"soil and waste systems"

G Harding Flooring are nationwide flooring contractors. The company specialises in bespoke designs and installations. It has worked with some of the UK’s largest brands, in all sectors from hospitality to healthcare.

Wales Air Ambulance have a new headquarters with a new purpose-built office bringing the charity and the airbase together. Local aluminium fabricators and installers Atcost Windows of Llanelli won the contract to supply and fit all the glazing products throughout the building. Kestrel’s curtain walling was specified to create an impressive frontage to the building and maximise natural light to the common areas and meeting rooms.

The Little Chapel in Guernsey was built in 1914 and, at only 16 feet by 9 feet, is said to be “one of the smallest functioning chapels in Europe, if not the world”. The chapel and its unique appeal gained national fame after an article accompanied with a colour photograph was published in the Daily Mirror, and it has since been considered one of, if not the most famous tourist attraction in Guernsey.In 2015, work began to weatherproof the intricate building, with the Protec System specified as the best solution for the job.The ChallengeHaving never been finished by its original builder, Brother Déodat, the chapel has been undergoing a long-term restoration project to create a structurally sound building that retains the beauty of the original vision. Firstly, the foundations were underpinned and properly secured for the first time since they were created over 100 years ago. The next priority was to fix the roof, as described by Pat Johnson, chairman of the Little Chapel Foundation:“The asphalt on the roof was hollow and had to be taken off. The concrete underneath was hollow. We ended up with a substrate of soil and clink, so to repair it we had to go inside and grout all the cracks in the ceiling. [The new roof] comprises three layers of concrete, 340 stainless-steel plugs, a stainless-steel mesh and a final coating of concrete”.The task of making the new concrete surface waterproof fell to local Polyroof approved contractor Sarnian Roofing Ltd. Andy Gavey (Company Director) said about the project:“As a boy I would regularly visit The Little Chapel and I’ve always been blown away by its beauty and character. To get the chance to help restore the building to its full potential is a dream come true for me – this has to be my favourite roofing project yet. Polyroof’s contribution towards the roofing works has meant that we were able to provide a top-quality roofing solution that has done justice to the amazing exterior of the building.”The SolutionWith its ability to be applied directly to the concrete to form a lightweight, seamless and durable waterproofing membrane, Polyroof’s Protec System was a clear choice for waterproofing the chapel roof.The first stage was to make the entire roof area fully watertight. Following a coating of primer to seal the porous concrete surface, the first coat of Protec was applied which incorporated fibreglass reinforcement. After 30 minutes the coating had cured and the second coat was applied to the whole roof area. To areas where new mortar was laid to re-embed the pebbles and seashells, which had been painstakingly removed from the old roof, a coating of Polyfinish was applied to provide extra protection.The architect chose a sanded decorative finish to complement the exterior of the building, which is covered in a mosaic made from seashells, pebbles and broken china. To create this finish, a third coat of Protec was applied and, whilst still wet, Quartz Sand was broadcast into the resin. After brushing off the excess sand, the whole roof surface was sealed with an application of Polyfinish Clear.

With the business growing at a rapid rate, the firm has expanded its head office to a purpose-built facility which also incorporates a store, café, and an external garden centre.To make the most of its prominent location at the entrance to the new Seaton Hill development, the building was designed to showcase the brand’s iconic identity. The facade of the offices and warehouse are clad primarily in a palette of blacks and greys using Kingspan Dri-Design Flat Cassettes for the office element and QuadCore AWP Wall Panels for the large retail section. This neutral palette provides the perfect backdrop for more colourful facade elements of royal blue and bright orange which ‘pop out’ from the envelope, both literally and visually. These elements include a ribbon style wrapping which recreates a heart-beat reading and symbolises the HQ’s position as the “heartbeat of Derriford”. This dramatic treatment also helps to break-up the massing of the site.  Selecting all these materials from a single supplier also help to simply logistics, minimise onsite waste and ensure complete compatibility between the elevations.

 Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facility that treats all of the residual household waste generated in Essex and Southend. To meet the structural design criteria of the contract, a very strong roof profile was required. To ensure fully effective sealing, this had to be a plain sheet without stiffening ribs. The requirement was met by a specially modified Trisobuild® R60 roof profile in a higher strength steel. The modified Trisobuild® R60 solution spans 2.65m. Tata Steel altered its production tooling to manufacture 26,000m2 of the modified R60 roof profile in double-sided Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra®.Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® was chosen to optimise protection against the corrosive internal environment and external weather side of the bio-stabilisation halls. Super durable Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® provides exceptional corrosion resistance which has been proven in natural and accelerated testing. Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® exceeds the requirements of CP15 (as per EN 10169.2010), demonstrating excellent barrier properties when used internally.Images courtesy of UBB (Essex) Construction JV.

In 2015, Roger Stretton, an architect and one of the foundersof the practice Berman Guedes Stretton, and Martin Smithcollaborated to bring to fruition their shared enthusiasm forcontemporary, cutting edge, environmentally-friendly residentialdesign.On an attractive, mature garden site near Dorchester in Dorset,two 2,100 sq ft detached, two-storey houses were designedaround south facing courtyards with a one-and-a-half storeyheight living room.When designing the properties, environmentally responsiblematerials, products and processes were at the forefront ofthe specification. To this end, incorporating renewable andinnovative technologies, such as air-source heat pumps and heatrecovery ventilation systems enable the buildings to be highlyenergy efficient.Having previously used Allgood products, Roger recognisedthe brand for its quality and reliability, and consequentlyspecified Allgood’s Alite lever handles and Allgood doorsetsfor the project. He explains, “The new houses have a modern,minimalist design, so it was essential that the ironmongery anddoors complemented this approach, Allgood’s stainless steel Alitehandles and bespoke finished doors met these requirements.”To complement the interior architecture of the buildings, Allgoodsupplied doorsets incorporating fully fabricated and finishedflush doors with rebated frames to create a perimeter shadowgap. An important design feature was a clear line of visionthrough each house along the main axis of the plan. To achievethis, four special, full-height glazed doors with glazed side panelswere supplied. In addition, two 30 minute fire resisting doorswere also specified to the plant-rooms.Arriving on site, factory painted and with hinges and locksalready fitted, the Allgood doorsets provide valuable savings intime, cost and waste as well as a higher quality finish.

Here at Symphony, we pride ourselves on leading the way in design and manufacture innovation. We are also always ensuring that sustainability is at the forefront of everything we do. That’s why we were thrilled to work with Barratt Developments to create the first zero carbon home concept from a major housebuilder. The Zed HouseWith carbon neutral homes being such a hot topic, with everything from the move to heat pumps to electric car charging at home, we were honoured to be invited to work with leading housebuilder Barratt Developments on its unique and flagship zero carbon home concept. The Zed House will be the first new home in the UK built by a major housebuilder to go beyond the new Future Homes Standard by delivering a carbon reduction of 125%. The Future Homes Standard ensures that all new homes built from 2025 will produce 75-80% less carbon emissions than homes under current regulations. The carbon reduction of 125% is from 100% regulated and 25% unregulated energy using heat recovery, low carbon and renewable technologies. The Zed House will be lived in and monitored over time in order to assess its performance on an ongoing everyday basis. We can’t wait to see the results.The future of housebuildingDesigned and developed to show what is achievable for the housebuilding market in terms of sustainability, the Zed House is a great example of how our homes could look in the next few decades. At Symphony we have a constantly evolving list of eco credentials that we use in everything we do. How this project worked is that Barratt challenged its supply chain partners to bring in the most cutting-edge products to help reduce its carbon footprint. We chose our Urban kitchen in Grey Walnut, as the door and drawer fronts are made from 100% recycled chipboard and the handles contain renewable coconut fibre. Not only that but the cabinets are also made from 49% recycled board while cutlery trays and drawer storage are all Hemp and Kenaf based. We thought this was the perfect example of how kitchens can be a sustainable and environmentally friendly purchase without sacrificing style. The stainless-steel sink from Franke was chosen as it contains 80% recycled materials and was supplied with a waste disposal unit that processes organic waste to reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill. The Insinkerator 4 in 1 tap supplies filtered water to reduce the need to purchase bottled water and therefore encourages the reduction of single use plastic. It also replaces the need for a kettle by providing boiling water, which reduces both energy usage from boiling a kettle but also only provides the amount of boiling that is required. The appliances were also selected for their sustainability credentials including energy efficiency and minimising water use. The worksurface is a carbon neutral material from the Sunlit Days collection from Silestone by Cosentino, the first carbon neutral quartz range in the engineered stone industry that contains recycled glass and minerals. Eco buildThe Zed House itself is made from a closed panel timber frame with highly insulated cladding. It also includes EV charging points, PV solar panels and battery storage. The interior comes with infra-red electronic hands-free taps, reducing water consumption by up to 80%, and a smart electric tariff that automatically moves energy usage to access the cheapest rates. EV charging pointWith more and more people looking to swap their fuel-guzzling car to an efficient electric model, the Zed House also comes with its own EV charging point. The Zed House is located on the main campus at the University of Salford. It contains a knowledge hub built into the garage to display all the products, technologies and results of the home’s occupation on an ongoing basis. We are thrilled to have been a part of this exciting project and can’t wait to see what the future holds.Further informationHead to https://www.barrattdevelopments.co.uk/showcase/z-house for more information on Barratt Homes and www.symphony-group.co.uk/sustainability for more information on Symphony’s sustainability credentials.

Prehung Doors have recently specified P C Henderson’s Roomflex folding door hardware to create a room divider for two residential project’s in London. The project brief required a room divider to separate a large dining room and lounge into two rooms. The client required a modern, functional design which would allow the rooms to be seamlessly opened up as one. P C Henderson’s innovative Roomflex folding door hardware was identified as the best solution for the project.

The goal for this residential dwelling in Salcombe was to create a completely unique space, nestled into the cliff-side to provide a feeling of comfort and seclusion, while maximising the views over the estuary. To achieve this, ten Reynaers aluminium lift-and-slide doors, alongside aluminium windows and single-entrance doors were installed. The aluminium frames provide the strength and stability required for large expanses of glazing, while delivering required pascal ratings to resolutely stand up to enduring winds and harsh coastal conditions. Pre-anodized paint adds further durability to protect the property from the elements.

Oscar Iso-Mounts combine space saving with isolating acoustic technology to provide clients with the best possible ceiling acoustics and soundproofing, perfect for house/flat/apartment conversions, new builds and renovations. Commercial applications include hotels, offices, shops and restaurants. The mount fixes under existing concrete and timber joist ceilings with just one fixing saving time and money. Extensions are available for 50mm to over 1 metre voids for acoustic services and thermal insulation.

The non-profit organization Living Architecture has realised four special holiday homes across England, each one is an extraordinary example of contemporary architecture, designed by leading architects. The most spectacular of the projects is the ‘Balancing Barn’ in Suffolk (Uk), designed by the Dutch bureau MVRDV. In the 30-metre long house, which juts out 15 metres over the edge of a rise, Reynaers CP 155-LS (Lift & Slide) was used for the large sliding windows. The large protruding section meant that it was possible to place another large window in the floor as a complement to the architectonic spectacle.

Dacatie's Frame Formers were used in the development of 2, 3 & 4 bedroom homes in the attractive market town of Hinckley.Including a New Primary School, an Amphitheatre, Children’s Play Area, New District Centre, Playing Fields alongside additional landscaped open spaces.

To extend and refurbish the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital’s Emergency Department. This £14.5 million project included the creation of a new entrance into the healthcare facility to provide the local community with greater accessibility to quality care and critical services

Profile 22’s award winning optima suite of casement and Tilt and Turn Windows along with matching PVCU doors were specified in the refurbishment of two tower blocks in Walsall, West Midlands. The windows are designed to deliver increased insulation and weather protection, which makes them the perfect choice for high-rise, exposed locations. Increasing energy efficiency was one of the key drivers of the refurbishment. They are capable of achieving WER of A++ and U-values of 0.8 W/m2K. Indicative performance measures are 600Pa for air permeability, 600Pa for water tightness and 2400Pa for wind resistance.

Over 500 Profile 22 Optima Flush Casement Windows were installed in a private housing development in Whalley Range, Manchester. Housing developer Laurus Homes, a profit-for-purpose housing developer that’s part of Trafford Housing Trust, secured planning permission to build 13 four bedroom houses and 16 two bedroom apartments in Whalley Range near Manchester. The main contractor for the project was Lane End Group, the market leader in the construction and housing sector in the North West. The contract for the windows and doors in the development was awarded to Profile 22 Approved Contractor Kingfisher Windows

We supplied and installed over 500m² of Jakob Webnet for the new build sports hall at St Dominic’s College in Harrow. The Webnet, now clad with climbing plants has created a free-standing green wall which provides shade to the building and effectively disguises it, allowing it to blend in to the surrounding grounds.

Spitfire Homes chose to use Saige's Solid Grey Decking board for their walkways between offices to create a sleek and safe space.

Floor Furnishings were tasked with fitting flooring in University lecture theatres. The spaces, which would be used by large volumes of people, had to be Equality Act compliant and meet building regulations related to stepped access and slip resistance. Nathan Jefferies, Director of the flooring contractor contacted Quantum to seek technical advice on which Stair Nosings would meet these standards. Quantum provided information on a Stair Nosing that would meet the criteria for this project and this information was passed onto the Architect working on the University buildings.

The ProjectCapital Content is a media content production team based in Cobham. The company provides videos, photography, audio, and various other marketing and branding media for a range of businesses and individuals.Capital Content approached G Harding Flooring, a flooring contractor, to “bring their office to life” with design featured flooring. The company records podcasts, film shoots and other advertising material for clients at their workplace, so the designs needed to match their own vision of how they wanted to be perceived.Glenn from G Harding Flooring carried out a site inspection with the owner of Capital Content, and discussed how to best incorporate their business logos and assets into the flooring layout. This would involve sourcing stair nosings and carpet tiles which would match the colours of the company’s branding.The ApproachGlenn contacted Quantum Flooring to talk about which stair nosings would be suitable for the job. Q-Range DUO Stair Nosings have tread inserts on both the tread and the riser of the profile. This enables the profiles to have either one colour on both or, as with this project, a different colour on the tread and riser for design purposes.Q-Range DUO allowed G Harding Flooring to pick colours for the tread and riser to match Capital Content’s branding and logo. As Glenn says: “We wanted to create a visual ‘wow’ factor to the entrance of the office where visiting clients would be first greeted on arrival – the staircase. Samples of additional colours to match Capital Content’s own branding was a big plus.“By using Quantum’s extensive colour bank, not only were we able to find a perfect match, we found 2! The colours, a bold pink for the tread, and a vibrant blue for the riser, gave the stairwell an abundance of colour that would change as you walked up it.”The OutcomeG Harding Flooring installed the Q-Range DUO profiles using Q-Fix Stair Nosing Adhesive. This has ensured a solid, firm and secure fixing which can withstand the traffic anticipated for the workplace. The stair nosings achieve the aim of an eye-catching entrance to the office, while making the stairs safe and easy to navigate.The branded theme is continued throughout the office, where G Harding Flooring installed hand cut logos and patterns utilising carpet tiles. The results are outstanding, with the offices being an excellent example of G Harding’s flooring design skills, and showcasing Capital Content’s brand and logo.As Glenn from G Harding Flooring says: “The client wanted to show the importance of branding, attention to detail and how to stand out from the crowd as this is a key service they provide to their clients. Where best to start and show off their visions? In their very own workspace.”

The ProjectAlbion Mills is a high-end, purpose-built office complex near Willerby Shopping Park in Hull. It is a two-storey building, with numerous office suites for businesses to utilise.The custodians of Albion Mills planned to revitalise the interior of the offices. The new-look space would need a design with an understated colour scheme, which would be suitable for a working environment. This would include resilient flooring in parts, with carpet tiles adjacent to it. To link the vinyl and carpeted areas, a flooring transition would be needed.The flooring transition would need to bridge the gap between the two floorcoverings, incorporating the different thicknesses of the resilient and carpeted flooring without creating a trip or slip hazard. The design of the new offices called for the transition to be curved into different shapes, meaning that they would need to be suitable to curve on-site.The ApproachFloors Hull were appointed as the flooring contractor for the refurbishment. After deciding on the floorcoverings they would use for the project, they needed a flooring transition that would link the two together. Floors Hull decided that Quantum Flooring Solutions’ TopClip transitions range would offer the best option.TopClip is a range of flooring transitions which consists of 4 uPVC tops, which can fit into 6 different bases; 2 aluminium and 4 uPVC. All of the uPVC bases can be curved to a radius of approximately 750mm. Between them, the TopClip range can transition between practically any different gauge or type of floorcoverings.For the Albion Mills project, Quantum’s QTC42R top was used with the QVB1 uPVC base. This meant that the profiles could be curved into the necessary shapes. In order to get around tight curves, it can help to gently heat the profile with a hot air gun. This would have to be done skilfully by Floors Hull, so the profile would not become distorted.The OutcomeSteve McDonald from Floors Hull fitted the flooring in Albion Mills, along with the TopClip transition profiles. The end result looks fantastic, with the QTC42R and QVB1 curving well. As Steve says: “A very small amount of heat was used to create this tight radius, but the product itself was very flexible and went round with ease. Fantastic transition profile.”TopClip tops have 3 “teeth”, which allow them to be pushed flush to both floorcoverings which they transition between. This ensures that TopClip fits snugly on both the carpet and vinyl in Albion Mills, minimising the risk of trips. The tops are also slip resistant and durable, for extra safety.The flint coloured QTC42R tops look great with the dark and light grey carpet tiles. They fit perfectly with the aesthetic of the refurbished offices. Floors Hull, with the help of Quantum Flooring, have ensured that Albion Mills has a modern, professional design scheme for prospective tenants.

The ProjectRobinsons is one of the largest independent breweries in the UK. It has a rich history, with the family brewing in the centre of Stockport since 1849. Its main building is called the Unicorn Brewery, after the pub which the family originally ran from 1838.The bottling plant needed a refurbishment, to help keep employees safe. The brewery requested a highly slip resistant flooring surface, to deal with the inherent risk of liquid spillages in the plant, which could cause hazards. To go with the floorcovering they also needed a hard-wearing, robust, and highly slip resistant stair nosing.The stair nosing would need to have low slip potential in both dry and wet conditions, to help ensure safety in the plant. The main way the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) assesses the slip resistance of flooring and stair nosings is by using a pendulum test, which measures the friction of a surface. In this way, a pendulum test value (PTV) can be given to different products. Any stair nosing must have a PTV of 36, or more, in dry and wet conditions to be considered low slip potential.The ApproachSteven Holland Flooring contacted Quantum Flooring to discuss the most appropriate stair nosings for the project. They decided to go with Quantum’s Ecoglo slip resistant yellow tread material, Eglo-34, fitted into double-channel SF225R Slenderline carriers.Ecoglo tread infills are often utilised for their photoluminescent qualities. From just 30 minutes of charge with either natural or artificial light, Ecoglo’s photoluminescent strips can provide 7 hours of glow in either internal or external environments. Ecoglo also has a slip resistant silicon carbide tread material.Eglo-34 is one of the highly slip resistant silicon carbide tread infills in the Ecoglo range. It has a PTV of 70 in dry conditions, and 66 in wet conditions. These both easily exceed the minimum required guidelines for low slip potential in HSE publications, and slip resistance in BS 8300-2:2018. This made Eglo-34 ideal for Robinsons Brewery.The OutcomeSteven Holland Flooring expertly cut Quantum’s yellow Eglo-34 silicon carbide strips to size, and fitted them in both channels of the SF225R aluminium stair nosings. As Ecoglo tread material is secret fix, there was no need for plugs to hide the screws.The result looks fantastic and helps to ensure the safety of all employees at the Robinsons bottling plant. The stair nosing is durable and has very low slip potential, with the double channel Eglo-34 double treads maximising the surface area of grip. The SF225R profiles have a ramped back, to remove any trip hazard at the back of the steps.With the help of Quantum’s stair nosings, Steven Holland Flooring have ensured a safe, secure and visually pleasing staircase in Robinsons bottling plant. The installation will be used for years to come, helping to prevent slips, trips and falls on the spiral stairs.

The ProjectLoughborough College provides a range of courses in further education, along with apprenticeships and professional qualifications. It is based on one of the largest student campuses in Europe, sharing the area with Loughborough University. Over 2000 students attend the college, with some living in adjacent halls of residence.The college staircases needed to be refurbished. The flooring was previously terrazzo, and this was to be changed to a rubber flooring. This was suitable in terms of durability and slip resistance for the large amount of people on the campus. To complement the flooring, the stair nosings had to be equally hard-wearing and safe.The stair nosings needed to adhere to all Building Regulations guidelines, along with BS8300:2-2018 and the Equality Act. This meant that they needed to have great slip resistant properties, and stand out from the black flooring to create a ladder effect on the staircases. This would help people to navigate the stairways, especially those with visual impairments.There was a special request from the college which would help to attain this noticeable difference between the stair nosings and the steps: “Hot Rod Pink” tread material, to match Loughborough College colours.The ApproachMidlands Flooring was hired as the flooring contractor for the refurb. As Hot Rod Pink is not a standard stair nosing colour, Dave Wilson from Midlands Flooring got in touch with a number of manufacturers to see if anyone could rise to the challenge.Within 24 hours, Quantum Flooring returned its proposal for manufacturing bespoke Hot Rod Pink tread material specifically for Loughborough College. The unique stair nosing tread would be made from the same material as Quantum’s normal tread, meaning it would be slip resistant and suitable for the frequent foot traffic.Quantum’s SR125R stair nosings were chosen to fit the tread material into. These profiles have a ramped back, to ensure that there would be no trip hazard on the staircases. They are raked back on the riser, to ensure a perfect fit on the steps. Plus, Quantum’s UTA aluminium stair edging trims were fitted, providing a safe and aesthetically pleasing finish to the side of the steps on the open string stairs.The OutcomeQuantum ensured a fast turnaround on the stair nosings, using the QSMS free measuring service. A Quantum representative electronically measured all of the steps to their precise lengths, and sent the results to the distributor Carpet & Flooring in Birmingham for the stair nosings to be cut and drilled.Midlands Flooring fixed the stair nosings with Q-Fix contact adhesive, ensuring a strong bond to the steps. Secret-fix was used to drill the profiles, meaning the tread material could be fitted on site, and there was no need for unsightly plugs to hide the screws in the tread. Quantum’s SR125R stair nosings with Hot Rod Pink tread material look fantastic in Loughborough College. The college was delighted with the results.Loughborough College has a unique, on-brand stair nosing tread for its refurbished stairways. Midlands Flooring did a fantastic job on the project, and Quantum backed them up with innovation and expedience.

Challenge The Hexagon is a well established multi purpose venue, in the heart of Reading that was built in 1977. As well as drama productions, it hosts a range of events such as Dance, Comedy, Classical Music, Rock and Pop concerts. The venue can hold up to 1600 people, with much of the capacity arranged in levels of banked arena-style seating with stepped access.

Challenge The Hexagon is a well established multi purpose venue, in the heart of Reading that was built in 1977. As well as drama productions, it hosts a range of events such as Dance, Comedy, Classical Music, Rock and Pop concerts. The venue can hold up to 1600 people, with much of the capacity arranged in levels of banked arena-style seating with stepped access. The nature of the performances at the venue mean access up and down these stairways by patrons is often in low light levels which means there is a risk of slips and falls.

Southampton Airport is an international airport serving over 40 destinations. As the 18th busiest UK airport, it handled over 1.7 million passengers in 2013. Safety and security are paramount at any airport and emergency procedures and facilities need to be flawless and well maintained. Improvements were required to the emergency staircases in the airport’s multi-story car park. Previously, only a yellow strip was painted on the edge of the concrete steps across the 5 stairways, which meant the potential slip hazard was great.

Challenge As part of a major Council Housing refurbishment project Portsmouth City specified the installation of a new vinyl floor covering to all stairwells with new Equality Act compliant stair nosings. The Equality Act offers best practice guidance and recommendations on how to make stairways safe and accessible for partially sighted people. Any new stair nosings for the project would therefore need to feature appropriately sized dimensions, a contrasting band of colour and tactile hazard warning surfaces to assist with user safety.

Dales designed & manufactured curved aluminium solar shading units installed above digital advertising screens positioned over each side of the Hyde Park Corner underpass near Knightsbridge. The 260mm Shadex elliptical aluminium blade extrusions were rotated 45° and then curved to multiple radii horizontally before being manufactured into cassettes. The complete structure covers an area 15 by 13 metres with the cassettes bolted into cantilevered structural steels. Gary Newton, Director for Outdoor Plus, providers of the digital screens commented that the curved solar shades: “..certainly do finish it off to a very high specification adding to the overall high-quality aesthetic appearance”

Weston-super-Mare’s Revo Kitchen & Terrace Restaurant has been transformed with high-quality floor to ceiling Kestrel Aluminium Folding Sliding Doors that maximise the views and create a fresh, airy space that allows natural light to flood in.

Products: Flexi heavy – Modular Frameworks Services: Air-handling units. Roof build-up: Warm roof design – PIR/PUR insulation with bituminous felt membrane. The air-handling unit support frames were supplied via a wholesaler in Hampshire to the building services engineers working on site. There were four large air-handling units to support in total, all circa 6000kg in weight each. All our frameworks were designed to manage the imposed loads of the AHU sections being supported, to ensure uniform load distribution through the frame feet was achieved.

IssueA 15-year-old bathroom in a housing development was looking tired and dated and the owner wanted to refresh the area with minimal disruption in a quick timescale. The bathroom had three walls of ceramic tiles, and a sink splashback, which were in good condition but were unfashionable and required high levels of maintenance to remove limescale and mould.The property, a first floor flat, had easy access but no lift, so equipment, materials and any waste needed to be carried up and down the stairs.Approach“We wanted to replace the ceramic tiles, without having to re-plaster the bathroom walls which would mean a complete renovation and redecoration project,” said Helen Green, the owner. “We live in an area with hard water and limescale is a real problem so a wall that is easy to keep clean would be ideal.”SolutionAfter liaising with Altro customer services, the new Altro Walls ShowerKit was recommended as being the ideal solution as the wall panels can be installed over existing ceramic tiles and provides ease of maintenance for residents. There is also no requirement for construction materials or heavy equipment as Altro Walls ShowerKit is lighter to transport than ceramic tiles.

CUPA PIZARRAS has been heavily involved in the development of a new self-build residential property in North West London. The manufacturer was initially approached due to its range of natural slate façade designs, with its CUPACLAD 201 Vanguard system eventually specified to create an impressive and striking façade. Located in Dollis Hill, the property is situated next to a housing estate and opposite an existing slate clad facade, while views to the rear give the illusion of a peaceful woodland setting. The designers sought to create a family home with a high-end exterior finish that felt like an escape from London, while also working well with the surrounding structures. Early on, natural slate was identified as a material that could help to create an attractive contemporary façade around the rear, sides and the upper elevation of the front of the property. It was also crucial that the façade would act as a rainscreen cladding system so the project team approached CUPA PIZARRAS about its CUPACLAD natural slate rainscreen cladding. The project team visited Taylor Maxwell’s London Bridge showroom – the exclusive distributor of CUPACLAD in the UK - to discuss options with the Taylor Maxwell and CUPA PIZARRAS teams as well as view a CUPACLAD sample wall. This session helped to establish that the CUPACLAD 201 Vanguard system was the ideal solution. A fully BBA approved system, CUPACLAD 201 Vanguard is 100% non-combustible and offers a lifespan of over 100 years. Following the initial consultation, CUPA PIZARRAS worked closely with the project team, including carrying out a number of site visits. The use of CUPACLAD 201 Vanguard was kept in mind throughout the design process, with the dimensions of the slate determining the placement of windows, vents and corners. This meant that when it came to construction, it was a simple installation process with minimal wastage and resulting in a clean finish. The CUPACLAD 201 Vanguard system is constructed from horizontal aluminium profiles, mechanically fastened to an aluminium sub frame support. Once fixed in place, the rows of natural slate are clipped on, and in the case of the Dollis Hill property, using visible fixings to create an attractive pinstripe effect. “The product looks fantastic in-situ on this project,” commented Tom Ward, Cladding Product Advisor at Taylor Maxwell. “The dark grey slate rainscreen cladding provides a striking colour contrast with the refurbished light brown timber fencing and complements the property’s black aluminium windows and glazing.” “Natural slate is a great cladding product. Not only is it easy to install, but, as it’s natural, you don’t have to handle cost sheets for working with a dangerous material,” commented Ronan Glynn, developer at Talina Builders. “We carry out a lot of demolition and see a lot of old building products go to waste; so it’s also reassuring that slate offers such longevity and when it might eventually be sent to landfill, you know it will not harm the environment.” David Cooke, Business Development Manager at CUPA PIZARRAS concluded: “On a project like this we can be involved as much, or as little, as the project team demands. We can offer support from conception to completion and we always encourage architects and contractors to get in touch as early as possible, so like in the case of Dollis Hill, we can work closely to ensure a meticulous finish.” For more information about CUPA PIZARRAS range of products, including its CUPACLAD rainscreen cladding systems, please visit: https://www.cupapizarras.com/uk/rainscreen-cladding/

The challenge of installing one of the largest expanses of flooring in a single project – and one of the most complex – faced the hub where east meets west at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar. The airport is described as ‘the gateway to Qatar’ and the hub for its world-class airline Qatar Airways with the capacity to serve 8,700 passengers per hour and 30 million every year. Specifiers wanted a flooring high in aesthetic and environmental credentials to meet all requirements at this important airport zone and meeting all relevant environmental and health and safety regulations.  SystemThe system chosen was epoxy terrazzo flooring supplied by Sherwin-Williams - 140,000 sq metres of pigmented epoxy resin - involving the shipping of pre-mixed marble aggregates from Italy to complete the design for the main floor areas consisting of three colours, primarily dark grey with pure black or white epoxy terrazzo.The epoxy terrazzo was poured in situ as the 16,000 workers from various countries navigated their way around the 5,500-acre site and ground and polished the flooring to a high finish, bringing with it major environmental benefits. Thin set epoxy conforms to the EU’s solvents and Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions Directive.The installation process itself also meant there was very little waste – the terrazzo prepared for installation was measured accurately to allow as much or as little to be used in application.The epoxy terrazzo is high in aesthetic and environmental features and meets the demands of architects and specifiers for longer-lasting products with ever-greater green credentials.Terrazzo flooring is a composite – a mix of resin with aggregates which give the product such variety in its design. Intended to be a durable, hard-wearing and highly decorative flooring solution, the resinWith simple re-polishing or re-sealing using water-based products a typical terrazzo flooring can last up to 40 years. However, vinyl floor sheets would require replacing typically every 12 years or less.The Sherwin-Williams Difference By putting our customers first, we know that the innovation, imagination, research and development we put into each and every product will be worth it. You are at the centre of our thinking wherever we operate around the world across five continents whether it is advice, specification or on-site inspection. You are the reason we exist. This is the Sherwin-Williams difference.

ChallengeTo insulate one of Marks and Spencer’s most carbon efficient premier stores with a holistic approach taken towards key sustainability factors such as water, carbon, biodiversity, the community, materials and waste to landfill.SolutionKnauf Insulation’s FactoryClad Roll 40 was utilised within the 11,000m2 multi-wave form standing seam roof, which was supplied by Euroclad to achieve an outstanding visual, functional and environmentally friendly element of the store design, plus achieving a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating. The number of BREEAM credits available from using Knauf Insulation’s Factory Clad Roll 40, played a part in its specification for Marks and Spencer’s flagship sustainable retail store at Cheshire Oaks.Gethin Williams, Euroclad’s Elite Systems Coordinator said: “FactoryClad Roll 40, in 280mm, has a 90/90 lambda value, a generic BRE Green Guide rating of A+ and has excellent thermal and acoustic properties. Thanks to these many characteristics, we thought it was perfect for this project, which resulted in it achieving the relevant BREEAM credits. Being lightweight, flexible and with a high tear strength, fitting was fast and error free, ensuring the thermal integrity was uncompromised.”Knauf Insulation’s FactoryClad Roll 40 is manufactured with ECOSE® Technology, has a thermal conductivity of 0.040W/mK and also has the highest possible Euroclass A1 reaction to fire classification when tested in accordance with BS EN 13501-1.In addition to this, Knauf Insulation’s mineral wool products with ECOSE Technology benefit from a revolutionary, bio-based, formaldehyde-free binder technology, based on rapidly renewable materials, instead of petro-based chemicals – delivering superior environmental sustainability and enhancing the environmental credentials without affecting the thermal, acoustic or fire performance. What’s more Knauf Insulation FactoryClad Roll 40 represents no known threat to the environment and has zero Ozone Depletion Potential and zero Global Warming Potential."Knauf Insulation FactoryClad Roll 40, in 280mm, has a 90/90 lambda value, a generic BRE Green Guide rating of A+ and has excellent thermal and acoustic properties. Thanks to these many characteristics, we thought it was perfect for this project, which resulted in it achieving the relevant BREEAM credits. Being lightweight, flexible and with a high tear strength, fitting was fast and error free, ensuring the thermal integrity was uncompromised."- Gethin Williams, Euroclad’s Elite Systems Coordinator

Dacatie's TFR Fire Rated Cavity Closers were used in this residential project by Willmott Dixon. The 133 homes come in a mix of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses, and 1 and 2 bedroom apartments. It is part of the Bristol Mayor’s commitment to build 2,000 new homes, including 800 affordable, in the city.

Dacatie's TF Multicloser and SF Multicloser profiles were used in the Phoenix Wharf development of 4 bedroom homes.Phoenix Wharf is located within the Sandwell and Swan Village area of West Bromwich, less than six miles northwest of Birmingham.

Over 1,000 Profile 22 Optima Chamfered Windows have been used in a conversion project in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire. Sim Chem House in Cheadle Hulme was a six storey office block built in the 1960s. The building had been empty for many years and fallen into disrepair. It was purchased by developers Inspired Homes to be redeveloped into 184 studio, one and two bed ultra-high quality apartments aimed at young homeowners.