The South East may have been enjoying a heatwave, but builders visiting DW Nye on Monday 19th June were getting ready for winter by finding out about the latest products on offer including a new waterproofing system that can be applied to roofs in as low as -5 degrees celcius. In the first of a series of demo days being …

The UK retirement housebuilder, McCarthy and Stone, is inviting people across the country to celebrate the heritage skills of older people throughout it’s developments across a number of regions in June and July. The event comes alongside McCarthy and Stone’s 40th year celebrations. In January, at the start of its anniversary year, McCarthy and Stone pledged its support for Royal …

A civil engineering company (R M Contractors Limited aka RMC), and a contractor working on behalf of a tree surgery company Complete Tree Services (CTS) have been sentenced after a member of the public was injured by fencing wire. Redditch Magistrates’ Court heard a member of the public was in her garden, when she was sprayed with pieces of fencing …

Shocked witnesses have described seeing people jump from as high as the 15th floor of Grenfell Tower in London as flames engulfed the building last night. Over 200 firefighters attended the 27-storey building near Ladbroke Grove just after 1.15am as fire tore through the block of flats.The cause of the fire is still unknown but according to witness accounts there …

A roofing company has been sentenced for safety failings related to working at height. Brighton Magistrates Court heard how numerous concerns were raised by members of the public about work being carried out by G & S Roofing Limited. The company twice ignored written advice to address the issue of working at height in an unsafe manner. In August 2016, …

The owner of a building in Kent and the contractor employed to demolish it have been fined for safety failings after an uncontrolled collapse onto the High Street.

Skill Builder’s ‘Day in the life’ feature takes a look at a typical day in the life of different tradespeople. In this installment, we talk to Richie Maxwell, the winner of Screwfix’s Top Tradesperson 2016, who shares his winning attitude to work and life and tells us that bricklaying is in his blood. Name: Richie Maxwell Trade: Bricklayer/Stonemason/Builder Company: RDM …

Unite, the UK construction union has condemned a decree by outsourced housing maintenance company Mears, which bans workers from having beards as ‘penny pinching stupidity’. Members of Unite employed on social housing maintenance work in the culturally diverse borough of Tower Hamlets, were said to be told at a ‘tool box talk’ that beards were now banned. Unite has subsequently …

U-Power will be exhibiting its latest ranges of stylish, comfortable, sporty and functional Italian-designed protective products at Safety & Health Expo at ExCel, London.

A new web-based tool designed to transform the way that building professionals market and sell products and services, has been launched worldwide.

Two companies have been fined a total of £700,000 and a director has received a suspended prison sentence following the fatal crushing of four workers.

A change of season means a change of focus on what you wear on site and Snickers wants to help you keep your cool when the heat is on.  From staying warm and dry, Snickers advises thinking about staying cool and dry and looking for working clothes that excel at ventilation and moisture transport to keep you working comfortably wherever …

Eco NRG Solutions Ltd and its director Jon Luke Antoniou have been fined after a worker fell from height at a farm in Cornwall. Taunton Magistrates Court heard how Lewis Harding, 28, had been fitting solar panels on a fragile roof at Venn Farm on the 19 May 2015. He fell more than three metres through a fragile skylight and broke …

In millions of households across the UK, teenagers (and their parents), face an anxious few weeks as the GCSE examinations get underway. Sitting on average 15 exams in a range of subjects, as well as facing exam pressure, school leavers also must contend with making some big decisions regarding their future. Options post-16 include staying on at school, going to …

Insulation and interior building products distributor CCF, has announced Tim Bryant of T Byrant Builders, as the winner of its Trade Superhero competition and a trip to New York City this month. Tim was crowned victorious after an independent panel of judges read about his superhero efforts to fix a drain in time for a children’s Christingle Service, and freeing …

The industry standard PAS 402 is helping construction firms meet their waste management targets. Reconomy explains more.

QUADSAW, the tool that drills square holes, will be demonstrated in public for the first time, at the Toolfair tradeshow in Harrogate, UK on 24-25 May. Almost every construction project requires square holes for electrical sockets and other boxes but for years electricians have struggled to create them with rulers, pencils and handsaws. QUADSAW solves this problem thanks to its …

A construction company and its groundwork contractor have been fined after a worker was killed by a reversing vehicle. Exeter Crown Court heard how an employee of Steve Hoskin Construction Limited (SHCL) was working for the groundwork contractor at a construction site in Dawlish, Devon when he was crushed by a reversing telescopic material handler. John Small, 47-years old, was …

The Labour Party’s proposal to link up housing and skills policy would be the right approach for a post-Brexit UK, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said in response to the publication of the Labour Party’s manifesto. Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “Labour’s pledge to integrate housing and skills policy is the right approach to tackling …