Skill Builder Guides & reviews for building and construction

Origin the UK manufacturer of bi-folding doors, windows and blinds, has added a selection of Origin blinds to its Origin Home range. Designed to fit every door and window type, from bi-folds and French Doors through to bay and gable windows, the new range includes six different styles; Electric Roller Blinds, Pleated Blinds, Roman Blinds, Glamour Blinds, Venetian Blinds, and …

Not usually a “wellies man”, Roger Bisby is pleasantly surprised by the new Grubs boots. The only issue he seems likely to have is keeping hold of them. If  a family has been making footwear since 1776  you can safely assume they have worked out how to do it. The Foster family has not only produced an impressive number of  inventions such …

The new Makita Dust Extractor, the VC3012M M-Class Dust Extractor removes 99.9% of dust with Limit Value for occupational exposure >0.1mg/m³.  This means that the Makita dust extractor achieves performance levels better than the minimum legal limit for dust extraction when working with hazardous materials including silica sand in brick, masonry, concrete, gypsum and wood dusts and plastic composites. The …

Two scaffolders from St Austell, Cornwall have received suspended prison sentences after a worker fell 7m to his death. Roger Stoddern, 47 (pictured), was dismantling scaffolding on 24 June 2013, when he fell from a flat roof of a property in St Mawes. He was taken to Derriford Hospital but died three weeks later due to the severity of his …

A Surrey construction company has been fined after a contractor was run over on a large site in Wokingham. David Cole was a site foreman on the large housing development project, which started in April 2013 and has a completion date of April 2017. He was struck by and pulled under a large bulk powder carrier. On 7 December 2014 …

Makita has introduced a new operating mode with the launch of its latest 18v Brushless motor impact driver. The new Makita DTD170 impact driver is technically a 6-function impact driver, with four speeds and matched impact power. T-Mode is used for tightening self-drilling Tek screws and when in the new A-Mode (Assist mode) rotation is started slowly allowing maximum control …

Bosch is joining forces with Klauke to deliver high-performance 18 V batteries for all of Klauke’s Next Generation battery-operated hydraulic pressing and cutting tools. These batteries will have a running time of 2.0 or 5.0 Ah depending on the model. They are part of the Bosch Flexible Power System and are compatible with all of Bosch’s professional cordless tools and …

Two thirds of SME house builders are struggling to find land for development, according to new research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). For the second year in a row, the FMB’s annual House Builders’ Survey has shown a lack of available and viable land as the biggest barrier to SMEs delivering more new homes. Two-thirds of SME house …

An unregistered gas fitter has been ordered to complete 250 hours of community service for illegally installing a LPG gas boiler and hob at a Newquay home as well as producing fraudulent documentation. Dean Marshall, aged 47, of Dukes Way, Newquay, installed the gas boiler and gas hob at a property on Chynowen Lane, Newquay several years after his registration …

Saint Gobain promises that as well as being rain resistant, webermineral TF, a through-coloured, thin coat, decorative render finish, designed for use with multi-coat render systems can be applied at temperatures as low as 1°C. The cementitious, even textured render has rapid drying benefits that can prevent wash-off in 1 hour making it good for winter working and achieves a …

Valero Energy UK Limited has been fined £400, 000 following a serious accident at its Pembroke Refinery. Judge Peter Heywood sitting at Swansea Crown Court heard the Berth 6 access tower walkway that provided gangway access to a stationary tanker vessel on 5 March 2012 had dropped 3.5 metres, causing operator David Thomas to be trapped by a slack wire rope. He …

All highline Volkswagen Amarok models registered from now until the end of September come with a factory-fit RNS 315 satellite navigation system as well as a choice of two chrome packs with a number of competitive finance offers available. Customers can get a top-of-the-range Amarok Highline 2.0-litre Bi-TDI 180 PS with sat nav on Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ Solutions Personal Contract …

Two thirds of SME house builders are yet to see any significant changes to their project pipelines in the wake of Brexit, new research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has revealed. The survey – which is the first to be conducted among SME house builders since the EU referendum – found that 69% of firms are yet to …

Since our first look at Speedskim the range is now being distributed by Ox Tools. It is fair to say that the Speedskim is not for everyone as some plasterers simply could not adapt to it but for those plasterers who have embraced it the main benefit is they can complete the laying down of finish plaster without the trowel. …

High performance, made-to-order wooden windows and doors have been specified by a leading London-based property developer who has  chosen Lomax + Wood for their most recent project in Wimbledon, South West London. The four-storey, period style private residence, which includes a converted basement and contemporary light wells, is built of brick with lavish use of stone to back and front …

Roger Bisby takes delivery of two Swiss made heavy wrecking bars and goes in search of jobs that need this kind of leverage.

Ian Anfield, managing director for construction audit, contract and payroll provider, Hudson Contract, comments on recent talk of a recession in light of the Brexit vote and  considers the state of the construction industry post-Brexit. “Whether we’re entering a recession or not is a big talking point at the moment. Certainly, we at Hudson Contract have seen that the number …

Although they’re not the cheapest models on the market, Roger Bisby finds the Scangrip Nova work lights are built to last. Two or three (time flies) years ago I went to review some Scangrip LED work lights which shine their powerful beam under the name of Nova. I was so impressed that I bought a pair together with stands and …