FPDC’s second quarter of 2012 State of Trade survey confirmed that specialist contractors are more optimistic about the future than 12 months ago but the flow of new orders is sluggish, a reflection that Government cuts are beginning to bite deeper and investor confidence in commissioning new work is low.
More than half of FPDC members are reporting fewer new orders than at the end of 2011. And margins are continuing to be eroded as contractors seek to secure forward work.
One of the positive findings, however, was FPDC members saying tender enquiries are beginning to strengthen; and opportunities suggest that real work is appearing. Fourty four per cent of respondents said tender enquiries are on the increase compared to only 26 per cent at the start of 2012.
Over a quarter of survey respondents wait 90 days for payment. The new Construction Act and the introduction of project bank accounts in public work doesn’t seem to be having an effect.
Industry sources suggest the market seems to be picking up again with lots of enquiries for large office and apartment blocks coming through. Some south east based contractors are reasonably optimistic for the future with prospects for future work appearing. Despite pockets of optimism trading conditions remain very difficult.
New tender enquiries appear to be less speculative which is an improvement on 12 months ago when almost all tenders were unsecure. However at the heart of all activity is getting the right price to win a job.
Paul Jessop, chief executive at FPDC, said: “Flow of new work remains a long term concern. But what is more worrying is the continuing issue of late payment, withholding retentions and the spectre of insolvencies, which are all having a detrimental effect on business activity which appears to have weakened further since the turn of the year. Measures that create more demand are essential if the sector is to be able to respond when recovery picks up; vastly expensive civil projects are not helping at all.”
In January 2007 retail giant Marks and Spencer launched Plan A, setting out 100 commitments, adding another 80 during the intervening years, with an aim to become the world’s most sustainable major retailer by 2015. It’s collaborative approach has set the standard for the industry to respond to. Adrian JG Marsh reports.
“When we kicked off it was a leap of faith,” says Munish Datta Marks and Spencers’ head of the Plan A property team.
“We needed to upskill ourselves and work with our contractors and help them upskill; we’re in a much better place now. Property is now responsible for 21 of our Plan A commitments and represents 30 per cent of our carbon foot print.
“We set our selves a target of zero waste by March 2012. Fit out contractors achieve 90 per cent and we want to drive to 100 per cent.”
Marks and Spencer measures performance at both project and contractor level by using the WRAP methodology. Last year the company sourced 23 per cent of materials from recycled sources but now says it wants to reach 30 per cent.
Datta emphasises that the process of change has been a collaboration with contractors. They’ve made great progress with materials. In 2007 FSC timber came at a premium cost. Today FSC timber is a minimum standard.
At Cheshire Oaks, M&S’s new showcase store and largest after its flagship store at Marble Arch, London, the building fabric has been carefully selected to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. 2,600 m2 of Hemclad panels have been used in the external walls, which include hemp fibre insulation to give a U-value of 0.12W/m2.K and a total saving of around 360 tonnes of CO2 emissions in the construction of the walls.
Mr Datta said: “Cheshire Oaks will have 26 per cent recycled content and products such as Fermacell and Strata Tiles have a high recycled content. The roof insulation is 100 per cent recycled.”
Overall the new M&S will see energy and carbon consumption drop 30 per cent when compared to a similar sized traditional store.
A plea from Munish Datta to contractors and manufacturers: “How can we take what we know and add value quickly? Make it (products and services) cheaper so it becomes standard practice.”
Across the industry the trade is responding. The Plasterboard Sustainability Partnership (PSP) says the greatest opportunity for waste reduction can be realised in the design stage. A ‘design out waste’ sub-group has been set up to review design actions. It consists of representatives from GPDA, AIS, FPDC and WRAP.
Industry estimates suggest that 20 per cent is the average plasterboard waste during construction but by adopting best practice, including different sizes of boards and design details, plasterboard waste can potentially be halved.
Malcolm Waddell, construction project manager at WRAP, said: “Damage on site currently accounts for two to three per cent of waste, so planning carefully how plasterboard is stored and adopting just-in-time deliveries can make a huge difference.
“At the design stage, by looking at ceiling heights, door detailing and procurement, the most efficient board sizes can be identified, this can offer the greatest opportunities to reduce waste.”
PSP is producing an e-learning module which will be available by September. It is expected to include examples of best practice for standard height walls; bespoke board sizes; door detailing; on site cutting; storage and handling; and packaging British Gypsum has developed detailed drawings to suggest the most efficient way to install around doors and windows. They suggest boarding up to either side of a door opening and then infill at the top.
Andrew Wilkins, British Gypsum’s senior product manager, said: “Main contractors are pushing responsibility for waste to the trade contractor. And some (main contractors) are pushing for zero waste. We’ve seen contractors putting less and less into waste. Where possible they’ll re-use off cuts and only send waste to recycling that is too small to re-use.”
Lafarge Plasterboard’s GTEC LaDura Board has been used in the construction of 350 new-build apartments at Berkeley Homes’ Caspian Wharf development in East London, where the board’s strength and durability replaced the need for plywood.
The original specification for the project called for a layer of standard plasterboard that would be strengthened by a sheet of 12mm plywood.
Errol Ryan, project manager for BDL Group, said: “Plywood can be very time consuming and costly to fit, so by selecting a plasterboard with such excellent impact and pull-out performance we were able to dramatically cut the installation times and costs.”
Off-Site manufacturing of panels and modules has become an attractive solution in construction and offers opportunities to improve quality and reduce waste. One of the major challenges in modular construction has been to reduce damage in transit.
British Gypsum’s heavy duty Rigidur board has been developed in large formats to allow complete wall sections to be constructed from a single board. With no jointing there is no risk of cracking during transit. Sizes of up to 2m x 6m can be manufactured to suit module sizes which minimises waste by removing unnecessary off-cuts.
Andy Higson, British Gypsum’s national business development manager – Off-Site Manufacture, said: “Off site manufacturers generally work to about 10 per cent waste levels. While we can cut board to size you’ll always have issues with window and door openings. Also with stronger boards, so long as you use the right fixings and plugs, you can hang almost any weight on a wall without having to install patressing or plywood.”
Inevitably more clients will adopt the Marks and Spencer approach, which means sustainability targets and methodology won’t go away. Specialist contractors will need to demonstrate their credentials even more than before. Earlier adopters will find solutions that can help them to improve productivity and gain a competitive advantage.
A final tip to contractors of all sizes from Munish Datta: “Ensure you stay ahead of the trend. Whether you have three employees or three hundred makes no difference. Smaller contractors are often more nimble.”
Marley Eternit Textura Fibre Cement Cladding has been specified for the new 512-bed Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury, Kent.
Stantec Anshen + Allen architects specified Textura in colours Light Grey and Pale Green because its appealing textured surface and wide range of colours helped minimise the visual impact of the building in this sensitive location, which is also in the Metropolitan Green Belt, surrounded by an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and an RSPB nature reserve.
Textura combines an appealing textured surface finish with toughness and it has a highly glazed, granular finish that can be supplied in a range of standard colours as well as any factory-approved RAL colour. It also has an installed life expectancy of at least 50 years, which will provide Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust with long term value.
Specifiers worked to a palette reference for the overall design that encompassed a range of sympathetic colours for the exterior. Other elements of the build reflect the Textura colour scheme, including green and blue barracuda fins around windows.
“We specified Textura principally because we liked the fact it offered a combination of texture and toughness,” said Anuradha Sapherwall, architect at Stantec Anshen + Allen. “Alternative cladding materials were considered but they did not have the same appealing aesthetics as Textura, which was critical to this project because of its sensitive location.”
Other cladding materials such as steel and aluminium were felt to be ‘flat’, uninteresting and not appropriate to this kind of development, compared to the subtle textured surface finish on fibre cement Textura.
Anuradha Sapherwall added: “We liked the Textura sample boards presented to us by Marley Eternit as it gave us an exact representation of what the cladding would look like as well as the fact the range was available in a wide choice of colours.”
Textura was used as decorative rainscreen cladding on all facades including entrance area and the four main wings of the hospital. Main contractor was Laing O’Rourke and the cladding was installed by Prater Ltd.
The walls of Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury comprise a Metsec SFS (Steel Frame System) incorporating 120mm of mineral wool insulation and 50mm clear cavity. The outer leaf of the wall consists of steel frame, outer sheathing board and waterproof membrane. The Textura panels are mechanically fixed to an aluminium framing system creating a rear ventilated cavity and the walls achieve an overall U value of 0.35 w/m²K.
Marley Eternit fibre cement cladding panels can achieve an A+ rating as defined in the BRE Green Guide to Specification based on generic rating for autoclaved fibre cement single sheet – (Element Ref: 80623042, 806230422, 806230447, 806230450).
Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury is the first district general hospital in England with single inpatient rooms throughout. The innovative design of the building ensures that a majority of patient rooms have views across the SSSI and surrounding woodland. The building achieves a NEAT Excellent rating.
For further information on our range of products and services just ask ME at www.marleyeternit.co.uk/cladding
Although not quite the Golden Tickets of Willy Wonka, the hunt is nonetheless on for special prize winning vouchers hidden in bags of Knauf Drywall’s Joint Cement Easy Sand. And instead of a chocolate factory, the lucky ‘discoverers’ of the dusty tickets will win one of 20 top of the range DEWALT 18V Li-ion Cordless Combi Drills worth around £300 each!
Simply look out in store for Win a Drill branded Knauf Drywall Joint Cement Easy Sand next time you are out buying jointing products. Furthermore, there’s no need to worry if you not likely to pop into your local merchant anytime soon; as you can still win the DEWALT tool kit by registering your details on line at www.knaufdrywall.co.uk/winatoolkit.
Knauf Joint Cement Easy Sand is ideal for when you need an excellent finish with minimal sanding. It can be hand or machine applied and covers approximately 80m2 per bag.
To complement the promotion, Knauf Drywall is also releasing a new 10 litre version of Knauf Drywall Joint Cement Lite Easy Sand. This ready-mixed, smaller and easier to manage tub will be great for those smaller projects. The 10 litre ready-mixed version saves you time on site and, with coverage of approx. 30m2 per tub, is a great new addition to the Knauf Jointing range.
Knauf Drywall Product Manager Chris Allen says that, “Our Jointing range just gets bigger and better, what with new products being added all the time and there being a full range of accessories. With this great promotion to win a top DEWALT Cordless Combi Drills, now is a great time to be buying into our jointing products”.
To find out more about winning with Knauf Drywall please visit www.knaufdrywall.co.uk/winatoolkit.
British Gypsum has formed a new partnership with logistics experts CEVA.
The partnership will see British Gypsum invest substantially in its fleet of streamlined ‘teardrop’ trailers and work with CEVA to deliver a logistics framework that benefits customers while reducing environmental impact and carbon emissions by up to five per cent. New dual-fuel vehicles, a national depot network and efficient delivery and pick-up schedules that will optimise vehicle capacity are just some of the initiatives to be introduced.
To find out more visit www.british-gypsum.com
Around 34,000 sq m of Fermacell has been installed throughout the internal walling of The Morgan Stanley Clinical building (Phase 2A), which will form one half of the £300 million Mittal Children’s Medical Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Opening next month, it comprises four floors of wards for children with acute conditions and chronic illnesses.
Richard Pateman from main contractors BAM Construction said: “Great Ormond Street is a very prestigious project with the scheme designed to be one of the ‘greenest’ hospital buildings in Europe. The sustainable qualities of Fermacell was a major factor in the product being specified.
“All of the internal walls are made from Fermacell which has been installed horizontally and an excellent surface finish has been achieved with the boards.
“The fixing qualities of Fermacell allow you to fix upwards of 50kg using a toggle fixing – once screwed to the board it’s pretty well fixed and this allows more flexibility both during construction and after. The restaurant ‘Rainbow’ feature ceiling on level 2 has been made from Fermacell because of its fixing qualities allowing us to fix LED lights strings directly into the boards.”
“Sustainability is at the forefront of this new scheme,” commented Jim Hunt, Managing Director of Kent Commercial Finishing, whose company has been responsible for installing the Fermacell boards. “Fermacell’s green credentials – being made from 94% recycled materials – meaning that it makes a significant contribution to the overall Excellent NEAT (NHS Environment Assessment Tool) rating of the building.”
“I have been a firm supporter of Fermacell which, when installed correctly, provides an excellent surface finish and no shrinkage or cracking. It also offers high impact, acoustic, fire, moisture and strength properties.”
For more information about Fermacell visit http://www.fermacell.co.uk.
The proliferation of steel framing systems (SFS) has shown no signs of abating during the difficult economic conditions for the sector, so the time has come to effect the next stage in the evolution of these modern building systems. Steve Halcrow, FPDC’s technical consultant, considers how SFS is spreading and what contractors need to be aware of when carrying out SFS packages.
Light Gauge Steel Framing is now a common sight on many construction sites, and with good reason: they are fast, clean, cost effective and their continuing evolution is seeing them being put to an ever greater and more diverse range of applications.
At the present time there is no stipulated British Standard for the design and installation of these systems. This can lead, on occasions,to problems arising from disputes over tolerances, misunderstandings over what has been designed and by whom, and how we police the installation of these vital, partially structural, elements.
There are some excellent publications available from the Steel Construction Institute (SCI) which cover aspects of the work surrounding SFS systems, and the manufacturers produce their own guidelines in their literature, which up to now has sufficed but still doesn’t cover every base. There are also some overlaps with standards originally written for other similar work such as light gauge purlins in portal frame buildings. There is a lot of scope for mistakes and misunderstandings if designers use these without fully appreciating the differences.
Clients and specifiers use the performance values and technical information that manufacturers and suppliers provide about their products and they must have confidence in this information. The implementation of British and European standards would give further assurance that the performance values quoted by manufacturers have been derived correctly and in accordance with the latest relevant standards.
FPDC has been working with key stakeholders to develop a new standard which covers SFS. The objective is to create an accepted industry standard and then establish a new formal British and/or European standard.
SCI has also been working on a standard related to pre-fabricated panels but with significant relevance to the stick-built in-situ methods which will be familiar to many members.
FPDC is collaborating with SCI so that the information can either be included in one document, or if more than one eventually exists that they will be coherent in their style and content. We feel it is vital that our members are represented in the production of such a document, as our experience as installers will add to the expertise already being utilised by SCI and will have an important bearing on the final content.
We hope it may be possible to “dual-badge” such documents so that they have the endorsement of both bodies and hence carry considerable weight as they are adopted as the industry standard.
Another initiative that has taken place simultaneously has been the piloting of apprenticeship courses in SFS. Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College has run a pilot course, designed and delivered with the co-operation and support of ConstructionSkills. The result was positive and, with small amendments to the content and delivery method, the course will continue to run and hopefully spread further throughout the country.
This work is now beginning to gather pace. For those members and associate members who previously offered their help, thank you, and even if you haven’t been taken up on the offer yet you will be soon! Should any other members like to participate in the process of assembling Standards for SFS or indeed for internal drywall systems, please contact me through the FPDC and we will gladly accept any input.
It’s a Government initiative to insulate eight million of the boxes that some of us live in, but for those willing to play, is there any money in the other box…?
Just in case you haven’t noticed, in October 2012 the Government will launch its much vaunted Green Deal initiative. DECC, the government department driving Green Deal openly describes it as a building programme, and there is no doubt that if Green Deal happens in the way the Government intends, it could be the miracle that this sector is desperately looking for, bringing work that has been on prison rations for almost four years.
The UK Government is committed to reducing the carbon footprint of the UK and a significant chunk of the UK¡¦s current energy consumption is used to keep old houses as warm as we now expect them to be (so we can eat Sunday lunch in a t-shirt rather than having to dress up like Heathcliff in a force ten on Ilkley Moor..).
Previous initiatives such as CERT and CESP haven’t had the impact needed and will end in December 2012. CERT and CESP failed to catch on because the improvements had to be paid for up front and, with the benefits being long term, householders were reluctant to take on the burden despite in some instances the full cost being available through a grant.
Green Deal is a framework that allows home insulation to be done at no up-front cost, essentially by a mortgage type system whereby around £1.3 billion per annum (for at least three years) of funding is made available from energy companies as part of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) into Green Deal
Providers. These providers will then act as the bank for all those wanting to install approved insulation measures to their house. Consumers will pay back the cost
of such improvements through the resulting savings in their energy bills¡¨ If the house gets sold, the debt stays with the house.
Where Green Deal starts to get really interesting is that 60 per cent of ECO funding (the Carbon Saving Target, worth around £0.8billion per year) is for insulating Hard To Treat houses (HTTs), primarily older houses with solid walls and unsuitable for cavity wall insulation. The approved measures for insulating HTTs are External Wall
Insulation (EWI) and Internal Wall insulation (IWI). To us, that means either insulated render systems for EWI or Insulated drylining systems for IWI, both of which are skills that go to the heart of the plastering and drylining industry.
In theory, EWI is preferable but simply not practical on all houses and hybrid combinations of both EWI and IWI will be needed. In practice, the EWI and IWI systems
that will be used are the same systems that this industry uses in new build projects, day in, day out; it is only the context of their use, in refurbishment, that will change.
The current installation rate for solid wall insulation is around 20,000 per year; Green Deal will require a tenfold increase to around 200,000 per year by 2015. The Energy Company Obligations (ECO) are exactly that ¡V the energy supply companies are obliged to reach their project targets or they will be heavily fined, and so the pressure is on to deliver. A quarter of the worst energy perfuming buildings (with an EPA rating of G) are in the private rented sector, but in April 2018 it will become unlawful to rent out a house or business premises that do not meet a minimum EPA rating of E, and from April 2016 a landlord cannot refuse a reasonable
request to upgrade from a tenant – upgrading work will be unavoidable.
The manufacturing and distribution companies have got wise to the potential market and are organising training and Green Deal seminars. But there is a significant
absence of companies lining up to be authorised installers!
Part of that would appear to be because to Government has been led a bit up the garden path into thinking that there are insulation installers who will just retrain to
deliver Green Deal. But the guys who do cavity wall insulation wouldn’t have a clue if they were asked to fit an insulated render to a house, even less if they had to fit an
insulated plasterboard system and make sure there was no thermal bridging. This is bread and butter work for our sector and here is a huge opportunity for those installers that are prepared to adapt their skills to work in the refurb environment.
There are different business models available for those that want to get involved, from basic approved sub-contracting as local installers, chosen by the householder, or
recommended by a big Green Deal Provider such as B&Q. For the more entrepreneurial there’s the opportunity to take control of a bigger chunk of the process and
build a significant niche business, possibly securing some of the larger rented sector contracts from councils or housing associations.
Construction doesn’t stand still. Survival isn¡¦t about the strongest, it’s about those most able to adapt to new climates and Green Deal is a serious building programme, albeit in disguise. With eight million properties needing work and energy companies obliged to spend £1.3 billion to do something about
it, what exactly are we waiting for?
Tackling ceilings, drywall and partitioning integration is a potential opportunity says Malcolm Stamper from SAS International.
In the last issue of Spec Finish Steve Halcrow’s feature included the major points that FPDC members need to consider where a drywall deflection tolerance has been
specified; however, we also need to consider the wider implications for all fit out projects.
The same issues highlighted in the article also apply to the glass partitioning market. For a number of years partitioning manufacturers have supplied single or two-part deflection heads capable of providing a range of deflection tolerances.
However, FPDC members and other interior subcontractors offer more than just drywall or partitioning and provide a ‘turnkey’ service, supplying and installing multiple
packages of ceilings, drywall and partitioning. Being able to offer the complete service has enabled them to win further business and add value to the main contractor or client.
Fully glazed partitioning is increasingly being used on projects with a mixture of solid and glazed elevations working together to form meeting rooms and offices. The issue facing the subcontractor has been these product manufacturers tend not to consider each other’s products; it is often left to the subcontractor to consider how the drywall and glass partitioning will integrate.
On projects where deflection is not required a standard solution is an aluminium wall abutment fitted to the drywall. On projects where deflection is specified different designs from different plasterboard and partitioning manufacturers have resulted in no standard integration detail being available. The sub-contractor then has to
install two systems that were not necessarily designed to work as separate products.
As a manufacturer of all these products we recently went back to the drawing board to overcome this issue; listening to all the interested parties, sub-contractors,
clients and architects to develop a single system that provides drywall / glass pocket adaptors and deflection for both 100mm drywall or 120mm drywall and single or
double glazed partitioning.
Overcoming these issues will enable more drywall and partitioning packages to be won by FPDC members, enabling them to enhance their offering to main contractors and ultimately reduce the final delivered project cost to the client.
MPG Group has won the bi-annual Saint Gobain Gypsum International Trophy for its work at the Aquatic’s Centre. The Awards featured entries from 66 contractors across 28 countries and six categories.
This iconic building, the venue for swimming, diving and water polo activities during this month’s Olympic games in London, comprises medical, research, administrative and creche facilities. The partitions throughout use moisture resistant grade plasterboard and acoustic ceilings in public circulation areas.
The Judges said: “The challenge of creating a venue with a short term objective for use during the games coupled with high performance and a need to make
partitions demountable for the longer term use of the building demonstrated the flexibility and sustainability of lightweight partition solutions.”
Photo by London 2012
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