RECORD ORDERS ANNOUNCED FOR CONTRACT FURNITURE MANUFACTURER

Deanestor, one of the UK’s leading contract furniture and fit-out specialists, has announced a record order intake, with £12.5m of orders secured in the last six months. This is a significant increase on the same period in 2018.

Contracts have been awarded for delivery through to 2020 and across a diverse range of sectors – private rental schemes, student accommodation, healthcare and education. A large proportion of the projects are for repeat clients – both developers and contractors – following Deanestor’s successful performance on previous schemes.

The trend towards larger furniture and fit-out contracts of over £1m continues for Deanestor, requiring a high degree of technical design input and project management from its teams. The latest contracts to be awarded are also spread across the UK – in England, Scotland and Wales.

Commenting on the record order intake, William Tonkinson, Managing Director of Deanestor, said, “We are delighted with the performance of the business in the first half of this year. We have been very successful in diversifying into new markets which has provided a healthy forward order book and a solid foundation for the business in an uncertain economic environment.”

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“We are the longest established furniture and fit-out provider to the NHS with a track record that spans more than 70 years. It is fantastic to see this work continue but also the success of our move into other areas such as high-quality kitchens for major private residential developments.”

£6.8m of the orders are for the manufacture and fitting of fixed furniture for new build-to-rent schemes and student residences. These include a contract to fit out 656 bedrooms and provide over 200 kitchens for student accommodation provider urbanest in London, and a third student project for the development arm of Mace in Oxford.

In the healthcare sector, Deanestor will be providing furniture for the £350m Grange University Hospital in Gwent for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board – another project for main contractor Laing O’Rourke.

Deanestor’s largest project in the education sector is a £3m contract awarded by Robertson Construction for the new £55m Inverurie Community Campus. The Mansfield-based manufacturer will furnish and fit out 360 rooms across the campus in just 26 weeks. This will include the manufacture of 1,950 metres of shelving, 670 metres of laminate and laboratory worktops, 400 base and wall storage units, over 80 teaching walls, and more than 500 items of metalwork.

Deanestor provides high quality contract furniture solutions to construction clients and contractors for healthcare, education, student accommodation, build-to-rent and laboratory projects – both new build and refurbishment. It offers bespoke design services to meet specific project requirements and is responsible for installation to provide a seamless approach for its customers and a single point of contact.

 

www.deanestor.co.uk

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OFFSITE SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCES RECORD £32m ORDERS FOR BATHROOM PODS DESPITE BREXIT UNCERTAINTIES

Offsite Solutions, the UK’s leading bathroom pod manufacturer, has announced £32m of orders for more than 9,500 units in the last six months – a record performance and a significant increase on the same period last year.

The business also has a healthy live quote bank, which has increased in value by around 10 per cent.

James Stephens, Managing Director of Offsite Solutions, said, “This performance contrasts sharply with the UK manufacturing figures released last month which indicate a downturn and a six-year low in production. We have continued to grow the business year-on-year and the outlook remains buoyant with such a strong forward order book. The volume of UK projects using bathroom pods continues to increase, as this approach to offsite manufacturing has become a more standard method of procurement, particularly in sectors such as build-to-rent.”

“We have continued to grow market share and diversify into new areas such as retirement living and timber-framed housing. This is testament to our team’s consistently outstanding performance in delivering every bathroom project to the highest standards, and is reflected in the high number of repeat customers we now have.”

 

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“There is still great uncertainty around Brexit, but the use of bathroom pods gives contractors and developers a much higher degree of certainty, as costs can be fixed at an earlier point in the construction procurement cycle. A UK manufacturer will also minimise any risk of currency fluctuations.”

“Brexit will continue to reduce the amount of site-based labour available, so by moving bathroom construction into a factory environment, the risk of inflationary increases from labour and materials is significantly reduced. Our customers also benefit from a better engineered, higher quality product. The UK is becoming a genuine market leader in this sector of manufacturing.”

Contracts have been awarded in the last six months for both steel-framed and GRP composite bathroom pods and across a range of sectors – build-to-rent, apartments for market sale, hotels and retirement living, with student accommodation representing the largest market for bathroom pods so far this year. These projects will be delivered through to 2020.

The latest contracts include more than 500 pods for student accommodation developer urbanest at Vine Street in London which is under construction by Balfour Beatty, and 778 steel-framed pods for Henry Construction in Croydon – a build-to-rent scheme for HUB. Among the GRP pod contracts is a 380-bathroom student project for Create Construction in Liverpool, designed by Falconer Chester for developers Niveda.

Offsite Solutions offers the UK’s largest range of bathroom pods to suit different building types and applications. Options include steel-framed pods with porcelain-tiled finishes for high-end apartments, build-to-rent, student residences and hotels; robust and low maintenance GRP composite pods for student accommodation, care homes, social housing and healthcare; hybrid pods for specialist projects, and award-winning demountable GRP pods for ease of installation in refurbishment schemes.

 

www.offsitesolutions.com

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New non-combustible range of Spandrel Panels

Architectural facade specialists Metalline have introduced a new non-combustible A1 rated spandrel panel that has been designed to fit into most curtain walling, structural glazing and unitised systems. This new panel allows architects and designers to specify with confidence a tested panel.

Constructed from an A1 non-combustible material Metalline’s new Spandrel panels have been independently tested at Efectis achieving a 60/60 rating to ensure they meet the very latest fire and safety regulations.

 

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Metalline’s range of aluminium spandrel panels also known as Ultima spandrel panels are produced in a wide variety of colours and finishes. These include a full range of anodised colours as well as specialist ppc finishes that mimic portland stone and corten for example. We also offer a full range of PPC finishes. The range of finishes means these panels can be introduced without comprising the overall aesthetics of the building façade.

These highly versatile panels can be adapted for a wide range of buildings, they are produced from environmentally friendly and sustainable materials and can help a building conform to the highest level of BREEAM certification.

Acoustic and thermal performance can all be enhanced using a variety of cores tested at both Sound and UKAS approved laboratories.

 

www.metalline.co.uk

 

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Protecting buildings from water, sub-soil gases and harmful substances in the ground

by Simon Lloyd – Kiwa Building Products

 

The concrete ground floor of a building must be constructed to:

  • resist the passage of ground moisture to the upper surface of the floor covering;
  • not be damaged by water vapour and water from the ground;
  • not let interstitial condensation adversely affect the structural and thermal performance of the concrete ground floor nor promote surface condensation.

A concrete ground floor might also need to protect the occupants of a building from ground gases.

A concrete ground floor will meet these requirements when a damp proof membrane (DPM), water proof or gas proof membrane is incorporated in the floor build-up.

Such a membrane could be a flexible, chemically resistant, co-polymer thermoplastic sheet, manufactured in accordance with BS EN 13967 from low-density polyethylene. Some membranes have integral aluminium foil for resistance to methane, carbon dioxide and radon gas. On site, the membrane sheet laps can be hot weld jointed or the laps are bonded using double-sided self-adhesive jointing tape and, in some cases, sealed with single-sided self-adhesive lap tape.

A membrane at least 300 μm thick with sealed joints can be laid under a ground-supported concrete slab to prevent the concrete from gaining moisture through capillary action. If the ground could contain materials that are dangerous to health or cause failures in buildings e.g. water soluble sulphates, contaminants, chlorides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or ground gases, a suitable membrane should be specified.

A membrane laid above a concrete slab should be protected by an insulation layer and/or screed layer, prior to application of a floor finish.

A DPM can act to prevent the ingress of ground water vapour, and ground liquid water when not subject to hydrostatic pressure.

A water proof membrane can be used for protection against liquid ground water under hydrostatic pressure to BS 8102 Type A, if the joints can be hot welded. It can provide waterproofing protection Grades 1 and 2; and Grade 3 when part of a combined waterproofing solution.

 

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Cellar and basement tanking membranes can be used with cavity drainage wall membranes and ancillaries as part of a type C basement waterproofing system. A suitably designed sealed system can drain away groundwater in a controlled manner.

Ground gas membranes protect a building and its occupants from the ingress of ground VOC vapours and liquids, and methane/carbon dioxide ground gases, in accordance with BS 8485 and CIRIA C748.

Design of ground VOC vapour and ground gas protective measures for buildings on contaminated land or in areas of risk must be in accordance with the recommendations in CIRIA C665, C716D, C735, C748, R149, BS 8485 and BRE Report 414.

When medium to high levels of ground VOCs and ground gases are present or when the generation of gases still occurs, a suspended concrete ground floor or an open void beneath a ground supported concrete ground floor, should be used to ventilate ground gases to atmosphere.

For installation, a surface blinding layer of soft sand may be needed to fill voids in the hardcore base, to prevent the risk of puncturing during pouring of a concrete slab, or sand blinding of a concrete slab to prevent puncturing during installation of a screed layer.

The installation of a membrane must achieve complete continuity and integrity across the footprint of a building. It must be sealed to the perimeter damp proof course in walls, at piers and around service pipe penetrations.

In ground VOC and ground gas barrier applications, airtight seals must be formed around all service pipe penetrations using taped membrane or top hat units suitable for the application.

 

www.kiwa.com

 

 

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KINGSPAN TEK VILLAS ARE READY FOR THE SUMMER SUN

The Kingspan TEK Building System has been used to construct five luxury villas at the Porth Veor Manor Hotel near Newquay – providing the perfect seaside spot for holiday makers.

The mid-19th Century manor sits in two acres of terraced lawn gardens. In 2007, a swimming pool and 12 cottages were added to the resort and, with demand continuing to grow, the owners chose to build a further row of two-storey villas in an underused section of the grounds. The Kingspan TEK Building System of structural insulated panels (SIPs) was specified for the project for a variety of reasons, as Mike Burke from contractors Sip Hus, explained:

“The design of the units, their location, size and performance requirements meant that the Kingspan TEK Building System was the best choice for the structural shells. The excellent thermal performance of the panels allowed us to maximise the internal spaces within the given footprint without having to compromise on thermal efficiency.”

The Kingspan TEK panels feature a high-performance rigid insulation core which is sandwiched between two layers of OSB/3. The panels were factory cut to the villa’s designs by SIP Hus Ltd. This allowed them to be installed quickly and efficiently once onsite, with the structural shells erected in just 5 weeks.

 

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To reflect the architecture of the surrounding beach front properties, the upper storey of each villa is clad in New England style boarding whilst the lower storey is rendered in light neutral colours.

To help situate the buildings within their natural surroundings, the villas were designed with barrelled green roofs. This curved form presented an unusual challenge for the contractors, as Mike Burke added:

“In order to create a curve, the roof panels were spanned horizontally and faceted then battened and lined with plywood. The step in each villa also added to the complexity of the canopy design.”

The panels feature a unique jointing system which reduces thermal bridging and, in combination with their OSB/3 facing, also allowed air leakage to be reduced. This creates a warm and comfortable environment for holidaymakers, whilst also minimising their long-term heating costs.

 

www.kingspantek.co.uk

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‘STAND ALONE’ VENTILATION SOLUTION OPTIMISES OFFSITE CAPABIITIES

As offsite construction growth outstrips traditional methods, Gilberts has introduced a solution that simplifies incorporation of building services.

The company’s MFS (Mistrale Fusion) provides a stand-alone unit, requiring no ductwork or plant, to ensure a comfortable ambient environment within each space- in air quality AND air temperature.

It means one MFS delivers ventilation, cooling and heating as needed, with no external connections. Once on site, annual design consumption of just 34kw per classroom means that Gilberts’ MFS can cost as little as £5*/classroom/year to operate.

Installed through an external façade or window, Mistrale MFS mixes internal and external air to ventilate the internal space. Each MFS unit features a mixing damper within, modulating airflow to allow the new, fresh air to mix with the warm exhaust air, thus utilising its heat without the need for an exchanger. The integrated low energy fan energises to blend the internal air, ensuring an even distribution of airflow, with control over temperature and CO2 levels within, and maintenance of a comfortable internal environment for occupants. An optional LPHW coil delivers a heat boost, obviating the need to incorporate radiators.

 

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In terms of capacity, just 2 no MFS128 or a single MFS256 will service a 55m2 room (equivalent to a 32 pupil classroom achieving the 8litres/sec/person fresh air required by current Department of Education Building Bulletin (BB101) and PBSP guidelines). Each unit also achieves relevant acoustic considerations: its operational ‘noise’ is less than 30dbA.

Gilberts has further taken care to attain compliance with Building Regulations Approved Document L: MFS attains air leakage better than legislative requirements- 5m3/HR/m2, and a U value of 1W/m2/°C. As with all Gilberts’ ventilation solutions, it delivers efficient weather performance via its bespoke louvre system.

 “Offsite construction is currently predicted to grow at 30%pa, so there is a significant need for stand-alone building services solutions that facilitate efficient production techniques,” observes Gilberts’ Sales Director Ian Rogers. “MFS is already proven in mainstream construction to deliver a value engineered solution, ensuring an appropriate internal environment for an occupied space.”

Family-owned Gilberts has a heritage spanning more than 60 years, with a management team recognised as experts within their respective fields. At its 95,000 sq ft head office facility, it designs, manufactures and supplies a comprehensive range of components designed to deliver efficient air movement strategies in commercial environments. Products are predominantly manufactured in-house, to the extent it even designs and manufactures its own jigs and tools; ventilation products are validated in its purpose-designed on-site, in-house test facility.

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DEANESTOR COMPLETES £1.1m FURNITURE CONTRACT AT ROYAL PAPWORTH HOSPITAL – ITS 15th HEALTHCARE PROJECT FOR SKANSKA

Deanestor, one of the UK’s leading contract furniture manufacturers to the healthcare sector, has completed a £1.1m contract for the supply and installation of furniture and fittings for over 1,600 rooms for the new Royal Papworth Hospital – the UK’s leading specialist heart and lung hospital. The contract is Deanestor’s 15th healthcare project for Skanska.

 his latest scheme involved the manufacture of nearly 2,000 base and wall cabinets, shelving units and worktops for areas including operating theatres, cardiac catheterisation laboratories, pharmacy, isolation wards, ensuite bedrooms, utility rooms, staff changing facilities, library, and offices.

The fixed and loose furniture was manufactured and pre-assembled at Deanestor’s factory in Mansfield. A highly durable white finish for the wall and base units was specified for the clinical areas with light grey laminated worktops. All these items were designed for longevity and to meet stringent infection control requirements. Furniture manufactured for the office areas had a wood grain finish.

In addition to installing its manufactured furniture, Deanestor was responsible for fitting over 12,000 other items across the new hospital including controlled drug cabinets, mirrors, fridges, noticeboards and fire extinguishers. It also manufactured kitchen units for 15 staff rest rooms and beverage bays and installed more than 1,600 integrated panel systems (IPS) pre-fitted with basins or toilets.

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Commenting on the project, Francis Breen, Construction Director at Skanska, said, “Deanestor offered the most competitive solution for this project. We needed a combination of high quality, durable and functional furniture that would meet the highest standards of infection control. The Deanestor team engaged well with this complex construction scheme and had a positive attitude throughout.”

Colin Glen, Clinical Project Manager at Royal Papworth Hospital, said, “Our requirement was for good quality furniture that had longevity. Furniture that would be resistant to damage and that is well designed to avoid settling of dust and maintain infection control. Deanestor has provided great quality products which are exactly what the hospital needed.”

The 40,000m2 Royal Papworth Hospital is located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. The scheme has been designed to combine a highly efficient clinical layout and a striking architectural design to reflect its world-leading position as a pioneering cardiothoracic specialist hospital and transplant centre of excellence. It provides more than 300 beds which are mostly ensuite, a critical care unit, outpatients, seven operating theatres and five cardiac catheterisation laboratories.

Originally established in 1948 to manufacture hospital furniture for the newly established NHS, Deanestor is a market-leading supplier of fixtures, fittings and equipment to the healthcare sector. It offers bespoke design services to meet specific project requirements and is responsible for installation to provide a seamless approach for contractors and a single point of contact for the most complex hospital construction and refurbishment projects.

 

For further information, visit www.deanestor.co.uk/healthcare, call 01623 420041 or email enquiries@deanestor.com .

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SLOWDOWN – Brexit or Government failings?

Two industry reports, published today, suggest that Brexit is not wholly responsible for the slow down in construction projects, but rather the quite reversal of louder government project announcements.

 

MINERAL PRODUCT ASSOCIATION

Following a broad-based weakening in the first half of 2019, construction market demand for mineral products, including aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete (RMC) and mortar, improved in 2019Q3 compared to the previous quarter. Growth in mortar sales was the strongest, up 5.2% compared to 2019Q2, followed by asphalt (4.1%), aggregates (2.7%) and RMC (1.4%).

Whilst welcome, this improvement has not been sufficient to lift the market performance for 2019 so far. In the first 9 months of the year, markets for asphalt and mortar remained broadly flat compared to the same period in 2018, while sales of aggregates and RMC declined.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that construction output increased by 2.6% over Jan-Aug 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, with growth driven by housebuilding and new infrastructure work. Work on commercial sites, including retail and office buildings, continues to decline. Aggregates and RMC are ubiquitous to any type of construction work, and are usually used early in a construction project timeline. Hence, given the weakness of these markets, it suggests that recorded construction output reflects continuing activity on existing sites rather than new sites.  Following two years of subdued mineral products market conditions in 2017 and 2018, flat to negative sales volumes this year are precursors to a further slowdown in construction in the near term.

Despite initial expectations of work planned to pace up on Highway England’s roads programme this year, asphalt sales volumes saw a marginal decline by 0.6% over Jan-Sept 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, with falls particularly pronounced in the South West and East Midlands. The Mineral Products Association (MPA) members continue to report significant delays to the Road Investment Strategy (RIS 1) delivery. Highways England has now indicated that 37 of the 112 projects set to be carried out over 2015-20 have now either been pushed to the next Road Investment Strategy (RIS 2), covering 2020-25, or put on hold altogether for review. Of the 75 remaining projects to be delivered by the end of FY2019/20, 30 are planned to start during the current financial year, mostly in 2020Q1. Given past delivery records, the industry has little confidence in Highways England’s capability to ensure these projects are delivered as planned.

Simultaneously, the RMC market remains decisively weak and is heading for a third consecutive year of decline in 2019. Sharp declines in sales volumes continue to be recorded in both London and South East, which together account for a third of the total (GB) market. The general decline is closely tied to falling investment in commercial buildings, which have been impacted by the ever-increasing domestic uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the economy. It also reflects slower housebuilding activity in the capital.

Mortar sales are a straight forward indicator of housebuilding activity, especially in regions outside London where constructions are more likely focused on ‘bricks and mortar’ rather than high-rise towers. After a year of consecutive quarterly falls, mortar sales volumes resumed growth in 2019Q3, up 5.2% compared to the previous quarter. Yet again, the annual trend for 2019 remains weak: sales volumes increased by just 0.4% in the first 9 months of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, a significant slowdown from two years of double-digit growth in 2017 and 2018.

Current construction forecasts, such as from the Construction Product Association, suggest housebuilding will pick up again from 2020, given continued support from Government’s Help to Buy scheme. Weakness in the commercial sector is expected to remain until at least 2021, as investment in the sector is being hindered by the ongoing Brexit negotiation process. More realistically, any growth prospects for construction and its supply chain is more dependent on what happens in infrastructure. If delivered as planned, major infrastructure projects in roads, rail and energy should boost activity on the ground over the next few years, but concerns are rising over the delivery of these projects, notably in the rail and road subsectors. The government-commissioned review into HS2 is likely to add further delays to a project already beset by them, whilst work on RIS1 looks unlikely to be delivered as planned, even after the revisions made by Highways England.

Aurelie Delannoy, Director of Economic Affairs at the MPA, explains: “Government cannot overestimate the significance of the current infrastructure pipeline of work for both construction and its supply chain, and for the UK economy as a whole. At a time of great reckoning for the UK’s political and economic future, repairing local roads, building houses, schools, hospitals, and upgrading major rail and energy networks provide the means to lift both short-term and longer-term productivity and growth prospects. It is a great opportunity to put our own house in order.”

“Government often asks how they can help businesses; the answer is simple: provide clarity over future policy and investment and stick to it. Regardless of any Brexit outcome, it is in the power of the UK Government to ensure planned infrastructure investments are being delivered in a robust and timely manner.”

 

IHS MARKIT / CIPSUK CONSTRUCTION PMI®

October data pointed to a sustained decline in UK construction output, with overall volumes of work falling for the sixth consecutive month. The latest survey also revealed a sharp drop in new work, although the rate of contraction was the slowest for three months. Meanwhile, construction companies continued to reduce their workforce numbers in October, which was linked to weak order books and concerns about their near-term business outlook.At 44.2 in October, the headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index registered below the crucial 50.0 no-change threshold. The latest reading was up from 43.3 during the previous month, but still close to the ten-year low seen in June (43.1). Construction companies noted that client demand remained subdued in response to domestic political uncertainty and the economic backdrop. In some cases, survey respondents noted that unusually wet weather in October had acted as an additional headwind to construction output. Lower volumes of work were recorded across all three broad categories of activity. Civil engineering was the worst-performing area, with business activity falling at the sharpest pace since October 2009. House building also decreased at a faster rate in October. Latest data pointed to the greatest drop in residential work for over three years. At the same time, commercial construction fell for the tenth month running, but at the slowest rate since May. New orders dropped for the seventh month in a row during October, but the rate of decline was the least marked since July. Construction companies noted that clients continued to defer decision-making on new projects in response to political uncertainty and concerns about the economic outlook. Survey respondents also suggested that intense competition for new work had resulted in more widespread price discounting to secure contract awards. Softer demand conditions and a lack of new work to replace completed projects resulted in another fall in staffing levels across the construction sector. Employment numbers have declined in each month since April, which survey respondents mainly attributed to the non-replacement of voluntary leavers. Input buying dropped again in October, but weaker demand for construction products and materials did not prevent a further lengthening of suppliers’ delivery times. The latest downturn in vendor performance was the sharpest since June, with construction firms commenting on stock shortages among suppliers (especially plasterboard and insulation materials). However, input cost inflation was the lowest for just over three-and-a-half years.Meanwhile, business optimism towards the year-ahead outlook for construction work remained among the weakest seen since 2012. Some construction firms noted that contract awards related to large-scale civil engineering projects had the potential to boost workloads in the next 12 months, although political uncertainty continued to cloud the outlook.

 

 

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