Category Archives: Construction
Bespoke Kocoon cubicle delivered thanks to leading customer service
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The Kocoon is a cubicle with a difference. With all the benefits of Kinedo self-contained shower cubicles, the Kocoon differs with its luxury shower panels, rather than the glass internal panels that Kinedo cubicles are famous for.
The cubicles are available in multiple sizes and are popularly used as bath replacement products. One customer, from the Midlands, was looking for such a product that would blend into the original décor of his smartly tiled bathroom and the beige patterned shower wall of the Kocoon looked like a perfect match. However, the standard specification of a recessed Kocoon – with two patterned end panels and a single plain back panel – didn’t meet his unique requirements.
The customer not only wanted all three panels with the pattern, but also an alternative installation point for the shower valve and showerhead. Unable to support the request, the
local plumbers merchant recommended direct contact with the Kinedo technical team, who provided personalized support for a personalized shower cubicle.
After colour samples were sent to the customer for approval, the team ordered a set of bespoke panels from the company’s manufacturing base in France and no holes were pre-drilled to enable a bespoke shower valve installation on site.
The unit was delivered and installed within 9 weeks of the initial enquiry and the customer is delighted with the result;
“From start to finish the team to Kinedo have bent over backwards to support my requirements. I am really pleased with the cubicle which slots directly into the recess where my bath was previously. I was keen to retain the existing tiles and this cubicle gave me that opportunity. Then, when I wanted something over and above the standard spec, the team could not have been more helpful and I think the result is absolutely stunning.”
The Kocoon cubicle is supplied as one integrated package that includes the tray, internal shower panels, glass external panels and door, as well as the smart shower valve, rainshower head and handheld shower with anti-twist hose.
The specification team at Kinedo is very happy to work with installers and specifiers to deliver solutions, including sales specials, that meet any project requirements. The technical team will also deliver installation training on-site to ensure that all plumbers and installers can benefit from best practice installation. A Kinedo cubicle can be installed and ready to use in under half a day. With no tiles, grout or silicone required it really is an efficient solution.
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Learn how Saint-Gobain PAM products help to ensure your construction project achieves its sustainable targets
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With a New Year comes an increasing focus on Sustainability and PAM are doing everything possible to ensure their products play their part in helping ensure your construction project achieves its sustainable targets in terms of recyclability, carbon reduction, reduced waste, reduced time spent on the install… The list goes on. Why not watch the video to learn more!
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Saniflo parent company SFA Group wins social responsibility award
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SFA Group –Saniflo UK’s parent company – has been awarded a Bronze Medal for Corporate Social Responsibility from EcoVadis, the world’s most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. This result places the SFA Group among the top 50% of companies assessed by EcoVadis.
The EcoVadis assessment is built on international sustainability standards, including the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact, and the ISO 26000, covering 200 spend categories and 160+ countries.
SFA Group was rated based on a sustainability scorecard which illustrates performance across 21 indicators in four main categories of environment, labour and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement.
Saniflo UK Head of Marketing and Product Management, Ann Boardman, says: “At Sanifo UK we uphold the same high standards set by our parent company, SFA Group in France. We pride ourselves on our ongoing commitment to being the best we can be in all ways, always. This Bronze medal is well deserved.”
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See how to use Saint-Gobain PAM’s Ensign range pre-assembled stack assemblies in Revit with this new tutorial
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Saint-Gobain PAM aims to ease the burden on developers, specifiers and contractors in the early stages of construction by providing two levels of BIM library and supporting elements in Revit for our Ensign Range. These files will make it easier for early stage specification in BIM and will speed up the whole planning process; this in turn will create measurable cost and time savings for our customers.
Watch the tutorial to see how to use the pre-assembled stack assemblies in Revit.
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The sky is the limit for the Riverside Museum, Glasgow, with the help of Bilco UK
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Housing the Glasgow Museum of Transport, one of the UK’s foremost transport and technology collections, the Riverside Museum reflects Glasgow’s historic role as a centre of shipbuilding, train manufacturing and engineering.
Previously located in a former tram depot on the Glasgow South Side, the Transport Museum’s exhibits have moved to The Riverside Museum, designed by renowned architect, Zaha Hadid.
The museum’s iconic and beautiful design dominates its riverside location, whilst paying homage to the heritage of its surroundings. Crucial to the museum’s flowing design is its roof, which curves and undulates and continues around the east and west sides of the building to constitute the majority of the external structure.
Silver-grey zinc panels complete the effect, placing the building firmly in the context of the River Clyde. As part of the roof construction, Bilco UK was commissioned to manufacture and supply a E-50TB Roof Access Hatch, in addition to two ESW-50REM Smoke Vents, to meet strict requirements for convenient access and building safety regulations.
Both the roof access hatch and smoke vents were custom-designed to unique specifications by Bilco UK’s in house team and clad in zinc to create a seamless, aesthetic finish with the museum’s distinctive roof.
Expertly engineered to meet the requirements of Manual Handling Regulations, the E-50TB Roof Access Hatch allows for regular and convenient maintenance by facilitating easy one-handed operation. The Access Hatch will enable engineers with small tools to safely access the roof to conduct essential maintenance, whilst its overlapping cover design, fully welded corners and insulated cover ensure both weather tightness and energy efficiency to deliver the highest standards of longevity for the museum.
Specified to ensure strict adherence with relevant fire safety regulations, the two ESW-50REM Smoke Vents open to 140 degrees in the event of a fire within 60 seconds, guaranteeing the highest standards in fire safety and allowing for the venting of smoke, heat and noxious gases in the event of a fire.
Mark Baird, Sales Operations Manager at Bilco UK, said: “Knowing that Bilco UK’s products are part of such a unique and ambitious project, especially one which is so architecturally significant, is incredibly rewarding. The Riverside Museum is a great example of how taking a bespoke approach to roof access solutions can achieve unparalleled aesthetics, without compromising on convenience or safety.
“Not only do our custom-made access hatches and smoke vents integrate seamlessly into the overall design, they also offer the highest possible standards of fire safety and efficiency.”
Open to Glasgow to the North and the Clyde to the South, the museum’s interior is complex, inviting visitors to snake their way around the various exhibits. The building “flows from city to waterfront, symbolising the dynamic relationship between Glasgow and the ship-building, seafaring and industrial legacy of the river Clyde.” (Zaha Hadid).
For further information on Bilco UK’s complete range of roof access solutions, visit www.bilcouk.co.uk or call 01284 701696.
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CONDAIR LAUNCH RAPID RESPONSE SERVICE
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Condair has long offered planned preventative maintenance (PPM) contracts to ensure optimal operation of its clients’ humidifiers across the UK and Ireland, for any make and model. It also provides breakdown response for customers both with and without an existing PPM contract. However, the company is now providing an 8-hour call-out service, with engineers on call round-the-clock, to support clients with critical applications.
Tony Tullett, Service Director at Condair, commented, “It is great that we are able to add this rapid response service to our product offering. It enables us to provide additional reassurance to our clients who operate sites like data centres or pharmaceutical production facilities, and who cannot be without humidity control for extended periods. All of our PPM customers have access to our expert telephone support line, but with this additional feature activated, customers also get 24/7 telephone support and rapid response call-out options. Depending on the urgency of the issue, customers can choose to receive an engineer on site within 8, 24 or 48 hours.”
Condair has 18 service engineers strategically located across the UK and Ireland. Alongside system design and sales, the company offers installation, commissioning, service and spares supply.
The Condair Group is the world’s leading specialist in humidity control and evaporative cooling, with energy efficient, hygienic and innovative technologies for commercial, industrial and heritage applications. You can find out more by visiting the company’s website at www.condair.co.uk.
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Learn how Saint-Gobain PAM’s Rodding Branch massively reduces installation times for basement pipe systems
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By combining 8 separate parts into one unit, Saint-Gobain PAM’s Rodding Branch massively reduces installation times for basement pipe systems, boosting productivity and reducing labour demands. Watch our time trial of the video to see just how much time you can save on your project!
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Sanifos Makes Glamping Possible
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Saniflo UK – a leading designer and manufacturer of pumps and macerators – continues to provide drainage solutions to unusual and remote places guaranteeing business continuity for some of the country’s prominent staycation attractions locations.
Galley Hill Farm situated on the edge of the rolling Lincolnshire Wolds, an ‘Area of Natural Beauty’, is a farm with a successful ‘Pick Your Own’ business and a caravan site with 10 pitches in a stunning woodland grove adjacent to the family farmhouse.
The busy caravan site encompasses a block with shower and WCs and has recently expanded from 5 to 10 pitches plus two sizeable glamping pods complete with bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and living room..
Waste from the house and the toilet block is discharged to a septic tank that was recently upgraded due to new regulations that came into effect in 2020. A separate chemical disposal point was also installed for the caravan site.
The proposed space on site for the glamping pods did not have sufficient gravity fall to reach the septic tank, which was 70m away, and thus required a pump to discharge the waste. A Sanifos 610 underground lifting station provided the perfect solution; with sufficient capacity to accommodate more units in future.
A clearing behind the farmhouse was prepared which included concrete bases for the pods, a large pit for siting the Sanifos and trench for the main connection pipe. A small shed was erected to house the electrics and alarm for the Sanifos. The pods were dropped into place and the waste connections installed from the borehole water supply, which has its own water filtration system.
The Sanifos 610 has a 612-litre tank and is offered with a choice of one or two pumps. Galley Hill Farm specified the twin pump model to ensure continuity of service. The pumps work alternately to ensure even wear of the motors, but in the event of one pump failing, the other will activate to ensure it keeps working. It is supplied with a smart control box which is an interactive, intelligent station monitoring system and integrates an alarm for early warning of any problems.
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Service Growth At Condair
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Humidity control specialist, Condair, has appointed Ryan Mooney, as a humidifier service engineer based out of London. Strengthening its engineering presence in the capital allows Condair to provide an even more efficient response time to its many customers in the region.
Ryan has many years’ experience in the building services and environmental control sectors having worked at companies including Aqua Compliance Services and Certifact.
Tony Tullett, Service Director at Condair, comments, “We are very happy to welcome Ryan to the Condair service team and are proud to be expanding our nationwide network of engineers to 18. Condair boasts the largest specialist humidifier service department in the UK by far and we are perfectly placed to deliver the manufacturer’s engineering expertise on-site, no matter where in the UK that humidifier is located.”
The Condair Group is the world’s leading specialist in humidity control and evaporative cooling, with energy efficient, hygienic and innovative technologies for commercial, industrial and heritage applications. Condair is represented in the UK by Condair Limited, which offers system design, manufacture, supply, installation, commissioning, maintenance and spares. You can find out more by visiting the company’s website at www.condair.co.uk
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Crittall On The Right Lines With Crossrail
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Crittall is making a major contribution to new and refurbished West London railway stations on the multi-billion pound Crossrail infrastructure project.
Working for Network Rail contractors Hochtief Construction UK and John Graham Construction, Crittall has been creating the fenestration for a series of AfA (access for all) link bridges over the railway lines between platforms and ticket offices. W20 glazed pivot windows coupled on a fixed light with a PPC steel cement board made up the majority of the frames required.
The existing stations undergoing refurbishment and modification are at Southall, West Drayton, and Hayes and Harlington. The work, carried out by Hochtief, also included new buildings, platform widening and extensions, lift shafts and staircases.
John Graham Construction was responsible for completely new stations at West Ealing and Acton Mainline. In all cases Crittall, working with the main contractors, organised the contracts so as to minimise disruption to the operation of the railway which has now been renamed the Elizabeth Line.
Just over half of the frames were fixed and glazed off site in Wiltshire and Rotherham then transported by the contractor to the site and craned into place during specific set times controlled by Network Rail.
The remaining windows for the contract had to be fixed and glazed on site at the stations during controlled ‘possession’ time slots at nights and weekends when the railway lines were closed of a period of time.
