environment, landfills produce copious quantities of methane, a greenhouse gas with 21 times the effect on global warming of CO2.

“We wanted to know what our personal input to the environment was,” said Stephen Murray, Energy Expert at MoneySuperMarket.com, “Everyone wants to get their carbon footprint down, but now we can see exactly how the UK compares to the rest of the world – it really puts it in perspective.”

Using the interactive map you can view the breakdown of the different measurements that make up the average individual human impact in each country, including energy consumption, air pollution and reliance on non-renewable energy, see the MoneySuperMarket human impact interactive map here.

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Irvine Sellar, Shard developer passes away aged 82

The vision behind the Shard at London Bridge, Irvine Sellar has sadly passed away at the age of 82 after a period of short illness.

His son James, who has worked alongside his father for the past 20 years, will take over running of the Sellar Group, according to the statement released by the company.

Sellar will be remembered by his wife, three children and five grandchildren and his architectural legacy will continue through the buildings he helped create.

His most famous work, the Shard, dominates the London skyline and in its short life span has become a cultural icon of London and Great Britain overall. In memory of Irvine and as a celebration of his work, here are some fascinating facts about the Shard!

the Shard

It is 306 metres tall, briefly held the top spot for the whole of Europe before two buildings in Moscow overtook it within a year!
The average lift speed is 6 metres per second
The Shard is made up of 11,000 glass panels on its exterior
The area of the glass façade is 56,000 sq metres (602,779 sq ft), which equals eight football pitches.
Construction workers found a fox near the top, on the 7nd floor
95% of the construction materials are recycled.
20% of the steelwork is from recycled sources.
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Foundations laid for new state-of-the-art power link between Great Britain and France

A major new project to install a one Gigawatt (1000 MW) Direct Current interconnector linking the electricity markets of Britain and France via the Channel Tunnel has just put down its foundations. The foundation stone of the Folkestone Converter Station was laid this morning by Jesse Norman, Minister for Industry and Energy.

ElecLink, for which the investment in the construction is estimated at approximately €580 million, is based on a proven economic model and represents a strategic opportunity for the Eurotunnel Group. The project will generate approximately 300 new jobs during the construction phase together with ongoing jobs needed for the operations and maintenance throughout the life of the project.

The interconnector will provide enough capacity for more than 1.65 million homes per year, increasing the current Anglo-French exchange capacity by one half, and enhancing the security of electricity supply for industrial and business consumers. ElecLink will help to solve the ‘energy trilemma’ identified by the World Energy Council by maintaining security of supply, transitioning to a ”cleaner” economy and keeping prices low for consumers as future electric demand increases and adapts to population growth and the adoption of new transport modes for example electric cars.

ElecLink will have a very low environmental impact by making use of the existing Channel Tunnel infrastructure for its cable system, thus avoiding any interference with marine life. It is also expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 6 million tonnes by enabling demand in Britain and France to be met by the most efficient generating plants.
A project endorsed by the French and the British government and the European Commission, the project has been granted a 25 year exemption by regulators enabling ElecLink to operate as a private interconnector and to sell its electricity capacity over time.

It will be delivered with world leading partners. Siemens has been designated to construct the converter stations in both UK and France; the fabrication and installation of the DC cables inside the Channel Tunnel and the underground AC cables on the UK side is allocated to Balfour Beatty / Prysmian; RTE will undertake the installation of the underground AC cables in France.

Jesse Norman, Minister for Industry and Energy: “’As a Government, we are strongly supportive of greater electricity trading with our European partners in order to lower household bills and deliver energy security as part of our modern industrial strategy. We’ve created the right environment for cooperative projects like ElecLink to attract investment and compete in the market without needing financial support from our tax and bill payers.”

Jacques Gounon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Eurotunnel, said: “ElecLink further underlines how important the Channel Tunnel is to Britain and France. Not only is it a vital transport link, it is set to play an instrumental part in the supply of electricity to the UK, France and continental Europe. With the debate over the future of energy security brought into focus recently, ElecLink delivers a smart and environmentally friendly way to secure the electricity supply. We are proud to be inaugurating ElecLink this great project which will significantly benefit the economies and consumers in both France and the United Kingdom.”

The ElecLink interconnector is one of the most advanced new interconnection projects across Europe and the first of its kind between Britain and France since 1986, when the existing IFA (Interconnection France-Angleterre) interconnector was commissioned. It will use state of the art, tried and tested technology designed to achieve the highest possible standards of availability and reliability.

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The only roofing waterproofing membrane with a 40-year durability statement that also includes zero falls

Derbigum, the UK’s highest-performance bituminous roofing membrane with a 40-year BBA durability statement, now also includes zero falls.

Alumasc’s Derbigum waterproofing membrane is the only high-performance bituminous roofing membrane with a 40-year durability statement that also includes zero falls from the BBA (British Board of Agrément).

Whilst other competitors’ may have durability statements that are typically for 20 or 25 years, Alumasc’s Derbigum stands out for its proven reliability with a 40-year BBA durability statement – giving specifiers and end-users added confidence as to the product’s in-service longevity. This BBA now also includes for use as fully-bonded or partially bonded waterproofing on flat, pitched or zero-pitched roofs with limited access, and is the only bituminous membrane on the market with proven 40-year durability and approval for zero falls installations.

With a proven track record of success, Alumasc’s Derbigum systems have held a BBA certificate since 1980 and offer a variety of environmentally-beneficial, sustainable characteristics including: membranes with high levels of recycled content; innovative CO2 neutralising membranes; energy efficient ‘cool’ roofs; and vegetal, non-bituminous solutions.

Click here to download your copy of the BBA certificate or call +44 (0) 3335 771 500.
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Kalwall creates healthy shelter

Around 8 million people a year are expected to be sheltering under Kalwall at the beautifully-designed new bus station at West Croydon. Designed by Transport for London Architects, this is an unusual example of how translucent Kalwall can offer many different advantages above its normal use for translucent traditional building cladding and rooflighting.

The brief for this project was to create a user-friendly waiting and assembly shelter to service the thousands of passengers using this important and busy transport hub linking the 150 buses an hour with the adjacent tram stop and West Croydon railway station providing routes to Canada Water and east London, and via the tram network to Beckenham and Wimbledon.

The normal choice of construction for a translucent and weatherproof canopy would be to glaze the roof with glass, However in-house architect Martin Eriksson and the project team at TfL realised that Kalwall offered a better solution in this location which would not only solve the brief and contribute to a better design but would offer many other benefits over traditional glazing.

For example, since Kalwall is much lighter than glass it meant that the supporting structure needed to be less strong and far less chunky. In additional, not only would the shelter be less high but the vertical supports would be less obstructive and open up a better view of the environment including the very attractive church nearby which had previously been blocked from the view of waiting passengers.

Unlike conventional glazing, highly insulating Kalwall is far more attractive than glass while eliminating shadows and glare and the stark contrasts of light and shade; improving the experience for passengers below.

Also, due to the way it diffuses natural daylight downwards and at night reduces vertical illumination and reflection upwards, it controls light pollution on the surrounding high rise buildings. Soil and detritus are less obvious on Kalwall than on glass and maintenance and cleaning is much simpler because access scaffolding is not required and maintenance staff can safely walk across its surface.

One of the main attractions of specifying high performance Kalwall for conventional buildings is its unique effect on both the interior and exterior. Internally, rooms are flooded with diffused natural daylight which creates a stimulating and very attractive environment. Although translucent, it also offers the big advantage of privacy while the elevations appear crisp, simple and inviting. When illuminated at night they emit a very attractive ethereal glow.

Apart from being specified for all types of new build, Kalwall is increasingly used for the refurbishment of cladding or rooflights on aged buildings. Case studies and technical information are available from Structura UK Ltd, Tel: 01233 501 504 or visit www.structura-uk.com/kalwall.
Structura UK is the exclusive distributor of the Kalwall translucent daylight building system for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and a leading supplier, fabricator and installer of glass curtain walling, rainscreens, glass atria, windows and other architectural glass building products.
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SIKA system wipes graffiti menace clean away

Sika has the solution to eliminate an ever-present public nuisance and prevent expensive and regular clean-up bills – currently in excess of £1 billion in the UK each year – in the process. The global building product manufacturer has developed a product which not only removes recurrent graffiti with a simple jet wash; it acts as an effective deterrent to illegal fly-posting.

The removal process couldn’t be simpler. Sikagard®-850 AG Anti-Graffiti and Anti-Poster provides a permanent, transparent coating to mineral and coated substrates, as well as wood and metal. Brush, roller or spray-applied, all that’s required to ensure this superb system repairs a defaced structure is water jetting or a cold water hose and rubbing the graffiti with a clean cloth.

This negates the need for detergents, aggressive cleansers, hot water or high-pressure cleaning. Unlike alternative sacrificial systems, the substrate does not require recoating following graffiti removal using Sikagard®-850.

Following application, Sikagard®-850 leaves a glossy film. This enhances the colour of the substance it’s applied to and means posters, which have been pasted illegally, will fall off in a matter of days. As well as its excellent gloss retention, the system supports dirt pick-up resistance and displays high levels of resilience to UV and heat. It is also water vapor breathable.

Bob Orishaguna, Buildings Manager – TM Refurbishment at Sika, said: “Graffiti has become an extensive problem, spreading from the largest cities to highway bridges and trains. The availability of Sikagard®-850 could significantly reduce the clean-up bill for private and public bodies nationwide, significantly reducing the £1 billion sum spent in the UK each year on graffiti removal costs.”

For more information please call 01707 394444, or visit www.sika.co.uk.

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Rinnai builds business with O’Neil’s

Rinnai, manufacturer of the Energysaver energy efficient range of gas fired wall heaters, recently pulled out all the stops in collaboration with Ayr-based installer O’Neil Gas Services to keep the congregation warm at St Mary’s Church in Saltcoats, Ayrshire.

O’Neil Gas Services with mission statement: ‘Big enough to cope. Small enough to care’ – is a family-run company founded by John O’Neil and now presided over by his son Brian O’Neil. It has 22 employees, 15 of them fully qualified Gas Safe registered engineers. The company offers domestic and commercial services covering the whole of Ayrshire, East Kilbride and South Glasgow and has four separate divisions – installation, service and repair, care and retail. O’Neil’s also operates a fireplace and bathroom showroom, designing and planning bathrooms from start to finish.

The O’Neil client list is impressive and includes NHS Scotland, North Ayrshire Council, Cunninghame Housing Association, SRUC Auchincruive Estate, Klin Holdings as well as various hotels, surgeries, churches and commercial businesses all over Ayrshire. More recently the company won the Irvine Housing gas maintenance contract for five years.

The company has built a reputation for quality, reliability and value ensuring that its 14,000 domestic and commercial customers return time and again for their gas and plumbing needs. They have retained thousands of customers, year after year, confirming the quality of their customer service.

O’Neil’s install Rinnai heaters for its commercial customers in a range of applications. “We choose Rinnai heaters because they are reliable, and easy to work on, as well as being efficient. O’Neil’s use only the best as call backs can be expensive and so installing the Rinnai heating range within commercial installations is an obvious choice, and makes for happy customers,” says
O’Neil’s installation manager Ross McWhirter. “We have used Rinnai heaters in many churches – for example St Mary’s – because of their efficiency and ease of installation.

“We have installed Rinnai continuous flow water heaters in Adeli Foods for the same reasons. We choose Rinnai products in such installations simply because no other product could provide the result we and more importantly our customers expect and want. This along with the excellent customer service provided by Rinnai, mean that their heaters and water heaters are always our choice.”

McWhirter first made the decision to go with Rinnai’s 1004T gas fired wall space heater for the St Mary’s Church, Saltcoats project and it is a decision he is pleased he made. “We used six Rinnai 1004T units siting them in the best location for effectiveness and for the convenience of the customer. The biggest part of the job was lifting the floors and running gas and electricity supplies to the units.

“Everyone I have spoken too at the Church since we completed the installation has said that it has never been as warm as it is now. The Church should also see a big difference in gas usage as the Rinnai units are more economical to run than the previous system.

“This was the first time we have used the Rinnai heaters and I was very impressed with the outcome of the job. They are very quiet while running and get the Church up to temperature very quickly,” says Ross.

O’Neil’s has the stamp of approval from Gas Safe to provide all gas services and has recently been awarded the prestigious ISO 9001, a certified management system for organisations proving its ability to provide services that meets customer’s needs. In addition, O’Neil’s has CHAS accreditation for its Health and Safety policies and PAS 2030.

For more information on the RINNAI product range visit www.rinnaiuk.com.
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Salaries of property professionals rise, but gender pay gap worsens

Salaries for property professionals remained robust in 2017, according to the latest survey by RICS & Macdonald & Company, but the gender pay gap has increased from last year.

  • Male property professionals earn, on average, £11,000 more than female counterparts (£7,000 in 2016)
  • Sector salary pay rises up 7.2% overall, above UK wage inflation
  • Average salaries down, but due to changing demographics of the survey

An evident gap

Male property professionals earn, on average, £11,113 more than their female colleagues (£54,931 versus £43,818). The gap is evident across the majority of age groups and is greatest for those aged 46–55, where the difference in average salary is 25.7%.

Encouragingly, the gender pay gap is now less evident in those starting out in property with females earning slightly more than males, a turnaround from last year where the pay gap was most evident in 18–22 year olds.

The survey indicates the attraction of property as a career choice. Of those who received a pay rise in 2017 in the industry, the average increase was 7.7% (up from 7.1% in 2016); this is far above UK-wage inflation, which sits at 2.7%. Considering the sample as a whole, the industry experienced an increase of +7.2% (6.5% in 2016), with 32% also believing that their pay and benefits will be positively affected by market conditions over the next 12 months.

The benefits of being qualified

Once again, the survey also shows the benefits of being professionally qualified. RICS professionals earn 40.6% more than those who are “not professionally qualified” — this has increased by 29.5% since 2016. Those with an FRICS designation earn 83.3% more than those who are not professionally qualified.

The survey recorded the average salary in 2017 as £52,362. While this is a 4.5% decrease compared to 2016, this may be largely explained by changes in the demographics of the survey this time around. Respondents with 10 years’ experience or fewer rose by 9% (from 31% to 40%), while those with 16 years’ experience or more fell 10% (from 56% to 46%).

Respondents working in Greater London continue to earn the highest average salary (£61,141) and command a premium of 15.5% over the South East, and 41.0% over Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland. The majority of regions have seen a decrease, but East Anglia (+3.4%), South West/Wales (+2.6%) and Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland (+1.4%) buck this trend with growth in average wages.

More positively, over half of respondents (53%) believe their organisation will increase headcount in 2017. 47% of respondents expect their organisation to modestly increase headcount, while 6% expect a significant increase in headcount in 2017.

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