With a growing demand for building services and a lack of fresh talent coming in, the construction industry has a momentous few years ahead.

Following the unveiling of its new high-performing bagged product range, Hope Cement has developed a novel incentive scheme that rewards builders merchants and professional builders. Accessed through the Hope Cement smartphone App, the loyalty scheme is said to be the first of its kind, using a new approach to drive traffic into merchants’ stores and help to grow their business. …

Screwfix has released the latest edition of its catalogue, which features more ‘Trade Rated’ products than ever before – an independent accolade, showing they are rated highly by other trade customers. All products ordered via the catalogue are available for next day delivery seven days a week, or via its Click & Collect service, which allows goods to be picked-up …

Roger Bisby regrets not having used  the Cyclone Paint Stirrer earlier. This little stainless steel stirrer has been sitting in my goods in bay for a few months now and, even though I have used quite a lot of paint  in that time I have not thought to use it.  To be honest I was thinking “It’s a stirrer, put …

Kier Living has secured one of the largest allocations of funds from the Housing and Communities Agency with an allocation of £41.9 million to build just over 1,700 new shared ownership homes in England over the next four years. The contract is a part of a £1.28bn first round allocation from the Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme 2016 to …

Roger Bisby takes a look at the Man-Up Key, a new tool that is designed to allow manholes to be safely lifted by one person without the need for chiseling or hammering. Man-Up Key, what a great name for a manhole lifter, unless of course you subscribe to the gender neutral version which is a person hole but person-up is …

Ian Anfield, Managing Director for construction audit and contract provider, Hudson Contract, provides his predictions for the industry in 2017. “There’s no escaping the fact that Brexit will dominate the news and political agenda in 2017 and will have a massive impact on UK construction. This is primarily because we rely so heavily on EU labour to man our construction …

Anyone who tuned into the Band of Builders facebook live auction last Saturday evening, 17th December, which was broadcast via the Band of Builders and Builders Talk group facebook pages, could be forgiven for thinking the event’s organiser Addam Smith was going to take the rest of the year off. (If you haven’t heard Addam and the Band of Builders …

Insulation and interior building products distributor CCF, is on the lookout for trade superheroes to win a trip to go to New York City in May 2017. The competition, which invites trade professionals to share what makes them a superhero, runs until 28 February 2017. The competition has been launched as part of a campaign with top insulation suppliers Celotex, …

3 companies have been sentenced in Lincoln Crown Court after a worker’s leg was broken in six places when a trench collapsed on him.

  The trades community will come together tonight via a live facebook auction to raise money for a fellow tradesperson in need. The event, organised by Addam Smith of Band of Builders in conjunction with the Builders Talk facebook group, will be live streamed at around 6pm on their respective facebook pages with viewers invited to bid for tools, workwear …

Roger Bisby tries out the Muck Truck, a pedestrian operated motorised power barrow which is designed to carry three times that of a normal wheelbarrow and will shift loads of up to one quarter of a ton. It is a while now since I tested a Muck-Truck. Last time it was a battery powered machine that surprised me by taking …

UK boiler manufacturer Baxi has launched a charity calendar for 2017 featuring children’s drawings that send a serious message to grown-ups. The calendar features 12 different pictures, drawn by children of Baxi colleagues. Each one offers a safety tip designed to make sure their parents come home safely. The children’s top tips include not using a mobile phone while driving, …

Travis Perkins, the UK building materials distributor, has been awarded second place in the Building Suppliers category of ‘Britain’s Most Admired Companies’ (BMAC) 2016 awards. Travis Perkins accepted the title, which is awarded based on the largest piece of peer review research of its kind in the UK, at a ceremony attended by some of the county’s top businesses. Commenting …

A specialist roofing company and its two directors have been sentenced after admitting working unsafely at height on a hotel development in central Manchester during a major refurbishment and extension works. On the 17 March 2015, a member of public witnessed and photographed unsafe work at a construction site and contacted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Manchester Magistrates Court …

A pre-Christmas zero-tolerance nationwide crackdown on fly-tippers is underway  – as councils up and down the country use new powers to seize and crush vehicles used by the dumpers. Councils are also calling for a legal loophole – which means enforcement officers have to give some fly-tippers seven days written warning before inspecting them and seizing evidence – to be …

Two London based construction companies were prosecuted after a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection identified serious safety breaches on a double basement construction project. Westminster Magistrates Court heard that emergency services had been called to a property at Bathurst Mews, London, where excavation work to form a double basement was being carried out.  They rescued a labourer with a …

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today informed BAM Nuttall Limited, Ferrovial Agroman (UK) Ltd, and Keir Infrastructure and Overseas Ltd that they will be prosecuted in relation to three incidents that took place during the construction of the new Crossrail railway tunnel construction, which runs east to west across London. All three companies will appear at Westminster’s Magistrates …