News

Nearly a quarter (24%) of people consider a lack of quality of build to be a major disadvantage of buying a new build home over an older property, according to a recent survey by BLP Insurance, a specialist residential warranty and commercial latent defects insurer. People living in the north of England (29%) were more likely to view a lack …

This problem has become more pronounced, with this age group having been four times more likely to experience pressure to study for a degree than +55 year olds, according to new research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

A disgruntled builder has destroyed a £2.5 million row of newly built cottages in a dispute over pay.  Neighbours are said to have seen the man laughing and taking photos while he began demolishing the buildings. According to the sun neighbours confronted the builder, concerned their homes would be next but the builder said he was only damaging properties on …

A Manchester-based property developer has been sentenced after the roof and part of the rear wall collapsed at one of his properties during demolition works. Manchester Crown Court heard how Riaz Ahmad appointed a group of workers, who had no experience in construction, to carry out demolition work at a property in Oldham. On 11 August 2017, after receiving a …

A contractor, client and director have been convicted after conditions at a building site were found to be dangerous. Southwark Crown Court heard that inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited the construction site on Gladesmore Road, London on numerous occasions in 2015 while building work was taking place at the property. Inspectors found poor health and safety conditions …

Simon Thomerson has been sentenced to 8 months in custody after pleading guilty to a health and safety breach that resulted in the death of two brothers. Luton Crown Court heard how Mr Thomerson, the sole owner and director of Clearview Design and Construction Ltd, had been contracted by the owners of an industrial park in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire to refurbish …

The Health and Safety Executive has released figures for work-related fatal injuries, showing an increase in injuries occurring in the construction industry.

Develop Training Ltd (DTL), is warning that firms will face a dash for compliance when new electrical wiring regulations are released next month. DTL says many firms will be caught unawares by the scope of the changes in the new British Standard requirements for electrical installations. The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s 18th Edition Wiring Regulations, which form the basis …

Contractor Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions has been sentenced after exposing workers to a debilitating health condition over a nine-year period. Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Ltd was fined £500,000 after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that workers at the company were exposed to hand-arm vibration between 2002 and 2011 which put them at risk of developing Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome …

The country’s leading roofing apprentices are gearing up for the two-day final that will reward the best in each of the two roofing disciplines: pitched and flat roofing. BMI, the UK manufacturer and supplier of flat and pitch roofing systems, is offering the two awards backed by its market-leading brands. The Redland Apprentice of the Year will recognise the best-pitched …

The Beast from the East, rising costs and Brexit are to blame for the drop in construction output, the FMB responds to ONS construction output figures.

A landscaping services company has been sentenced after a worker was seriously injured when a retaining wall collapsed into a trench.

The Dame Judith Hackitt Review into Building Regulations provides a blueprint for ensuring competence in construction should be extended across the industry.

A groundworks company has been fined after an employee suffered serious internal injuries while working in an excavation at Ghyllgrove Junior & Infants School in Basildon. Southend Magistrates’ Court heard how a site dumper was parked at a slight incline on a heap of excavated soil, adjacent to a partially backfilled trench. The dumper had been left unattended with the …

Almost 80% of builders are calling for more regulation in the construction industry to end the tyranny of cowboy builders, according to the FMB.

A home improvements company has been fined after a worker was significantly injured falling from a garage roof and the company failed to report the incident for nine months.

A new greener, stronger and more durable concrete that is made using the wonder-material graphene could revolutionise the construction industry. Experts from the University of Exeter have developed a pioneering new technique that uses nanoengineering technology to incorporate graphene into traditional concrete production. The new composite material, which is more than twice as strong and four times more water resistant …

More than half of small building firms say that rising material prices are squeezing their margins and the same percentage have had to pass these price increases onto consumers, according to the latest research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Small and medium-sized (SME) building firms were asked which materials are in shortest supply and have the longest wait …