11 minute read
Roofing
IMPROVING THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF CONSERVATORIES WITH LEKA SYSTEMS
With the continued debate on the thermal performance of conservatories, the market for solid roofs will get even bigger. This is the view of Rhys Hoddinott, Managing Director of Leka Systems who discusses their range of thermally efficient roofing systems to help fabricators and installers meet current requirements.
Over the past few years, the growth in solid roof conservatory roof installations has been remarkable. With more consumers realising the benefits that a solid roof transformation can deliver including help remedy any design flaws in existing conservatories, the growth has remained strong. Add in the surge in demand since the pandemic with consumers seeking rooms that offer a genuinely year-round space for hybrid working or for pleasure, and the growth has been even more significant. What’s interesting, is we don’t see any signs of sales tailing off anytime soon. In fact, we think solid roofs are about to become even more popular. With the requirements for improved thermal performance along with the new Part L of Building Regulations that come into effect in England on 15 June 2022, the demand for solid conservatory roofs is high. This revision is the first step on the government’s path to ensuring homes are future-proofed with world-leading levels of energy efficiency. The regulations say that conservatories for new homes and conservatories added to existing homes will need to meet stringent new requirements for thermal efficiency. This is where solid roofs will really come into their own. They already offer astonishing U values that insulate a conservatory incredibly effectively. Solid roofs have often been seen as a retro-fit product, but the new regulations mean they’ll become increasingly popular on new build conservatories too.
Take our Leka roof system as an example. It comes in five different thermal efficiency levels and budget options so you can choose the one your customer needs. The Leka A+ system offers a U value of 0.12w/m2k. The Leka ‘A’ system is the original Leka system. It offers a U value of 0.15 w/m2k The Leka Eco++ offers a competitive option and a U value of 0.15 w/m2k.
The Leka Eco+ meets building control requirements with its U value of 0.18 w/ m2k.
Finally the Leka Eco has a U value of 0.18 w/m2k and is very competitive. Aside from the impressive thermal efficiency, Leka roofs offer all the benefits of a welldesigned product that’s been designed with the fabricator and installer in mind.
Leka roofs are up to 40% lighter than other replacement roof solutions. This means that in most retro-fit projects the existing conservatory frames are able to take the weight of the roof without needing additional reinforcement. Leka solid roofs are also easy to install, typically taking just two or three days, including removing the old conservatory roof. This is around half the time it takes to install a traditional solid roof replacement. As well as its iconic solid roof, Leka also offers an orangery roof and the Leka Xi modular system, which allows you to create thermally efficient home extensions or freestanding garden rooms which have grown in popularity since the start of the pandemic. Away from the product benefits there are also the advantages of working with Leka Systems. The company offer a unique sales proposition to ambitious fabricators and installers to help grow their business by becoming an approved Leka partner. Plus, as a Leka partner, you will benefit from extensive marketing support, lead generation and dedicated area support all designed to help you make the most of the market that’s available. And as Leka Systems typically increase a fabricator’s revenue stream by 10-15% in the first year, it’s an opportunity not to be missed! So, if you are an ambitious fabricator or installer who wants to grow their business and offer products that support current regulations, then Leka Systems is a great place to start.
www.lekasystems.co.uk
NEXT GENERATION SOFTWARE IS THE FOCUS FOR RPS SOFTWARE
The FIT Show will see RPS Software role out its ‘next generation’ of design software for those selling conservatories, orangeries and garden rooms to the nation’s homeowners.
Cath Wright, Director of Operations explains: ‘Our mission statement has set the tone for our business for some time now, that our focus is on delivering outstanding customer service, and being known for bringing outstanding new innovative products to market. The FIT Show is the perfect platform to enable us to achieve the latter and our team of design engineers has been working tirelessly to create what we believe is the next generation of software for those in the market to sell conservatories, orangeries and garden rooms.’ ‘We are focussed on what we refer to as ‘unreal world’ in terms of software development, that is to say, software that provides the end user an experience that is as close to ‘real’ as it is possible to get, but is based on outstanding graphics, the finest detailing, and a truly immersive experience.’ ‘We know from talking to our customers that those who use our software packages see higher than average conversion rates from their sales teams, and this next "Our aim is to set new standards in design software and to give our customers the most innovative tools imaginable. It is a really exciting time for the software sector in the industry and we want to be leading the way to ensure we can help our customers achieve their business goals."
generation of software will add even more value.’
‘Imagine yourself as a homeowner and a sales person coming to sell you your dream space; you are transported into a new world where a photo of your home is uploaded into the software and a conservatory in 3D is designed onto it; you can change the design, the colour and frame styles as you aspire to truly match the picture in your mind’s eye and to make your dream a reality. What is more you can view this not only from the outside, but also, ultimately from the inside. You can walk into your new conservatory from the inside of your home.’ ‘It is a truly immersive experience for the homeowner and will provide even greater support for sales people in the industry by providing them with the most complete toolkits imaginable. We are truly excited to be able to show these products at the FIT Show in May.’ RPS has worked for many years now with Liverpool John Moores University to support the development of some of the most talented young software designers around, bringing the game engine
Cath Wright
Marcel
technology that so many enjoy socially into the industry. The quality of graphics and technical possibilities are advanced to a level seldom seen in our industry and at the FIT Show RPS will be demonstrating both Virtual Reality, but Augmented Reality packages. Cath continues ‘We work with many of the biggest names in the industry at a system house level to provide software to their installers, and we also work directly with many smaller installation companies involved in selling conservatories, orangeries and garden rooms. We would like to invite everybody to visit our stand (R65) to see for themselves the incredible opportunities that exist for them in our software’.
‘Additionally we will be demonstrating our ‘lite’ package which runs simply from a tablet without the need to have our full system, and also supports incredible design features to help the sales process.’ ‘Our aim is to set new standards in design software and to give our customers the most innovative tools imaginable. It is a really exciting time for the software sector in the industry and we want to be leading the way to ensure we can help our customers achieve their business goals.’
www.roofwright.com
ROCKY TIMES AHEAD?
According to the ONS construction monthly construction output in February decreased by 0.1% to £14,610 million in volume terms compared to January. This is the first monthly decrease since October 2021. The Construction Industry output is likely to have been affected because of Storm Dudley, Eunice and Franklin, losing more days than usual over the period, but some other businesses will have picked up repair and maintenance work following the storms.
Despite the effects of the weather, material shortages continue to dog the industry coupled with higher costs which are particularly affecting the smaller businesses. Good news is that demand continues to be strong with construction orders increasing by 9.2% in the final quarter of 2021 compared to quarter three 2021. It is not clear yet what the effects of the war in the Ukraine will have on UK Construction. The CAB CPA State of the Trade Survey was completed by members in April so there may be an influence within the collated data.
‘Historic Sales Volumes' for CAB Members, on balance, has doubled over the last quarter, but still fall a little behind that of the wider Construction Industry. Since growing throughout 2021, the annual ‘Historic Sales Volumes’ on balance has fallen back but still shows a healthy increase over the year to date and slightly ahead of the wider Construction Industry. ‘Expected Sales Volumes’ for CAB Members, on balance, is at its highest on a quarterly basis with 92% on net balance expecting an increase in sales in the second quarter of 2022. Whilst not at its highest over the last year, ‘Expected Sales Volumes’ for the year ahead is reported at a healthy increase of 77% on net balance of Members. This closely follows the expected growth of the wider Construction Industry. ‘Sales Volumes - Quarter-onQuarter’ show a further slowing of growth for CAB Members in the last quarter compared to 2021. Whilst still positive, Members reporting ‘Sales Volumes’ up by over 5% have halved over the year to 46% of reporting Members. ‘Sales Volumes - Year-on-Year' are broadly positive with only 8% of Members stating sales had decreased over the last year. Confirmation, if any is needed, comes through clearly in the survey regarding Historic Unit Costs and Expected Unit Costs. On net balance all members of CAB and the wider Construction Industry has incurred increased costs and anticipate costs to increase further in the next quarter and the year ahead. Breaking down the ‘Cost Factors’, whilst ‘Raw Materials’ remained at a high level during 2021, 92% of Members in quarter 1 continue to suggest further increases. The first quarter of 2022 also shows that ‘Energy Costs’ and ‘Fuel Costs’ have further risen to match that of the ‘Raw Materials’, which is closely followed by ‘Wages and Salaries’. These increases will no doubt continue to fuel increased building costs and lead to further pressure on inflation. The ‘Likely Constraints on Activity Over the Next 12 Months’ shows an improving situation over the last year when 42% of members reported in Q2 2021 that ‘Material Supply’ would be a constraint, now falling to 23% in the last quarter. Demand remains the highest ‘Likely Constraint' as reported by 46% of the Membership. With ‘Historic Capacity Utilisation’, the proportion of Members who are reporting over 90% Capacity Utilisation, peaked in Q3 2021 at 44% for the previous quarter and 50% for the previous year. This has fallen over the last quarter to just 23% for both the last quarter and year. This suggests a slowing of sales output which could be attributed to both the last quarters storms and the shortage of materials. The wider Construction Industry is reporting 45% ‘Capacity Utilisation’ which would suggest new starts on site which will eventually lead through to Members sales.
Expected Capacity Utilisation by CAB Members is cautious with only 38% forecasting over 90% Capacity Utilisation for the month and year ahead. With the wider Construction Industry forward view also cautious, this could suggest a slowing in UK construction output. ‘Labour Costs’ remain at their highest level with increases over the last year and 85% of all respondents on balance claiming future increases.
