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The Brick Development Association (BDA) has announced the shortlist for the 2013 Brick Awards, one of the top design and construction awards in the country.

There are 13 awards split into three categories: housing, building and landscape, and technical and craft. There is also the Supreme Award – the Brick Development Association Building of the Year, judged to be the best overall project from the 14 award winners.

2012 saw a new category in the annual Brick Awards, the Architect’s Choice Award. This award is open to any architectural student or practicing registered architect from around the world who can vote for the shortlisted project they believe demonstrates the best architectural use of brick. It will be granted to the project which receives the most votes. Last year, the North London Hospice designed by architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris received over 80 votes and went on to win the award. An online voting interface has been set up on the BDA’s website and closes mid September. RIBA membership numbers and educational institutional details will be required.

Now in its 37th year, anticipation is growing for BDA Awards which will be presented at London’s Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel on 14th November. To book tickets and/or tables at the awards, please contact The Brick Development Association on 020 7323 7030 or email brick@brick.org.uk.

The shortlist can be viewed on the Brick Development Association website, www.brick.org.uk.

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Detectomat exhibited at the UK Firex South exhibition March 13th & 14th and also made a presentation – “The Application of Wire-free Detection and Alarm Solutions in Small and Medium size Buildings”.

This was the first Detectomat exhibition to feature Detectomat’s new SRC4000 Wire-free, radio fire alarm system, which generated considerable interest from existing and potential customers. The stand also displayed Detectomat’s SRC3000, which has been established as the benchmark for radio fire alarm solutions in Small and Medium size buildings. And there is clearly considerable interest and potential for Detectomat to build on this success with the SRC4000 for more demanding applications.

The Detectomat conference presentation made by David Leigh Detectomat’s Regional Director in the UK & Ireland was well attended and well received with many questions from delegates. The Fire industry has experienced significant growth in the use of wire-free, radio communication for FD&A applications in recent years and particularly in the small and medium size building sector, where the introduction of new cost-effective solutions has made radio a viable and attractive solution. The benefits particularly in retrofit applications are significant and Detectomat has been at the forefront in providing best value solutions for the smaller building market with >600 successful installations. These solutions have generally been well received by the market and enforcing authorities and considerable experience has been gained. This Detectomat presentation shared the experience gained over the last 5 years through a review of the technology, case study examples, reference to industry standards and regulations and concluded in what should be expected from the latest technology with reference to the SRC4000.

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Brian King began his apprenticeship in the heating and plumbing sector at the age of sixteen and now, more than thirty years later, with over 25 years of running his own business behind him, says that using quality products in his day to day life has been key to his success. He’s always been loyal to brands that have delivered for him over the years and one of those key brands has been Sentinel water treatment products. With his wife Fran who looks after the administration side of the business and plans Brian’s diary so he just heads off to where it says in the diary his next job is, business has been good and using quality water treatment is one reason he suggests why he rarely if ever gets call backs to jobs he’s done. By using Sentinel products he’s confident that the circulating water in a system will behave and that that system will operate as energy efficiently as it’s possible for it to do.

Over the years he has carried out hundreds of domestic boiler and full central heating installations along with additional general plumbing work for his private clients and for local builders operating in the North East of Lincolnshire. For the past ten years, he’s specialised in domestic boiler repairs and has built an excellent reputation in the Grimsby and Cleethorpes area, for the quality of work he does.

Part of the success he has had is the ability to keep the business in the family! In 2005 Brian and his wife Fran’s daughter Julia, expressed an interest in joining the business and in 2007 she duly qualified as a Gas Safe Registered Engineer. She has followed in her dad’s footsteps, specialising in domestic gas boiler repairs. She has also set up a web site for Gas Safe Registered Engineers to trade their unwanted domestic gas boiler spare parts – you’ll find it at www.tradeboilerbits.co.uk.

Brian and Fran’s son Tom qualified as a joiner initially, but after two redundancies with major companies, he too looked at the family business as the way forward. He gained his NVQ Level 2 in Plumbing in 2011 and will qualify as a Gas Safe Registered Engineer in the next couple of months. During his time at Grimsby Institute, he has taken part in and won a number of plumbing competitions. The highlight was winning the national ‘SkillPlumb’ event in September 2011, organised by SummitSkills, and as a Gold medallist was awarded the title of ‘Plumbing Operative of the Year’ at their awards for Excellence Ceremony at the World Skills premiere Experience at London’s ExCel Centre in Docklands.

To capitalise on Tom’s natural ability and skills, the business is now tending to carry out more domestic boiler and central heating installations again. Last winter the company averaged more than one a week and this seems to be a pointer for the future direction of the business. Installing radiators, pipework and boilers – currently alongside his dad – is the area in which he sees his future, so the family is happy to see the business developing along those lines, building on the excellent reputation that the business has in the area already.

The business tends to stick with quality branded components, using mainly Vokera boilers, CenterRad (Plumb Center) radiators and Grundfos pumps, but always uses Sentinel water treatment products: “Sentinel X100, X400 and X800 are part of our staple diet,” says Brian. “We know it does the job and we know from our records that jobs where Sentinel has been used are jobs that go well. So when Sentinel launched its new Eliminator heating system filter product last year we were happy to try that and see how we got on with it. We’ve used the new filter on every install we’ve done this winter and we can’t see any reason to switch away from it. It’s easy to fit, does the job well and we’re getting no problems with them at all – which hasn’t been the case with other units we’ve used in the past where leaks were a worry with some units in particular. My customers like the idea of a system that uses cyclone technology – most of them know about it already from their vacuum cleaners and recognise the logic of using it in a water based environment. So Sentinel products are quite literally part of our family business!”

So a true family business if ever there was one – the ‘Combi King’ rules OK – with the help of Sentinel – in Grimsby and Cleethorpes!

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Triton Systems, suppliers of systems for basement waterproofing, concrete waterproofing and green roof construction, have incorporated the benefits of specifying BIM objects into their five RIBA approved CPD seminars.

Three of the seminars cover new build and existing basement waterproofing and focus on the requirements of BS 8102: 2009 (the Code of Practice for Protection of Below Ground Structures), including the grades of waterproofing required, the types of waterproofing systems available and relevant standards and regulations.

A seminar on Waterproofing Concrete Structures Below Ground looks at the benefits of using concrete in basement construction as well as the available waterproofing systems as defined in BS 8102 (2009); and a seminar on Green and Living Roofs focuses on the benefits of green roofs, design principles and the construction process.

Triton was one of the first manufacturers in the construction industry to have its products included in the NBS National BIM Library and architects can now download elements of structural waterproofing and concrete waterproofing systems, ground gas barriers and green roof water storage membranes, as BIM objects directly for insertion into a building model via Triton’s page at www.nationalbimlibrary.com/triton

BIM (Building Information Modelling) pulls together multiple data streams to allow a building design team to generate a comprehensive virtual 3D model of a building. Its key benefits include being able to carry out greater and more accurate interrogation of all aspects of the project. The free to use National BIM Library includes objects covering all major building fabric systems. Triton is one of the very first manufacturers to make its proprietary objects available in the library and these are available for download in all the main architectural software formats as well as in the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) format.

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By offering a convenient and reliable way of monitoring the voltage of individual cells during storage battery discharge testing, the new BVM battery monitor from Megger allows failing cells to be readily located. This means that battery performance and reliability can be restored by simply replacing the defective cells, rather than the much more costly option of replacing the whole battery.

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Marflow Hydronics, the specialist solution providers for the balancing, controlling and metering of water distribution systems in the HVAC industry, has launched a brand new ‘Definitive Guide to Pressure Independent Control Valves’.

The aim of the guide is to provide understanding and knowledge to help anyone using the products, ensuring that systems are designed to optimise the best performance levels.

The guide describes the design and operation of Pressure Independent Control Valves (PICVs), explaining how they work, their operational limits and the control options available.

Martin Lowe, Joint Managing Director at Marflow Hydronics, says, “We get asked so many questions about PICVs and so we developed this guide to offer help and support to our customers. It’s been written with them in mind. PICVs have so many great benefits and if designers use this guide it will help them make the most of all those benefits in their systems.”

The guide has been written in conjunction with Chris Parsloe, an independent consultant who previously worked for BSRIA and has great experience with pipe system operation.

For your copy of the guide, please contact Marflow Hydronics on 0845 564 1555, email solutions@marflow.co.uk or visit www.marflowhydronics.co.uk.

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In September and October 2013 Marflow Hydronics is running free CPD training courses across the country on Pressure Independent Control Valves.

Aimed at consultants, designers, specifiers and key influencers who want to improve their skills and specifiy, purchase or commission a PICV, the courses are designed to provide delegates with knowledge on how they work, how best to design them and how to make systems more economical.

The half day sessions will look at how things have been done historically, using PICVs today, simplified design and installation, cost implications, commissioning and what’s in store for the future.

Martin Lowe, Joint Managing Director at Marflow Hydronics, says, “We have developed these brand new courses after receiving a lot of questions from our customers on the best way to work with PICVs. By increasing their knowledge on how to best use the products, we can save customers time, money and energy well into the future, and that’s what’s most important to us.”

The courses are being held across the country and are free for anyone to attend, but delegates must have a reasonable knowledge of water distribution systems already to get the most out of the day.

Places are limited, on a first come first served basis, so immediate registration is recommended. To register or for more information either visit www.marflowhydronics.co.uk/events, call 0845 643 9096 or email training@marflow.co.uk.

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Fakro’s new range of flat roof windows includes models with clear and opaque polycarbonate domes as well as a dome-free option. All offer excellent thermal qualities as their multi-chamber PVC frames are filled with polystyrene insulation. Energy-efficient U6 or U8 triple and quadruple-glazed units are also available to provide a glazing U-value as low as 0.3 W/m2K. Added security is achieved through use of an internal pane of P2A anti-burglary glass and the window design provides a glazing area up to 16% larger than other manufacturers’ windows. Non-standard sizes are routinely manufactured to match those of old skylights requiring replacement. All have a white external surface.

Electrically operated windows utilise ‘Z wave’ technology which enables them to be controlled with other appliances from a single remote. Windows including non-opening versions are compatible with both Fakro heat protection external awnings and internal blinds. They can be installed from 0-15° and mounted on an upstand to provide an extra 15cm height – ideal for green roofs.

Fakro offers a 10 year warranty for all windows and a 20 year warranty on glazing units. All products carry the CE Mark and are fully compliant with the new Construction Products Regulations.

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Wilo has launched its new CAT5 Booster set into the marketplace. UK water regulations – G6.1e – states that non-domestic hose union taps cannot be fitted directly to the water supply. It is essential to incorporate a backflow prevention device to ensure no back flow and syphonage leading to contamination of the potable water supply by bacteria returning up the hose pipe into the mains water supply.

The new Wilo CAT5 booster set incorporates a 115 litre polypropylene break tank which is supplied complete with a WRAS approved AB air gap. The overflow and weir are screened to enable connection to hygienic systems.

Applications for this equipment include such uses as non domestic hose union taps, bin and vehicle washdown, garden irrigation, laboratories, mortuary and embalming equipment, butchery and slaughter-house equipment.

The units are supplied with either a single fixed speed pump or a variable speed pump as specified. The single speed sets are controlled via a pressure switch, DOL motor starter and a run on timer, whilst the variable speed sets are controlled via a pressure transducer and motor mounted inverter.

The booster set monitors the system pressure and as demand increases the pressure will fall and the pump will start and continue to run, until demand has stopped and pressure increases to the set point. The fixed speed booster sets have a run on timer that overrides the pressure switch for a set period to minimise the number of starts per hour.

AND NEW PRESSURISATION UNITS LAUNCHED TOO……

Wilo has announced the release of a new series of Pressurisation Units for closed heating and chilled water systems for use in commercial and industrial premises. They are available in four ranges to suit every installation – from open pack base mounted, comfort wall and floor mounted and twin systems able to control both heating and chilled systems. Each range has one and two pump models available with a selection of pumps to suit a range of static requirements.

Wilo pressurisation units are designed to keep sealed MTHW (up to 90°C) , LTHW and chilled water systems at a predetermined pressure by topping the system up with wholesome water via an AB air gap.

Available in three different static head options – 35, 60 or 80 metres, these units are unique and amongst the first units of their type to be BACNet compatible making it possible to incorporate them within building management systems and to do so simply utilising a single cable interface. In addition the display on the units is backlit – essential for many installations where they tend to get installed in the darkest recesses of the plant room. With two lines of text on the interface the units are simple to interrogate unlike those units which flag up feedback using codes that may need to be interpreted. A final benefit is the simple installation making these units ideal replacement units.

Wilo can help you to select the correct pressurisation unit and expansion vessels for your system in accordance with BS7074 if you provide them with the following information: the static height of the building above the pressurisation unit in metres; the system content (litres) If unknown, provide the boiler power (Kw) which can then be used to estimate the system content; the flow and return temperatures; glycol content – percentage; and the final working pressure.

For more information on either of these quality units, visit www.wilo.co.uk or call Sales on 01283 523000.

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The latest addition to Klober’s brand leading range of Permo underlays is Permo RS Extreme. This has been designed specifically for use on roofs such as monopitch extensions where existing windows preclude a tile or slate’s minimum recommended pitch. Permo RS can be laid at 10° and is therefore ideal for plain tiles, normally laid at 35 – 40°. Stability at high temperatures also means it can be used with in-roof solar panels systems.

Permo RS is light in weight, tear-resistant and has double, self-adhesive strips which provide a permanent seal of overlaps and immediate weatherproofing protection against wind, rain and snow. Highly vapour permeable, it can also be used with Klober airtightness products such as Permo Extreme Sealant for bonding to eaves flashings or for sealing transverse seams and T-joints.

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