Hudson Contract has revealed this year’s winners and losers across 10 regions and 17 trades in its annual Construction Pay Trends Index with plumbers enjoying biggest pay rise in 2017 while electricians have experienced a pay drop. The index shows that self-employed builders in England and Wales have seen a year-on-year increase in average weekly earnings of 3.8% – with …

Whatever type of hammering jobs you have to do, the Hultafors Tools range of hammers is said to deliver all the power and precision you’ll need. The new generation range features Ball Hammers, Carpenters’ Hammers, T-Block Hammers, Electrician’s Hammers, Sledge Hammers, Dead Blow Hammers and even Copper Hammers. The tools are designed to handle the toughest work, delivering the best possible …

Dressing right and staying comfortable when it’s cold and wet on site requires more than your old windcheater, waterproofs and wellies according to Snickers.  Continuous, hard work produces body heat and sweat. But when your rate of work slows, the sweat cools and you’ll start to feel cold and damp. The solution, acording to the company, is Snickers’ very latest …

Should basement waterproofing design use a barrier method or a cavity drainage system or both? A series of continuing professional development (CPD) seminars from Safeguard Europe – the specialist in damp-proofing and waterproofing technology – has been designed to help answer that question and more. The seminars are grounded on the latest documents and standards, drawing on BS 8102: 2009 …

Roger Bisby weighs up the benefits of Dickies’ latest winter jacket. It might seem a little early to be thinking about winter and I for one keep my shorts on until October.  After that we are on the slippery slope into the cold and damp that has become the iconic image of this island, and what better for the cold …

Bushboard will be at this years hotel design event SLEEP to showcase its Nuance bathroom wall panelling which offers an alternative to tiling. Bushboard, now part of the Wilsonart Group, and a leading producer of laminate worksurfaces is exhibiting at the London Design Centre at SLEEP. Jo Gilhooly, marketing director for Bushboard explained  “SLEEP has gathered pace over the last few …

Although basements are a significant area of business opportunity for the construction industry, it is a complex and potentially fraught sector and – in the main – an area for the specialist. Yet Safeguard Europe – the UK specialist in damp-proofing and waterproofing technology – is helping to demystify and simplify understanding of this underground world with the publication of …

The SME construction sector grew in the second quarter of 2017, albeit at a slower rate in most parts of the UK than the first three months of the year, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Key results from the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q2 2017, which is the only quarterly assessment of the UK-wide SME …

Mercedes-Benz has revealed its first pick-up truck – the hotly anticipated Mercedes-Benz X-Class which will be available in Europe from November at a price of 37,294 Euro.  The Mercedes-Benz X-Class is said to push the boundaries of the modern pick-up – designed to be used as a rugged, all-terrain pickup but also as a vehicle for urban lifestyles and families. The …

Roger Bisby revs up with the Triton Geared Eccentric Orbital Sander. Ah! life can get very confusing. No sooner do we all get used to a random orbit and then Triton comes out with ‘eccentric’ orbit. When does an orbit cease being random and become eccentric or is it the other way round? Is there a difference? No sooner do …

Roxil? If you have never heard of it join the club, this is my first brush with the product, says Roger Bisby in his review of the Roxil Outdoor Protection Range from Safeguard Europe.

When it comes to sealants there are very few on the market that can match CT1, says Roger Bisby. Not only is it strong and flexible it can also seal damp surfaces. I have tried many products that claim to do this but not all of them work. I first started using it when I was working on swimming pools …

Skill Builder’s ‘Day in the life’ feature takes a look at a typical day in the life of different tradespeople. In this installment, we talk to the inspirational Kevin Skeith who, against all the odds, recovered from a serious motorcycle accident which threatened to leave him as a quadriplegic. He now runs a thriving flooring business and became Dickie’s UK …

As those in the insulation manufacturing process know, not all mineral wool insulation is the same. For builders, however, it’s sometimes difficult to understand where the distinctions lie, what benefits there might be and how the insulation choices they make can impact upon a project or application. Paul Barrett, Product Manager at Rocwool looks at where stone wool insulation began …

The GBH 18V-26 Professional and GBH 18V-26 F Professional are the latest additions to the Bosch range of 18v rotary hammers with EC motors. Both generate an impact energy of 2.6 joules – 50 percent more than the current strongest 18 volt rotary hammer. This makes them comparable with corded tools such as the GBH 2-26 Professional. This is where …

Ford has revealed exclusive new variants of the Transit Custom one-tonne commercial vehicle. The new Transit Custom Colour Edition van offers four colour schemes that feature contrasting roof, mirror caps, skid plate and side stripes, along with unique black 17‑inch alloy wheels. The Transit Custom Sport series van with its signature twin bonnet stripes is also now available in a …

For all those who think that bathroom mould and mildew is unavoidable in the British climate, the fact that it rarely, if ever, exists in up-market bathrooms is telling. You may think this is simply down to being able to afford a good cleaner, and admittedly that helps, but a lot of the things that cause mould are built into …

A simple low-tech chimney insulator is applying to become approved by OFGEM and the British Board of Agrement (BBA) following two years of rigorous testing. Chimney Sheep, invented by an ecologist from Cumbria four years ago, has already saved UK homeowners £2.5m off their energy bills and is said to be capable of saving the nation a further £691,500,000 per …

Manufacturer of building chemicals, Bond It, claim to be breaking new ground in sealant and adhesive performance with the launch of a range of products based on advanced hybrid technology. The new Bond it hybrid range, which will be sold under the manufacturer’s PRO brand, offers users ‘best of both worlds’ solutions to a wide variety of trade and DIY …

Roger Bisby takes a look at the Wale Tale (sic), a device designed to minimise the spread of dust when mixing construction powders. Dust and the related health issues are a ticking time bomb in the building industry. Everyone knows about asbestos and most intelligent people do everything they can to avoid exposure to it but dust doesn’t begin and …