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Electricians pay rise agreed

Roger Bisby
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Electricians pay rise agreed

The electrical contracting industry has agreed a wage deal which will amount to a 10.25% pay rise over four years to take effect from January 2017.

This is the first time that an agreement spanning four years has been determined between trade union Unite and the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA).

Some of the key changes to be implemented include:

  • Wage increases of 2% in 2017, 2.5% in 2018, 2.75% in 2019 and 3% in 2020.
  • Introduction of a new mileage allowance and mileage rate to replace travel allowance and travelling time (subject to HMRC acceptance)
  • Periodic return fares on jobs over 100 and up to 200 miles to be paid every two weeks, to bring them in line with the other return fares
  • Annual holidays to increase to 23 days in 2019 and 24 days in 2020, with these additional days being paid at normal earnings level
  • Employers to pay for CompEx courses where it is a specific requirement of the operative’s role
  • Encouragement of the recruitment of apprentices.

ECA chief negotiator, Paul McNaughton, said: “I’m pleased with the outcome of the negotiations – it’s all the more welcome as it provides certainty at a time of considerable uncertainty in the wider economy. Having a four-year settlement gives the ECA, together with Unite, the opportunity to achieve agreement on wider long-term changes which are necessary to modernise the industry.”

Unite National Officer, Bernard McAulay, said: “Our members have voted to accept a four-year wages and conditions settlement that will deliver industrial relations stability in a very difficult economic climate. The electrical contracting industry is changing at a pace and now is the time for the parties to address the challenges of tomorrow, ensuring our members are at the forefront of installing the latest hi-tech equipment which is central to delivering the next generation of low carbon buildings in the UK.”

The Joint Industry Board facilitated discussions between the two parties and has published full details of the agreement. To download the document visit www.jib.org.uk

D-MAX Arctic Trucks AT35 to go on sale

Dylan Garton
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D-MAX Arctic Trucks AT35 to go on sale

From the 25th July the all-new Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 will be available to order in the UK.

The pick-up truck which is based on the D-Max model, is the result of close technical collaboration between Isuzu and Arctic Trucks, a company with a 25 year history in Iceland and Scandinavia as a developer of 4×4 vehicles.

Isuzu describes the AT35 as the most robust and capable pick-up it has ever created. The original 2.5-litre D-Max engine is retained, while a number of significant chassis changes have been carried out by Arctic Trucks.

Arctic Trucks brings experience of creating vehicles for all conditions, from severe off-road to the sub-zero, an area in which Isuzu has its own proven success as its D-Max is the best-selling pick-up in the undulating and snow-covered Scandinavian country. In Iceland, Arctic Trucks has enhanced the D-Max for rescue and highland utility work. This experience is said to have heavily influenced the creation of the AT35.

The AT35 retains the one-tonne payload and 3.5-tonne towing (braked) capacities that have helped make the Isuzu D-Max one of the most popular pick-ups for those seeking an exceptional workhorse with low running costs.

It will be the first Arctic Trucks pick-up in the UK that can be ordered directly from a vehicle manufacturer’s authorised dealer network. Available in either double-cab or extended-cab configurations, the AT35 is priced from £30,999 for the extended-cab and from £33,499 for the double-cab configuration.

isuzu.co.uk

Senco compressed air range review

Roger Bisby
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Senco compressed air range review

Roger Bisby looks at some products from the Senco compressed air tool range including the Senco SLP 20XP 18 gauge brad nailer.

Every time I review an air tool I start by making the case for using compressed air. In the U.K it is an under valued resource but elsewhere it is a major player. I have been on American sites where they run a ring main air hose around the whole site so you can use grab a spur and plug your hose in.

On a smaller scale you will be looking at a single tool por table compressor. So in this case the only down side of an air tool is the need to have a compressor and hose but once you make that modest investment you are looking at ultra reliable, low cost, lightweight tools with outstanding power.

They are used in factories throughout the world because there is really very little to wear out so they go on working day in day out for a very long time. Pallet manufacturers for example often have tools that are twenty years old.

I will be looking at a number of Senco air tools over the coming months but here I want to start by looking at a small portable compressor and a brad nailer. You can consider it to be a starter kit for air heads. The PC 0968 compressor has sufficient capacity for running finish nailers and even with the two stacked cylinders adding up to 9 litres it is lightweight and easy to carry weighing 17 kilos.

As compressors go it is fairly quiet and as it draws just 8 amps on start up you won’t be tripping circuit breakers. This Senco SLP 20XP 18 gauge brad nailer, has just two ‘O’ rings and can be serviced in minutes with one Allen key and the 2 ring service pack from Senco. Compared to a gas nailer or even an electric nailer you are talking about simplicity itself. This is borne out by the fact that it comes with a 4 year warranty. This is fundamentally a brad nailer for small moulding etc. but it takes brads between 16 and 41 mm so it is more than capable of fixing architraves and kitchen trims particularly if you are simply holding them while the adhesive sets. You can use a slight-head brad or a lost head pin and you can adjust driving depth by turning the compressor outlet pressure up or down. Once you have set it with a couple of test drives it is very consistent. The side loading magazine is very easy to use and allows you to line up another size brad before the the first clip is exhausted.

The nailer is oiless so you don’t have to worry about tiny oil droplets staining hardwoods.

www.senco.com

Thousands to be made from sharing homes, parking spaces and power tools

Roger Bisby
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Thousands to be made from sharing homes, parking spaces and power tools

Households could be generating an extra £3,000 per year by sharing their homes, cars, parking spaces and even power tools according to online parking marketplace  YourParkingSpace and Rent my Items.

YourParkingSpace, which enables homeowners to rent out their spare parking spaces and driveways has reported that 1 in 3 adults are already using digital sharing economy platforms to make money from their underused assets and that figure is set to grow.

“The introduction of digital apps has made it far easier for individuals to connect and share items that they don’t make full use of and we’ve seen a surge in the numbers of people using our service over the past couple of years, explained Harrison Woods, managing director at Your Parking Space.

The digital start-up, which has been scaling its listings quickly, now advertises over 250,000 parking spaces across the UK, up 40 per cent from the same time a year ago.  Demand for parking spaces through the site is also on the rise with an additional 70,000 new motorists registering to book parking spaces in the past 6 months.

The UK is ranked as having the third largest sharing economy in the world, currently worth £500 million it is projected that it could jump to £9 billion by 2025. Platforms such as Store Mates allow people to rent out their rooms or cupboard to people who need storage space, with a large cupboard renting for around £10.00 a week. Whereas Rent my Items enables people to rent out their bikes, BBQ’s and power tools for between £20.00 – £50.00 a time.

As from April 2017 those renting out their underused assets such as driveways and parking spaces will find it even easier to do so with the Government announcing a tax break for those using sharing economy platforms.

“We’re going to help the new world of micro-entrepreneurs who sell services online or rent out their homes through the internet,” said Chancellor George Osborne in his annual Budget speech earlier this year.

“Our tax system should be helping these people so I’m introducing two new tax-free allowances each worth £1,000 a year, for both trading and property income. There will be no forms to fill in, no tax to pay – it’s a tax break for the digital age and at least half a million people will benefit.”

Harrison Woods, Managing Director of YourParkingSpace, commented, “It’s great to see the UK Government acknowledging the significance of the sharing economy.  It’s big business that will expand significantly over the coming years and support the UK economy, which is good news for everybody.”

May wrong to “cut green crap”

Roger Bisby
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May wrong to “cut green crap”

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) had said Theresa May’s decision to scrap the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is alarming as it signals that improving the energy efficiency of our existing buildings has been pushed ever-further down the list of Government priorities.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “Three years ago Cameron told his officials to “cut the green crap” and May has taken this further still by dissolving DECC. This means that there will be no Cabinet-level Minister championing climate change issues at the highest level of Government, which is bound to result in less emphasis and less action. Andrea Leadsom’s appointment as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provides little solace when you consider that she has regularly voted against measures to tackle climate change in the past. This matters because for May’s newly-formed Government to side-line its green policies, would be to sacrifice their numerous economic benefits.”

Berry continued: “May should make improving our existing buildings an infrastructure investment priority as the knock-on benefits for jobs and growth are enormous. A programme to make British buildings more energy efficient would generate £8.7 billion of net benefits. This is comparable to the benefits delivered by the first phase of HS2, Crossrail, smart meter roll out, or investment in new roads. And unlike these large infrastructure projects, work to improve our existing buildings is not at the mercy of the lengthy and protracted planning process – work could start tomorrow.”

Berry concluded: “We welcome the appointment of Justine Greening as Secretary of State for Education with responsibility for skills and apprentices, which previously came under the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. We hope that she continues the good work of Nick Boles in improving the quality of apprenticeships, which will in turn help elevate their status so that they are recognised by society as of equal worth to university degrees. Greening has a solid background in transport and treasury briefs which will no doubt help her understand the importance of having a properly skilled construction workforce. As we face the prospect of Brexit, combating the construction skills crisis has never been more important.”

For efficient and fast insulation

Roger Bisby
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For efficient and fast insulation

To make it easier for builders to design and construct complex HVAC systems, Paroc has developed PAROC Hvac Bend AluCoat T – high-quality, factory produced bends for efficient and fast insulation.

PAROC Hvac Bend AluCoat T is a non-combustible stone wool pipe section bend for thermal and condensation insulation of pipework in buildings and ships. Coming with a prefabricated layer of reinforced aluminium foil facing and tape in the longitudinal seam, the product is designed to prevent condensation and make it easier for installers to fit the insulation to the existing HVAC pipes.

Factory produced bends are ready-to-use to ensure fast and easy fitting. Instead of cutting out individual pieces of pipe sections manually and fitting them back together to every pipe elbow in the installation, installers may use dimensionally accurate, prefabricated insulation components which improve the quality of the pipe insulation.

PAROC Hvac Bend AluCoat T is said to perform just as effectively as straight pipe insulation made with PAROC pipe sections, thus being a fully complementary solution.

Unnecessary heat loss is minimised due to the stone wool’s low thermal conductivity and the fact that no metal support is needed, which leads to further reduction of operational costs.

www.paroc.co.uk

Tiling Tips: Making a hole for your soil pipe

Roger Bisby
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Tiling Tips: Making a hole for your soil pipe

In this latest video, Roger Bisby shows how to make a hole for a soil pipe using a DEWALT cordless angle grinder.

Snickers Next Generation work trousers

Roger Bisby
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Snickers Next Generation work trousers

Roger Bisby takes a closer look at the Next Generation Trousers from Snickers.

When you look at the huge range of styles and sizes that Snickers currently offers you might reasonably ask why they need to produce a whole new Next Generation Trouser range. Fashion undoubtedly plays a part, even for a builder who declares himself to be totally uninterested in fashion, but underneath the good looks lies a solid bed of functionality that has helped Snickers stay ahead of the competition throughout its history. This is no mean feat because they are copied relentlessly and they certainly aren’t the cheapest.

So how do they manage to stay ahead of the competition?

It is a question I first started asking a few years ago when I was doing some independent research into the workwear market. Whenever I was out on site testing tools and materials I took the opportunity to quiz people on their choice of workwear. Most of the building trades I spoke to declared a preference for Snickers even if they didn’t actually buy them. With few exceptions they acknowledged that it is a superior product and one that everyone has heard of. The only resistance is the price. People told me that they would like to have Snickers but didn’t want to pay that kind of money for a pair of work trousers. The implication is that they would then have something nice that they didn’t want to trash and it would worry them. That said they rarely went to the other end of the scale so they would end up in the middle.

So what I was hearing was that it wasn’t the whole price it was just the extra bit between a pair of trousers that they knew weren’t as good and the ones they really wanted. After tax the difference might be as little as £20.00 I even spoke to one young man who had bought three pairs of cheaper (but not cheap ) trousers and the zips went on all three. He actually had his flies done up with a safety pin which is a hazardous item if you are in a hurry.

By contrast I also met many people, from various trades, who wouldn’t even consider buying anything other than Snickers. If there is a typical Snickers customer it is probably those people who are instinctively in tune with the idea that you simply have to pay for quality. It costs money to make something that is going to last. It is something they are telling their customers ever day. They won’t be the cheapest quote out there but the job will be right. As an aside I also noticed that those kind of people generally had tidier vans but I don’t know what to do with that information other than try to tie up a deal between van racking and workwear.

Snickers Next Generation work trousers range
AllRoundWork: A great all rounder – Ready for everything

All round 28 -1

For every day wear, suitable for most trades as they are made in hard wearing yet comfortable durable Dobby Pro fabric with Cordura reinforcements which is a comfortable weight of 250 g/m

RuffWork: Suitable for rough construction environments or where durability is a key requirement

Snickers Next Generation work trousers

Made from heavy duty Dobby Pro+ fabric which is also extremely comfortable with cordura 1000D reinforcements 310 g/m

LiteWork: Cool Dry and Ventilated
Lite Work Snickers

Made from a durable Rip Stop fabric containing millions of high-tech patented 37.5 particles –which help regulate the body’s optimum temperature of 37.5 degrees. Although the fabric is lightweight and will keep you cool in summer the particles also help you to stay warm in winter. Now (without going all scientific on us) how the hell do they do that?

Suitable for craftsmen who work in varying different temperature climates and also for craftsmen who want a strong durable trouser without the heavy weight fabrics. Made from Rip Stop fabric with Cordura reinforcements 230 g/m

Flexi Work: Extreme Freedom of Movement

Snickers Flexi work

High-tech stretchy work trousers which are ideal for craftsmen wanting their work clothes to be flexible in all situations. Made in an engineered body mapped design the trousers are extremely comfortable.

Made in a rip stop fabric with Cordura Stretch panels and Cordura reinforcements. 270 g/m.

Construction worker crushed by excavator on school demolition site

Roger Bisby
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Construction worker crushed by excavator on school demolition site

A construction company has been sentenced after a worker suffered crush injuries when he was hit and then run over by an excavator.

Complete Demolition Ltd had been contracted to demolish a school on the site at Stanney Lane, Ellesmere Port to make way for a new leisure centre when the incident occurred.

The firm was prosecuted by The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found arrangements ensuring pedestrians and vehicles were separated were inadequate. There was insufficient control of workers on the site.

The incident occurred on the 27 November 2013 while the site was being cleared. The driver of a Complete Demolition Ltd skip wagon was attempting to reverse the skip into an area that was already occupied by a 40 tonne excavator but was manoeuvring out of the way. A worker was standing in the same area as the skip wagon and excavator and as the excavator moved it hit the worker knocking him to the ground where its tracks ran over his left foot.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the 45-year-old, father of four has been severely affected by his injuries. He has undergone several operations to rebuild his foot. He is still in constant pain and is unable to work.

Complete Demolition Ltd of Stafford House, Westbury Industrial Estate, Hyde pleaded guilty to breaches of Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 13(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, and was fined £40,000 with £7,246.95 costs.

Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector Deborah Walker said: “This was an entirely foreseeable incident which could have been avoided. The company failed to properly plan for the duration of the works putting pedestrians at risk.”

British Gyspsum Habito review: Roger Bisby gets the Habito

Roger Bisby
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British Gyspsum Habito review: Roger Bisby gets the Habito
Everyone in the building industry knows that fixing things to plasterboard can be a bit hit and miss. If the plasterboard is on a stud wall you might strike lucky. Or you may not. Sometimes you may be able to position the item, i.e. kitchen wall cupboard to fix across two studs but nothing is guaranteed.

There is of course a whole range of special fixings to help you overcome these problems but it is a given that those fixings can never be stronger than the board itself. Add to this the fact that many people perceive plasterboard to be a second rate product;- when they go to look at a new home they tap the walls in search of something more solid than the hollow walls that plasterboard covers. A great deal of this is prejudice because plasterboard is a perfectly adequate material for many applications but if you are looking for something that can be fixed to without those special fixings or you want something that will take hard knocks then plasterboard comes second to masonry.

Gyproc Habito, from British Gypsum aims to change all that.For the first time we have a plasterboard that will take a direct fixing, and when I say direct I am talking about screwing straight into it without a plug. It also takes a hell of a lot of punishment. We knocked nine bells out of it with a claw hammer and after twenty hard blows just about dented the surface.

Density is key
I can’t give you the exact recipe but Habito is made up of a number of different fibres as well as gypsum but the key is the density. It is highly compressed to a chieve a uniform strength with no voids. This allows you to use an ordinary woodscrew and the load bearing on every screw is 15 kilos. There is of course a safety factor on that loading but let’s deal with recommended load. With four screws into two wall brackets you can fix a kitchen cupboard and stack it to the hilt with canned food and still be within the safe load limit. You can also fix a very large steel radiator to the wall without plugs or worm screws. It is important that you use a conventional single thread screw, fully threaded from tip to head, because twin threaded screws remove the core material for faster fixing and therefore remove an important part of the fixing strength.

That is how you fix to Habito, but how do you fix Habito to the wall? If it is a stud wall you need to use a British Gypsum High Performance fixing that has an undercut on the head. If you use an ordinary drywall screw it tends to have difficulty sinking the head below the surface because Habito is so tough.

Takes huge loads
If you are dotting and dabbing onto masonry there is no difference in the procedure you normally use but the board is capable of taking a huge loading. In fact I would go so far as to say that applying Habito to a block wall could stiffen it considerably and also improve the sound resistance. I don’t imagine there are many people out there (including British Gypsum competitors) who could fail to see the advantages of Habito once they have been pointed out but British Gypsum have their work cut out to communicate these advantages.

If, for example, you are a plumber you would need to be able to identify the board in order to take advantage of enhanced fixing capability. In new build or refurbs where the builder is communicating with the plumber they can pass the information on but down the line there is no way of readily identifying that the board is Gyproc Habito. Somewhere down the line trades may be able to tap the board and hear the difference You can certainly feel the difference when you lift it and when you cut it you need to score it and give it a quick up and down to snap it. If you are cutting narrow strips you might need a saw but if you use sound board or fire board you will already know about this change in approach.

If you are a builder looking to build in a bit of extra quality or you have a customer who is a wall tapper then Gyproc Habito is certainly worth a try. It is a cut above the run of the mill plasterboard and once you use it you may well develop the Habito habit. It could even become a signature of your work, something that sets you apart from the average builder who builds on price alone.

www.british-gypsum.com/products/gyproc-habito