Yale has announced a partnership with O2 and AT&T to bring a new smart home platform to the UK this summer.
The platform will be introduced in selected areas north of London, before having a wider rollout later in the year.
Speaking at the AT&T Developer Conference in Las Vegas, O2 said it will be the first to offer services based on the AT&T Digital Life smart home platform in Europe.
The operator is positioning O2 Home as the ‘complete smart home experience’ and is also partnering with thermostat company, Tado, as well as Samsung and Serco for cameras and Yale for locks.
Yale’s Keyfree and Keyless connected smart locks provide users with the ability to remotely unlock their home from anywhere in the world, so guests, cleaners, carers or anyone who’s forgotten or lost a key or PIN code can be granted quick access.
The Yale smart locks can also keep track of who’s coming and going through the door and at what time, ideal for parents keeping an eye on teenage children or anyone paying for home services by the hour.
National risk management expert Lucion Services is offering a free online training course aimed at helping busy construction industry workers refresh their knowledge of the hazards and risks posed by asbestos-containing materials (ACMs).
The online course takes just 45-60 minutes to complete and provides a quick and efficient refresher for those who need to be compliant with regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012).
Topics such as the properties of asbestos, health effects of asbestos, asbestos materials in buildings, asbestos legislation, and emergency procedures are covered in the course which has been designed for anyone who has taken part in a classroom-based UKATA Awareness Course in the previous 18 months. Upon successful completion, certificates are awarded which are valid for 12 months.
Since launching the online training in November 2014, over 400 individuals from companies and organisations across the UK such as Carillion, British Gas, Northumbrian Water, Sir Robert McAlpine and Sodexo as well as staff from local authorities and universities have completed the course.
Ross Boulton, sustainability director at Lucion Training Services, said: “Raising awareness of the risks of exposure to asbestos and on how people can protect themselves and others plays a key role in helping to reduce the incidence of asbestos-related diseases.
“We recognise that not everyone can down tools to attend courses so we designed a short e-learning course that’s free and certified to make it as easy as possible for busy workers to keep their asbestos training current and in-line with industry regulations.”
Lucion Training courses are delivered across the country and bespoke courses can also be developed to meet the individual needs of companies and organisations. Sign up to free e-learning at luciontraining.com
Dewalt has combined its power tool battery and laser technology know-how and added a 10.8V red and green beam self-levelling cross-line and 360° line lasers to its portfolio. The DCE088D1G and DCE089D1G are the first models in the DEWALT range to feature a green diode.
Industry trends have shown that green lasers are the future for applications in construction, specifically for indoor tasks, as the beam is four times brighter to the naked eye than red.
Industry trends have shown that green lasers are the future for applications in construction, specifically for indoor tasks, as the beam is four times brighter to the naked eye than red. They provide greater visibility, especially in very bright, light conditions, and over longer distances. They are also ideal for the precise installation of drywall, drop ceilings and ventilation systems, amongst other applications.
The 10.8V XR Lithium-Ion platform is said to offer extended laser runtime compared to regular AA batteries as well as added versatility. The 10.8V battery pack can be easily removed and transferred between the new lasers, or to another compatible DEWALT power tool, and vice versa.
The green beam self-levelling cross-line and 360° line lasers provide a working range of 30m with an accuracy of +/-3mm at 10m. Additional useful features include a pendulum lock for safe transportation. Furthermore, the durable over-moulded casing has been designed to maintain calibration of the tool, and to protect components in extreme construction environments. Drop-tested to 2m, and IP65 certified, it has been engineered for sustained resistance to solvents, water entry and debris.
Featuring the same technical product specification as the green diode lasers (enhanced visibility rating excluded), the latest extension to the DEWALT portfolio also includes red beam self-levelling cross-line (DCE088NR) and 360° line lasers (DCE089NR) with a range of 15m and an accuracy of +/-3mm at 10m.
*DCE088D1G and DCE089D1G models only
Key features:
10.8V XR Lithium-Ion battery pack for extended laser runtime and fast charging
Locking pendulum to prevent internal component damage during transportation
Wear-resistant IP65 rated over-mould to withstand harsh jobsite environments
Integrated magnetic pivoting base with ¼” thread
Full-time pulse mode allows use with a detector (increasing working range to 60m)
Mumford & Wood, the manufacturer of timber windows and doors, has announced compliance with NBS National Building Information Modelling (BIM) Library Data for core Conservation entrance, balcony, bi-folding, single and French doorsets as well as Conservation casement windows, box sash and spring sash windows.
This is in accordance with the Government’s mandate on all publically-funded new-build projects by spring 2016. Architects, specifiers and contractors can now visit the company’s technical page at www.mumfordwood.com and download the full Mumford & Wood NBS BIM Library Data.
In this 3D modelling of the company’s core and standard Conservation products detailed specification parameters are shared in relation to thermal performance and U-values, acoustic specifications, PAS24 compliance, product design details, paint, glass and warranties. Non-standard products can be analysed on request using the same criteria.
“Now all parties, manufacturers, architects and contractors will pool this design information to create the footprint of a building,” says Owen Dare, technical director, Mumford & Wood. “This will effectively lock the specification which will remain unchanged for the life of the building. It is quite a complex and very sophisticated platform but the benefits are huge. Once approved, the specification will be carried through to manufacturing making the whole process easier for everyone.”
BIM Level 2 approval
Mumford & Wood has achieved BIM Level 2 approval. At this level the product data using 3D CAD models enables contractors and architects to combine and share their own 3D models, for a specific project, to a minimum Industry Foundation Classification (IFC) or COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange) standard. It is available in a common file format, either an IFC or more probably a Revit plug-in. The core of Level 2 BIM is to provide accessible, up to date, accurate, verified information for use and re-use for all projects.
Asset management and asset construction both need an information management system and process, support by a number of tools to manage data. The data can then be used through many activates to realise and add value.
Level 2 BIM components are information management, classification, digital planning of work and information exchange method COBie. There are many other benefits that will make designing a project with reduced risk and cost which allows management of the building to be controlled through the life cycle of the building.
“The extreme winter weather, having ruined Christmas for tens of thousands and likely to cost the country up to £1.5bn, serves to remind those concerned with building design, construction and management of the important role PVC-U building products can play in adding flood resistant and resilience to homes actually and potentially threatened with disaster”, says Chris Coxon, Head of Marketing at Eurocell.
Not only has the insurance industry estimated the cost of flood damage as being between £900m and as high as £1.5bn; it is also being said that it will strip 0.2% from UK Gross Domestic Product this year.
Flood resistance refers to buildings constructed so that water cannot get into it; while flood resilience means building houses such that while water may enter, the impact is reduced, structural strength is maintained and property recovery is easier and quicker.
These are respectively referred to as ‘water exclusion’ and ‘water entry’ strategies by the Government in its guidance Improving the Flood Performance of New Buildings – Flood Resilient Construction.
“While it would be a significant overclaim to say that PVC-U windows and composite doors would play a major part in a ‘water exclusion strategy’, there is no denying that their inherent weather tightness would at least slow the ingress of water to a degree – and keeping low water thresholds at bay for even short periods buying a little extra time for sandbagging, or a chance to move furniture, valuables and appliances out of the way”, continues Coxon.
“However, PVC-U products – including fittings such as plastic skirtings – have an unequivocal and obvious contribution to make to flood resilience: being resistant to twisting, swelling, shrinking, rotting or warping – unlike the many porous timber windows and doors undoubtedly wrecked in the recent deluges”.
“Not only is this of benefit to the poor homeowner – who is saved the hassle of replacing ruined joinery items; and is able to maintain the security of the home in the face of looters, like we shockingly witnessed in York recently – but also to the insurance sector, reducing the cost of claims by thousands of pounds”.
“While no-one wishes to profit from the misfortune from others, our sector’s products meets a very specific – and increasing – need for resilience in the face of severe weather conditions”.
The Government implicitly agrees, with Improving the Flood Performance of New Buildings stating under General Advice for Resilient Design saying: “The main principle is to use durable fittings that are not significantly affected by water and can be easily cleaned (e.g. use of plastic materials; or stainless steel for kitchen units)”. It then goes on to use an illustration of PVC-U skirting – like Eurocell’s Roomline – as an example of resilient fittings.
In this installation video Roger Bisby demonstrates a great product for anyone looking for heating ideas that save space and money. The key is that the Smith’s Space Saver heater runs off the existing central heating.
You’re probably wondering how this tiny little heater is going to heat a kitchen, and you’re almost certainly thinking it’s an electric fan heater — but it isn’t.
This heater connects to the existing central heating system and works just like a radiator in that it comes on and off with the timer settings/controls.
A hydronic plinth heater this product is made up of a heat exchanger (like the radiator in your car), a small fan and some controls. The hot water from your heating system passes through the copper pipe and heat from the water is transferred to the aluminium fins. The fan draws in cooler air; this is heated as it passes over the aluminium fins and the warmed air is pushed into the kitchen. That simple!
A lot of building workers, me included, struggle to do a job wearing gloves. My hands bear testament to the fact. These days it is more or less taken out of your hands, if the site rule is that you wear them then you wear them. But if you are going to wear them you might as well wear some good ones.
Polyco is a British glove manufacturer based in Enfield North London. They makes gloves both here and abroad for all kinds of trades from butchers and bakers to brain surgeons and even make an anti syringe glove, something I would have found invaluable in my early days of plumbing and drain clearing when I sub contracted for an inner city council. I got called into all sorts of dodgy dives and you could never be sure where you were going to turn up a used syringe.
For those of you with more run of the mill requirements Polyco have some excellent builders gloves. The ones I am using in the picture wouldn’t look out of place on Spiderman and, given the fact that they are super grippy, they may well be the ones he uses? They are coated with a kind of sticky rubber very similar to the stuff they use on Formula one tyres and climbing shoes. It makes you want to go off and climb a building. When I say it is sticky that doesn’t mean it picks up dirt, it has a kind of clingy quality. The obvious drawback to these gloves is that you will soon develop sweaty hands wearing these for a prolonged period, so perhaps a pair of their breathable interwoven rubber-coated gloves would suit you better. One thing is sure, they will have a glove for your requirements. Looking through their catalogue, I was amazed to see just how many gloves there are and for jobs including chemical workers and glass handlers. There is also an intriguing little video showing somebody performing conjuring tricks wearing a pair of their gloves. If they allow enough dexterity for a person to make a coin or card appear and disappear from his palm then they will be plenty good enough for the average building worker.
Roger Bisby tries out two Milwaukee Staplers – The 48-22-1010 hand stapler and the 48-22-1020 Hammer Tacker.
Earlier in the year Skill-Builder was given a preview of the new range of Milwaukee hand tools. It makes sense for a company that has a loyal following among tradesemen/women across the world to build on that customer base and bring in a range of well made hand tools. We have seen this with the merger between DeWalt and Stanley so you can expect more and more power tool manufacturers to introduce hand tools. Does it mean that they will be the same quality as their power tools?
Happily these Milwaukee tackers seem to be well made. At first glance I thought they looked a little too delicate for a rough life on a roof but beneath the plastic shrouds are steel bodies and both have a steel striking plate to knock the odd staple down if it hits a knot. You can also pull the staples out with the built in hook. I thought this might be a gimmick but having tried it I found that it works surprisingly well.
The hand stapler has a two mode power setting to prevent staples being drive straight through the surface and it also takes brads. On the highest setting you will find that the stapler achieves a disproportionately powerful action. This is done by altering the lever that re-cocks the powerful spring. The nose of the stapler is chamfered to allow you to staple into corners. It might not always drive the staple fully in at this point but it will stop the sheet riding out of the corner.
Refill
If you are working on a roof and only have one hand free you can refill the staple magazine in either stapler with one hand. Simply turn it upside down and load the staples from the bottom. The brads sit in one side of the magazine but not the other side so you need to get this right and to help you there is a little symbol to show you which side to load. The spring shuttle stays captive so there is no chance of dropping or losing it.
The hammer tacker is more suited to jobs that don’t require a precise positioning of the staples.
It works very well and keeps working without jamming. This is not something you can take for granted. I have tested quite a lot of theses tackers over the year and some suffer from jamming, rust and even, in the case of the Fatmax, magazine spring shuttle flying out. I kid you not there are unbelievably rubbish staplers out there and you wonder how they can get it so wrong. I doubt that Milwaukee makes these staplers but they have chosen well and may well have had considerable input on the design side. It is good to see that they are looking after their brand.
Roger Bisby looks at two 18 volt power tools from Milwaukee.
Judging by the number of new power tools launched by Milwaukee this year they are on a mission to become the leading power tool manufacturer in the U.K and, as if that wasn’t enough, they are also introducing some high-quality hand tools into their range.
Inevitably, with so much choice we have to do a bit of cherry-picking and bring you reviews on the tools we think are likely to be the most popular.
The first tool we are featuring this month is the 18 volt brushless combi drill M18 BL PD-0. It is a compact lightweight general-purpose percussion drill with a 2-speed gearbox and a 13mm chuck.
The 50Nm of torque is not going to handle large hole saws and auger bits but it has enough guts to drill up to 38mm in wood and on the percussion setting 16mm in masonry which is very respectable.
Certainly, you would not be looking for anything bigger to hang radiators and a boiler. The compact dimensions, just 187mm front to back, gets you in between 400-centred joist with no difficulty.
A plumber or electrician would be able to run pipes or cables through joists with plenty of room to spare so he/she may never need to buy a cordless angle drill.
That is a shame because Milwaukee has a very nice one in its range, but more of that another time.
The other tool we are looking at in this review is the 18-volt brushless impact driver, again using the same drive technology. With 170nm of torque, it is no match for larger 18volt impact drivers which top the 100Nms but it is lightweight at 1.4 kg and compact at 137mm front to back.
Again this makes it perfect for the plumber or electrician working in confined spaces. With any impact driver you must use impact driver bits and Milwaukee has a nice range of driver bits but has also branched out with impact driver hole saws for drilling through metal.
They will happily handle stainless steel but don’t expect to get more than 4 or 5 holes out of them on really tough metal.
Both tools can be run off the 4Ah or the new 5Ah Red Lithium Ion batteries. We will be carrying out some runtime tests on the 5Ah battery in the next issue but from our past experience of running the 4Ah to exhaustion (800 screws) we expect to be working late into the day. The run time on these batteries is nothing short of phenomenal.
Roger’s verdict
If you are looking for a drill to use day in day out then this is it. Couple that with the impact driver and you are in tool heaven.
You may still need something heavier from time to time and I would suggest their 18-volt SDS hammer drill, that way you can run everything of the 18-volt platform.
Have you ever seen that trick where they saw a car in half? Well in our case it is no trick, we really did do it and we haven’t had so much fun in ages. In fact to tell you the truth it’s quite addictive. Once you have cut your first car you start looking for other suitable cars and when I say ‘suitable’ I mean ones where the owner has given you permission. That we would say is the number one rule of car cutting, always ask first. Yes we know it is tempting to trim a little off the back of that car which always seems to get parked across your drive but in most countries there are laws against such things.
So, assuming someone gives you the green light, what do you need to perform this trick? One reciprocating saw, one pair of safety goggles and one Irwin Lenox Gold recip saw blade. The last item is really important. The teeth are titanium coated and this helps them last longer and also dissipate heat into the metal you are cutting which help prevent overheating. Once a metal cutting blade over heats it is pretty much done for so using the best blade you can buy is an economy because you will only need one to cut the average car in half.
What really amazed us in our test was not only just how quick and easy it was to cut through the metal body work of the car but that the blade also did a perfect job of cutting through the laminated screen. Laminated windscreens are made up of two pieces of glass with a thin film of clear plastic sandwiched in between. Since they are specifically designed to stay intact during a collision you might reasonably assume that cutting through one would be tough going. Not so, which is why fire and rescue services the world over use them to cut the roofs off crashed vehicles. The Lenox gold blade saves them having to change blades mid way through the job and in their case that could be the difference between life and death. Fortunately for us the stakes weren’t so high, it was just a good day out and a fun way to test out an industrial grade power tool accessory. We also tested the blades through a whole range of other materials such as iron pipe and square section steel. It wasn’t half so much fun but it is the sort of thing that builders, electricians and plumbers do daily and as our site is called ‘skill-builder’ and not ‘car cutters’ we felt duty bound to do it.
Every diamond blade manufacturer claims to have a blade that cuts everything but we all know that no blade can be optomised for best performance in all materials. If it performs well on one material it will perform less well on another. Usually the division is between hard and soft and Husqvarna has acknowledged that fact in giving you the choice of a blade that is optomised for hard and one for soft and one in the middle that will cut both hard and soft but not as well as a specialist blade.
That said they have a very interesting ( I think unique) design feature that makes their new Varicut blade stand out from the crowd. If you look closely at the teeth you will see that one has segments and the next one has smoother edges. The idea is that the segments increase the speed by clearing the material and straight edge teeth are made to increase the life by cutting the material but not clearing it. In essence you are talking about an idea that has it’s origons in chainsaw teeth where you have a cutting tooth followed by a raker. The fact that Huqvarna make chainsaws may have something to do with this line of thought but it may equally have nothing to do with it. What is apparent is that the blade cuts well, not only on their K70 saw but also on other petrol cut-off saws.
We have had the blade out on site for a few weeks now and it is doing well. Interestingly the guys are telling me that it isn’t quite as fast as the blade they have been using but it cuts well and seems to resist wearing. It is a hard job to persuade them to use a little water on the blade which would help keep down the dust and cool it but that is a common problem among operators, nobody it seems wants the mess of a wet slurry around the cutting area but I have found that the tiniest spray of water is sufficient to damp down the dust and stop it flying. It would help if Husqvarna could make their water delivery systems run from a pump on the saw rather than relying on hand pumping bottles the pump could then run when the blade is turning and not when it is standing still.
Roger Bisby visits Gledhill in Blackpool and finds products that are British through and through.
Earlier in the year when I fitted an unvented Gledhill horizontal solar cylinder into an eaves cupboard I really had no idea how much design and work went into making that item. In the building industry we fit a lot of products and like it or not you have to trust the process. But for me there is nothing like seeing inside the guts of a product to boost your confidence in it and when that product is made in Britain I also feel that warm glow of partiotic pride even if I had nothing at all to do with the making of the product. Funny that but then I have known the family run business of Gledhill for many years, as have most plumbers of a certain age. Back in the day if you needed a non standard copper cylinder for a pipe for pipe replacement you could give them a sketch with a few dimensions and they would make it almost while you waited. In fact they would sometimes say “Go off and get yourself some breakfast” and provided you didn’t rush they would have the cylinder ready to go when you returned. What surprised me in these days of stainless steel is that Gledhill still has a thriving business making specials. Now of course with emails and instant photographs you can communicate your requirements a lot more easily than turning up with a bit of paper. This business, like their stock cylinders, is channelled exclusively through merchants but plumbers in a hurry still turn up to collect the order.
While the satellite Gledhill branches concentrate on copper, the main factory in Blackpool makes stainless steel cylinders of the vented and unvented variety. Actually the biggest difference between vented and unvented is the kit that comes with it. The stainless steel and the welds for a vented cylinder are identical to an unvented and you get the same 25 year guarantee. In these days of cheap Chinese cylinders I asked what more the Gledhill cylinders offer? I was taken on a tour of the pickling plant. This is where the cylinders are chemically cleaned to make sure that nothing contaminates the welds. This pickling is an essential process if you are to guarantee a leak free life but it costs money and is not done on many cheap imported cylinders.
The welds on the bosses are also state of the art, carried out automatically and unseen by lasers inside a chamber. The coils, however, are configured by hand and secured to frames to stop them rattling. With water being pumped through the corrugations at speed it would be all too easy for a cylinder to rattle if this detail was neglected.
The corrugated stainless coils are easy to wind around by hand but the real reason for using them as opposed to machine bent coils is that they are 20% more efficient than plain tube, partly due to the greater surface area but also to the way the water pulses through the corrugations. I was shown other areas of the factory and not allowed to take photographs. Presumably those Chinese readers of Professional Builder scour our pages looking for trade secrets. They are safe with me, my lips are sealed which, anyone who knows me can testify, is a rare thing. What I will say is that there is a lot more to Gledhill cylinders than meets the eye. They take the quality of their product very seriously and are constantly looking for ways of improving it, and I am pleased to say they have expanded the operation in recent years, acquiring land and building a new production area. It is still owned by the Gledhill family and they are very much hands on. I had a good chat about plumbing and heating and was surprised by how much knowledge they have built up on everything from solid fuel to solar. You might think that is a given but it is by no means universal with manufacturers of plumbing products, sometimes they know very little of the world outside their factory gates and care even less. So discovering people who have a passion for their products is reassuring and made visiting their Blackpool factory a real pleasure.
Roger Bisby reports on a job where Ecotherm’s Ecoliner saved the day.
We hear a lot about reducing our carbon footprint and saving money on fuel bills but the most noticeable and immediate benefit of insulation is the increased comfort levels. Yes it makes you feel instantly warmer, who knew?
The community hall in our case study had the reputation of being a chilly unwelcoming place on a winter’s evening. The overhead gas fired radiant heaters were usually switched on just before the session began and switched off fairly rapidly thereafter. They heater would roast the top of your head nicely but the ambient temperature in the cavernous hall was still low and that chill was hard to overcome.
A quick survey with a thermal camera revealed that the roof was well insulated and the top half of the building, which was tile hung timber frame, responded quickly to the heaters. This was due to the fact that it had a low thermal mass. The real cold spots were the floor, which would be very difficult to do anything about and the dense concrete blocks which formed the lower 2 metres of the structure. The wall had 50mm cavity filled with Rockwool insulation bat which did some good but it was really the ability of that concrete to store cold during the long periods when the hall was not in use that made it feel like stepping into a fridge. People often commented that it was warmer outdoors than in. The ladies yoga class, in particular complained that it took them an hour to warm up by which time the class was nearly over. The prime spots in the hall were in the middle and late comers always found themselves next to an outside wall of which there were three.
Several solutions were costed and put before the committee and the eventual winner was Ecoliner from Ecotherm. This thermal laminate board comes in various thickness’s and can be applied with dot and dab adhesive. The tapered boards can be taped and filled by dry liners but the plasterer was old school and preferred to skim the lot with Thistle Board Finish. Apart from anything else it meant there would be no sanding and the decorating would be more straightforward.
They had been given a very narrow time window to be in and out.
There are two version of the board available. The foil backed board is suitable for mechanical fix and the glass fibre backing foil is suitable for dot and dab.
Ecotherm recommends dot and dab board adhesive but the builder persuaded the plasterer to give Fix a Foam a try on some of the boards where the walls were sufficiently true and plumb, which was by no means all of them. The foam adhesive worked out to be quicker and cheaper than the drywall adhesive and it made less mess. Did that mean that the plasterer would abandon board adhesive and invest in a foam gun? Well you would have thought, but old habits die hard and the building industry is notoriously slow to change. It is almost as if plasterers don’t trust anything that isn’t applied with a hawk and trowel. Well you can’t win ’em all but the Ecoliner worked a treat. The ladies Yoga class were full of praise and the Tuesday afternoon watercolour class were also able to take off a layer or two. I say steady on.
Most people have some idea what an infra red thermometer does and also what a thermal imaging camera does but this tool sits somewhere between the two, explains Roger Bisby of the Bosch GIS 1000 C.
I don’t mind admitting that it took me a while to work out exactly what the Bosch GIS 1000 does for a living. I could have read the marketing document but I like to put myself in the place of the average building worker who has to try and figure out what the device does by reading the instruction booklet alone. It isn’t easy, these things are written by people who know what the device does and they should be written by someone like me or you.
I like to put myself in the place of the average building worker who has to try and figure out what the device does by reading the instruction booklet alone
Most people have some idea what an infra red thermometer does and also what a thermal imaging camera does but this tool sits somewhere between the two. It takes pictures and it also gives thermal readings between the two dots that are projected by the lasers but it is what it does with this information that makes it different to either of those instruments.
Looks for variations
There are a lot of things you can do by measuring heat and lack of it. In the same way a doctor will determine the health of a patient by taking their temperature this device also looks for variations. Uniquely it is task based rather than simply being a data harvester. If for example you are trying to trace cold bridging in a loft conversion it will take temperatures of the average surfaces and spot any deviation and by taking the relative humidity in the room and the ambient temperature compared to the cold spots it can tell you where the dew point is likely to be. Of course you may already have spotted this by the black mould on the plaster but if you need hard information to settle a dispute or make a claim on the contractors for not installing the insulation the collected data can be downloaded onto a computer and incorporated in a report.
You can also find leaks in underfloor heating and flat roofs by using a similar method of measuring the average and the localised variations.
A plumber can use the device for tracing out buried pipework whether hot or cold and an electrician can spot hot spots on a consumer board.
One of the features I particularly like is the ability to set parameters that will set off an alarm on the detector if they are exceeded. This means you can run the device quickly up and down a plant room and immediately find any variations. In industry this kind of pre-emptive maintenance is common place. If a bearing is about to fail is will usually start to warm up or vibrate.
Having started out slightly clueless I am beginning to warm to this elegant device. It is a good deal cheaper than a thermal imaging camera
Having started out slightly clueless I am beginning to warm to this elegant device. It is a good deal cheaper than a thermal imaging camera, admittedly it doesn’t give you much in the way of those pretty pictures with the reds and oranges swirling around the windows but it gives you all that information and more and you don’t have to be a scientist to work out what it all means.
I also like that it comes in a protective case with a zip because one thing I had found with all these computer based measuring instruments is that they don’t like being dropped or kicked around the site. Look after it, get it out when you need it and put it away when you are done and it will go a long time before it need re-calibrating.
There are plenty of trades who would find the Werner Podium step ladder useful including plumbers, decorators and heating and ventilation fitters, says Roger Bisby as he puts the product to the test.
Two days before I got to test these Werner Podium step ladder I was using a pair of ordinary steps and climbed a little higher than I should have. I was up on the second to top tread and reaching up to mount a PIR detector. Ordinarily, I would have said, that my sense of balance is good enough to do this but on that particular day I had a head cold which blocked my sinuses and, I suppose, my sense of balance was put out slightly. And that was all it took, a slight wooziness as I reached the top, and I lurched uncontrollably forward dropping the drill and just managing to steady myself on the wall. The householder saw my narrow escape and called out in horror expecting me to dive head first onto her lovely tiled floor. It was embarrassing it might also have hurt or far worse. I know a bloke who took a head first dive from a similar height and hit the concrete. He can no longer work and has never recovered enough mental capacity to cross the road on his own. He also talks very slowly.
So when the Werner Podium ladder arrived I was ‘up for it’ in a way I might not have previously been and it reminded me that everyone who relies on luck will find the limit, unless of course it finds them first.
The top platform gives you a comfortable standing space from which you can work on all points around the compass.
The design of the Podium means that you should never rise above your workstation. The top platform gives you a comfortable standing space from which you can work on all points around the compass. The guard rail is there to steady yourself while you use both hands to get on with the job. The rail also has a storage hole for a drill and can take a clip on bucket.
The Podium is a very sturdy Fibreglass ladder certified for trade use. The non-conductive components make it suitable for electricians but it is by no means exclusively aimed at electricians. There are plenty of trades who would find such a ladder useful including plumbers, decorators and heating and ventilation fitters.
As good as this ladder is you still need to keep in mind that it is possible to topple it if you over-reach or start trying to do things you shouldn’t such as climbing up on the hand rail. The golden rule is to keep three points in contact with the ladder. That is both feet and some part of your middle body. See our Youtube channel for more tips on how to stay alive when using ladders.
You can also improve the stability by placing the ladder on a flat board provided there is no bounce in it. There are five sizes in the range with the effective reach based on a person of 5ft 9inches standing on the platform. We all know of course that there is no one ladder that can suit every job but if you regularly carry out a particular task at a known height then you can work out which size is best for you. For me the mid range 6 foot ladder giving a working height of up to 11ft 9 inches would get a lot of use.
Roger Bisby tests the Hitachi DH25 DAL cordless SDS hammer drill.
Hitachi is a power tool manufacturer that often gets overlooked for hammer drills. I see their saws out on site and they do well with the cordless combis but from that evidence alone they don’t seem to have the same share of the hammer market. When you compare the price of their 25.2 volt to others on the market it is often considerably cheaper. This is partly due to the fact that they don’t have a brushless motor in this class and partly due to the fact that they supply it with 2 x 2 AmHr batteries while many others are packaging 4AmHr batteries. That low price doesn’t mean you are looking at a throw-away drill. This tool comes with a 3 year warranty.
If you are happy with the reduced runtime of 2AmHr then this tool gets you into cordless hammers at what some might call the entry level. That doesn’t mean it underperforms. There is plenty of punch in this machine but it doesn’t have the detached ant vibration handle that some other hammers have so it is clearly not aimed at someone who is putting in fixings all day every day.
There is also a little switch on the handle that reduces the power. This will increase the run time but it also saves damaging small diameter SDS bits 5mm or less which really don’t warrant full hammer from a drill of this size . The only other place I might use reduced hammer power is for delicate breaking out and chipping. If, for example, you want to chip a little bit off a brick to enlarge a whole rather than split the brick in two this setting would help achieve that but that is not about saving power more reducing it. Hitachi advises against using the power save mode on SDS wood bits which require a lot of torque. If you do use the power save mode on high torque it can cause the motor to stall which then causes burn out.
Who is it for?
It is a tool for the jobbing builder, plumber, electrician and window fitter because it has a non hammer rotary position that allows you to use it with a chuck adaptor (not supplied) as well as using in on hammer with an SDS bit. Crucially it also has a rotary stop so you can use it for chipping. It is not intended for breaking up concrete and it might struggle chasing out a strong screed mix but hacking off tiles, chasing out internal skins for pipes and cable and cutting in back boxes is are right up its street.
Battery exclusivity
Strangely the 25.2 battery is not shared by other tools in the Hitachi range so you can’t build on this platform as you might with an 18 volt drill. This is proof perhaps that Hitachi does things a little differently rather than following the herd. This may be the reason why they are not quite as prevalent in the cordless SDS hammer sector as in other sectors is but if you are happy to have a tool that has its own exclusive batteries and charger and still leave you with a sizeable chunk of money in your back pocket then this tool is well worth a closer look.
Roger Bisby revisits the ICS diamond chainsaw and discovers a new twist.
The ICS diamond chainsaw cuts through both skins of a cavity wall which, as we all know, is something you can’t achieve with a cut-off saw or angle grinder.
A Different Cut
All too often you can get partway through but you then have that awkward bit where you have to go inside and complete the cut.
Cutting the opening entirely from outside has obvious advantages in keeping the dust and debris out of the building but diamond chains cost more than diamond blades so many builders are reluctant to make the investment in the technology.
EC Hopkins, the UK master distributor for ICS products and the ICS Diamond chainsaw, has come up with a solution in a diamond blade that allows you to make a pre-cut through the outer skin with a petrol cut off saw and then use the diamond chainsaw to complete the cut. If like me you are thinking that this is reinventing the wheel you are both right and wrong.
ICS Diamond Chainsaw Blades
Diamond blades have been around for years but the ones we all use are way too thin to open a cut wide enough for the chain to follow up and too narrow a cut will wear the sides of the chain rather than the diamond tips.
The blade sold by Hopkins is 6mm wide, more like those used for raking out pointing. This gives a cut wide enough to allow the diamond chain to do its work on the second half of the wall. If this is aircrete block you will be through it in seconds.
In fact, I started thinking that you could get through it with block saw but it will take you some time and looking at the price of block saws it might actually end up costing more per cut.
Water Lubrication
The chain requires water to lubricate it and wash the debris out of the cut. We prepared for a flood but the total amount of water caught in our polythene was about two wet and dry vacuum cleaners worth, hardly enough to worry about.
I should also mention that the cavity was filled with Rockwool, which I thought might clog the chain but it must have been mashed up so fine that it didn’t even show in the waste water.
The only other potentially messy bit was inside the building. If you cut through the wall you will lay a thin line of dirty water down on the floor.
The best way to avoid this is to set the depth of the cut so it goes through the masonry but leaves the plaster intact. This is easy enough to do but you could hang a sheet of polythene up inside if you are worried.
Final Cut
Once the cut is complete you can then break the plaster line with a bolster. It is surgery of the least invasive type and the clean-cut means that you aren’t in danger of knocking the building about.
The only other point I should mention is that, unlike wood cutting chains, the diamond chain needs to be slack so the debris can drop out with the water rather than running around the drive cog and bar. When the job is done you need to dry the chain with a rag and spray it with WD40 or a similar silicone spray.
ICS 695 vs Cut’n’Break
Take a look at the ICS 695XL Petrol Diamond Chainsaw in this comparison video.
Snickers’ range of work gloves are designed to cope with the harshest of weather conditions.
From tough, hard-wearing ‘Weather Essential’ gloves to ‘Weather Cut Protection’ gloves, the Snickers products are designed to keep users’ hands properly protected and warm.
There are eight different styles in the range, including the ‘Weather Dry’ glove, which is made from advanced materials in a bid to deliver precise dexterity, friction and grip even in wet, cold and slippery conditions.
According to Snickers, all the gloves will keep users’ hands warm and protected in any working environment.
For more information on the work gloves call the Snickers Helpline on 01484 854788, checkout the website and download a digital catalogue at www.snickersworkwear.co.uk or email info@snickersworkwear.co.uk.
New from Scruffs is the Scruffs Classic Thermo Parka which the company says is perfect for tradesmen who aren’t afraid of rain, snow or the cold when it comes to getting the job done.
Not only will the Scruffs Classic Thermo Parka turn heads on and off the site, but with a waterproof rating of 4500mm, a fully padded bubble quilted lining and a high collar, wearers can head out into the great British outdoors, certain that they can tackle the elements in comfort.
The Scruffs Classic Thermo Parka features reinforced Cordura elbow panels, functional and secure interior and exterior pockets and reflective detailing along with a removable fur trim and detachable hood. It is available in red or dark lead.RRP: £79.95
For information and dealers, go to www.scruffs.com
