Turn Your Ideas into Reality Urges Gripfit Fixings Founder

Travis Perkins Innovation Awards

Jordan Daykin, the owner of GripIt fixings and the greatest success on Dragons’ Den to date, is urging fellow inventors and entrepreneurs who work in trade professions to turn their great ideas into reality by entering the Travis Perkins Innovation Awards (TPIA) before the 30th June deadline. Now a £14 million business, Jordan and his GripIt fixings are a testament …

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The Cladman One Man Cladding Device

the Cladman

Roger Bisby meets James Gibbons, from Sitebuddyz, suppliers of a device called the Cladman which turns the job of putting up sidings or claddings from a two man job into a one man job. With one person cutting and one person fixing, Sitbuddyz estimates you can complete jobs at three times the speed it normally takes. Acting as a second …

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Kingspan Tribune Xe Indirect Cylinder Installation

Kingspan Tribune Xe Direct Cylinder

Pre-plumbed cylinders are usually the choice for new build where they have plenty of people to move the units into the airing cupboards before fitting the doors but I like the look of them and I  had already decided that on my next cylinder installation I was going to try a pre-plumbed unit. It isn’t that I find it difficult …

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Retecflex Re 14-5-115 review

Retecflex Re 14-5-115

Roger Bisby grinds it out with the Retecflex from Flex. In essence this Retecflex grinder and sander is an angle grinder with a fancy dust extractor attachment permanently attached to its side but it is no ordinary angle grinder. It is a 1400 watt German built angle grinder with electronic speed control, soft start and restart protection so it doesn’t …

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Most considerate construction companies named

Considerate Constructors

Costain, Gentoo Construction, Robert Woodhead Ltd and Walter Thompson (Contractors) have each been awarded the  title of Most Considerate Site at the Considerate Constructors Scheme’s 2016 National Site Awards. It is the first time that four sites have won the accolade, following the introduction of ‘value bands’ which means sites are assessed against projects of similar value including: Under £500k; …

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Scaffold company fined for safety failings

Construction deaths rise

A Scaffold company in Bridgend has been fined for safety failings following a routine inspection. Llanelli Magistrates’ Court heard how OW Scaffolding was working at Heol y Parc, Cefneithin when they had a routine inspection which highlighted several safety failings. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 30 September 2015 found that …

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Balfour Beatty fined £2.6 million after worker killed in trench

Construction deaths rise

Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions has been fined £2.6 million after an employee was killed when the trench he was working in collapsed on him in Lancashire. On the 14 April 2010, James Sim, a 32-year-old  sub-contractor working on behalf of Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, was working in a trench, laying ducting for new cable for an offshore windfarm that was …

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Worker loses life after roof fall

Construction deaths rise

A Birmingham maintenance company has been fined after a worker died after falling 14 foot from the roof of a five-storey building. Birmingham Crown Court heard how H20 Plumbing Services Limited were contracted to carry out repairs to two motor rooms situated on the roof of a building on Hagley Road, Birmingham. Two workers set up a station immediately outside …

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Brickies Most in Demand of Construction Workers

Small builders

Salaries for small building firms are soaring as a result of the growing skills shortage with brickies able to demand the highest wages, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Brickies wages reach £60,000 in London Commenting on the results of the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q1 2016, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “More …

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Demolition company fined for unsafe work at height

Construction deaths rise

A demolition company from Nottinghamshire has been fined for safety failings following a report to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard how Prodem Demolition and Asbestos Limited were removing tiles from a domestic property when they were reported to the HSE for unsafe work at height activity. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) …

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Bostik launches All Weather Wide Jointing Compound

Bostik All-Weather Wide Jointing Compound

Bostik has launched a new All Weather Wide Jointing Compound for paths and patios, specially formulated for use in wet and dry weather conditions. Suitable for joints from 5mm to 30mm in width, the new jointing compound requires no mixing or special tools during installation; it can simply be brushed and compacted into the joints. Once cured, it forms a …

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Volkswagen Amarok Gets Facelift and V6 Engine

New Volkswagen Amarok

The new Volkswagen Amarok is set to feature the latest generation of Volkswagen V6 engines meaning drivers can look forward to an additional litre of displacement offered by the 3.0-litre engine. The new engine will deliver 550 Nm of torque and has an output of 224 PS. Offering high torque at low engine speeds, the six-cylinder engine is said to produce …

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How to: Lay Knauf Brio dry screed boards

Knauf Brio dry screed boards

Roger Bisby lays some Knauf Brio dry screed flooring. Although it is perfectly possible to use warm water underfloor heating with timber and floating floors it is generally acknowledged that there is a loss of  thermal transmission compared to  pipe buried in sand and cement screeds. Knauf Brio dry screed board bring thermal transmission comparable with wet screed system in …

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Stylish safety boots

Stylish safety boots

Three new models have been added to Italian premium safety footwear brand Aimont’s  Trucker range of stylish safety boots. The combination of safety, strength and reliability and a deep tread pattern that allows optimum grip on all types of surface is said to distinguish the fashionable Trucker Iceland and Scotland boots and Galles shoes. They also feature composite, rather than …

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Daylight Robbery – How Many Windows Can You Have?

how many windows

Roger Bisby discusses the history of the window in building design and considers how modern property developers and homeowners can satisfy their lust for light. The window tax was the not so bright idea of  William III aka William of Orange. It was introduced in 1696 and, despite being a very unpopular tax, remained in force until 1851.  Those who could …

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Exeter roofing company fined after roof light fall

Construction deaths rise

A roofing company based in Exeter has been fined after an employee fell through a roof light. North and East Devon Magistrates’ Court heard how an employee of Haran Limited fell approximately three metres to the ground below. He suffered injuries to his head, wrist and hip. He and two colleagues had been working on an asbestos cement roof in …

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Isuzu launches truck for all terrain

Isuzu AT35

Isuzu has bolstered the D-Max line-up with the launch of an extreme version. The new Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 is engineered to take on the most arduous terrain, according to the manufacturer. Available in either double-cab or extended-cab configurations, Isuzu says the AT35 is the most capable pick-up it has ever put on sale. It is priced from £30,995. …

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