15 minute read
Tools & Equipment
Tools & Equpiment 27% Increase in Home Renovation due to Lockdown Effect
Searches for home renovations went through the roof in 2020 — and is it any wonder? With nothing to do but stare at their walls all day, consumers have been flocking online to discover how to add a lick of paint or change a few tiles. It’s clear the COVID lockdown has been a boon for DIY and home renovations, but by how much? In this article, we look at the statistics for home renovations searches in 2020. Decking Google Trends shows a 76% increase in search volume for ‘Decking’ in 2020 compared to 2019. 2020 showed us how important it is to have a dedicated seating area in your garden. With a little bit of timber, you too can make yourselves a beautiful garden decking, no matter the shape or size of your garden. Patio Google Trends shows a 67% increase in search volume for ‘Patio’ in 2020 compared to 2019.
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Building a patio is perhaps a little more advanced than building a garden decking, but the search volume indicates that many homeowners have been up to the task. Garden patios are a great way to brighten up your garden. They can be made in a variety of colours and designs and can fit gardens of various shapes and sizes. Driveways
Google Trends shows a 12% increase in search volume for ‘Driveways’ in 2020 compared to 2019.
Homeowners have been spending less time driving and more time on their driveway. Resurfacing your driveway or installing a brand new one is a great way to improve the overall appearance of your home.
There are various types of driveways to choose from, including asphalt, stone and even pattern-imprinted driveways. Loft conversion
Google Trends shows a 12% increase in search volume for ‘Loft Conversion’ in 2020 compared to 2019. We’ve seen more of the inside of our homes than anywhere else in the past year. If, like many of the homeowners in 2020, you’ve become sick of seeing the same few rooms over and over, why not make another? A loft conversion is ideal for transforming a dusty storage loft into a fully functioning room. It’s the perfect space for a new bedroom, bathroom or even a new office — because who knows how long we could be working from home for? Home extensions Google Trends shows a 60% increase in search volume for ‘Home Extensions’ in 2020 compared to 2019. Why not go one step further and add an entire extension to your home? A whopping 60% increase in search volume indicates that homes up and down the country have had or will be getting newly built extensions. Not only will a home extension give you more space and freedom, but organising and decorating your new room/s will keep you occupied for the remainder of lockdown and beyond. Garage Conversions Google Trends shows a 25% increase in search volume for ‘Garage Conversions’ in 2020 compared to 2019. With working from home becoming the new normal, more and more people are investing in a dedicated home-office space. Garage conversions are a popular solution, as they enable you to keep your work life and home life separate. Garden Shed Google Trends shows a 70% increase in search volume for ‘Garden Shed’ in 2020 compared to 2019. Though garage conversions are a great way to create a dedicated office space, the project can often take too long or be too expensive to be of worth. It’s no wonder then that so many people have been looking into converting their garden shed instead. Creating an office in your garden shed is another great way to separate your work life from your home life. And with a lick of paint and a few decorative touches, your plain garden shed can become a hub for creativity. Garage Doors Google Trends shows a 3% decrease in search volume for ‘Garage Doors’ in 2020 compared to 2019. Not everything was up in 2020. Turns out garage doors weren’t a priority for a lot of people, but that’s okay - with less time driving comes less time looking at your garage doors. Perhaps 2021 is the year of the garage door. You could get a brand new one, or just spruce it up with a lick of paint. A simple change can have a big impact on the overall aesthetic and kerb appeal of your home. Total In total, there has been a 27% increase in search volume for home renovations in 2020 compared to 2019. 2020 has shown us how important it can be to have a nice, comfortable and functional home and garden. While loft conversions, garage conversions and home extensions are big undertakings, anyone can improve their home with just a little bit of DIY. All you need are the right tools, and we know exactly where to find them.
About Hitchcock & King For over 50 years, Hitchcock & King has been supplying a range of building and decorating materials to customers throughout London. In that time, we’ve made a name for ourselves as trusted suppliers of a huge variety of products. So whether you need paints and brushes, bricks and plasterboard or roof slates and sheets, we’ve got it all.
SEISMIC SAVINGS IN BLAST PROTECTION
Seismic activity may be rare in the UK, but many buildings and critical infrastructure need to be protected from blasts. The cost of specialised equipment capable of withstanding the forces and violent movement caused by seismic and blast activity can be extortionate. However, there is an alternative, more efficient way of providing this blast protection than the traditionally expensive ‘ruggedisation’ method. Here, Adam Fox, director of vibration control specialist Mason UK, explains how you can provide effective blast protection in projects, including where vibration isolation is also required.
Say ‘seismic activity’ in the UK and you might just think of a few damaged chimney pots. Yet while genuine seismic activity might be rare, the engineering expertise that is used to protect buildings from seismic activity still has relevant applications. Bomb blasts or terrorist activity can subject buildings and critical infrastructure to what is euphemistically referred to as ‘accidental loads.’
Faced with these accidental loads, buildings need to remain viable. They must remain stable enough for people to evacuate and firefighters to enter if needed. You also want to avoid the ventilation or water supply being taken out by the blast. Consequences like these could be disastrous, especially in military installations or for critical infrastructure like power stations.
Engineers therefore design buildings with these criteria in mind. The basic engineering principles were set out in the International Building Code that was designed with the help of our big brother across the pond, Mason Industries, in the 1970s.
In many conventional buildings the volume of steel and concrete provides sufficient blast protection, but in situations where you need to introduce a structural break for vibration isolation reasons, you require a different level of engineering expertise.
For example, let’s say you have a building that is mounted on a series of columns and is near a trainline. You might place one of our bearings on top of the column, to protect the building from the vibration caused by the train. Suddenly, you have a soft connection between the column and the structure it is supporting. So how do you make sure the column is fit to withstand the accidental loads referred to before?
In these situations, where vibration isolation meets blast protection requirements, there are two solutions. The more simple, traditional approach is to apply heavy restraints which can be seriously expensive and if poorly designed can easily negate the benefit of the vibration control measures It is more efficient for cost and performance to design a connection that respects both.
Ensuring building services remain operational can keep a building running. Expensive ‘ruggedised’ plant equipment can cope with forces but the smarter, far cheaper engineering solution would involve combing anti-vibration mounts with inbuilt restraints. The former provides general vibration isolation but will also reduce any forces from a blast or accidental load down to levels that standard, off the shelf equipment can withstand. You can view this equipment in action on our YouTube channel, where we show spring mounts with seismic restraints cushioning a pump and motor. It may look violent but the goal is to reduce forces down to less than the equipment would see when being shipped to site.
We have worked on many projects for the military and government, as well as for buildings whose function just cannot be interrupted for repairs. We worked to provide a holistic engineering solution, ensuring the entire system was designed to withstand accidental loads and protect critical infrastructure.
If you need to introduce structural breaks for vibration isolation, or need to meet blast protection criteria, you face a problem. However, the problem is not that we lack a viable engineering solution in these situations. The problem is, so many developers, architects and engineers are simply not aware that this kind of engineering solution is available and therefore fork out extortionate sums on ruggedization and extra testing.
Mason UK is a vibration isolation specialist with extensive expertise in seismic engineering. To discover how their products and engineering can assist your projects, visit mason-uk.co.uk, email info@masonuk.co.uk or call (01252) 716610.
LEICA GEOSYSTEMS ANNOUNCES BLK3D UPDATE
Leica BLK3D - the in-picture measurement solution
BIridiondetri publibem trae conu ca; no. Opiessa iam auture tres horum patil vis acressena, ternum enatiam facit.
– Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, today announced the Leica BLK3D update. The new handheld imager has doubled its operating range and in-picture measurement accuracy for many indoor and outdoor applications, such as exterior building measurements for scaffolding, façade, roofing, and architecture projects.
The BLK3D users can capture façades of fourstorey buildings with centimetre accuracy in seconds. In addition, users benefit from new guidance and accuracy indication features that allow them to optimise the capturing process to achieve highest measurement accuracy. This is achieved by significantly enhancing BLK3D image processing algorithms alongside workflow adaptation which allows for capturing multi-shots with up to 4 shots.
The BLK3D Update is rolled out with the new BLK3D Mobile and Desktop software version 3.0.
THE SIMPLEST STEP INTO DIGITALISATION
BLK3D with Publisher license enables seamless collaboration among teams with increased accessibility to published 3D images through the cloud. Therefore, measurements can be created and shared on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets for project teams to make the right decisions at the right time.
“Detailed project documentation, team collaboration and remote decision making are just a few of the needed abilities for today’s professionals across a wide variety of industries,” said Tobias Heller, senior product manager for Leica BLK3D. “In developing the latest version of the software, these needs were our focus. We designed BLK3D mobile and desktop 3.0 for users starting their journey into digitalisation and digital experts who have already been working in the area for some time. With the increased accuracy, longer range and added functionality, the BLK3D is for anyone who is looking to make their work more efficient, effective and productive.”
leica-geosystems.com
It’s 2002 and husband-and-wife team Kevin and Lorraine Bellamy need a van with which to launch their new business venture, one that will take them all over the UK in safety and style, and can be depended upon to perform efficiently and reliably in all weathers. After much research and investigation, they choose a Mercedes-Benz Vito.
Fast forward 18 years, and that decision has been vindicated many times over. Today, Bellamy Surveying and Consultancy Services Ltd runs four vans – like every vehicle the company has purchased since it opened for business, all are by Mercedes-Benz.
“That first Vito was just fantastic,” recalled Kevin, “It looked great, was lovely to drive, and never let us down. It was a sound investment, too – not only were the running costs low, but the van also retained a high value when we came to trade it in.”
Bellamy Surveying and Consultancy Services is based in Chelmsford, Essex, and specialises in the surveying and identification of hazardous materials like asbestos. It works alongside and consults with main building and demolition contractors, NHS Trust providers, retail and facilities management customers, local authorities, and major hotel and theatre groups across the UK to investigate and manage the health and safety hazard of asbestos in buildings undergoing refurbishment or demolition.
The company provides ‘endto-end’ asbestos management solutions, from surveying inspections through to asbestos management and project removal consultancy, while also delivering training workshops, ‘tool box’ talks and lectures on the subjects of Health and Safety, dealing with asbestos, and statutory regulations and codes of practice.
As Bellamy Surveying and Consultancy Services has evolved and expanded, and demand for its services has grown, so it has taken on vans from the other Mercedes-Benz model lines, to fulfil a variety of roles across all sectors. Now working alongside its mid-sized Vito Crew Van and Vito Sport are a Citan and Sprinter.
“The breadth of the MercedesBenz Vans range means we can choose the most appropriate vehicles for specific purposes,” explained Kevin. “Since we started the business we have relied upon our personal, pragmatic approach, as well as the quality of our work, to build up strong business relationships, some of which go back many years.
“Our private and public sector clients know that our qualified building and asbestos surveyors can always be relied upon to deliver, and the same is true of our Mercedes-Benz vans.”
Supplied by Mercedes Benz Dartford, the Sprinter is the most recent arrival. A 3.5-tonne 314 CDI variant with standard H1 roof and medium-length L2 body, it is used to carry hazardous materials and surveying tools. A factory fitted tow bar means it can also pull a trailer-mounted scissor-lift access platform.
The Sprinter’s economical 140 hp, 2.1-litre engine drives the rear wheels – front- and all-wheel drive Sprinters are also available. Like all Mercedes-Benz vans it came with a class-leading safety armoury as well as a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty and MobiloVan assistance package, which includes free 24-hour breakdown cover.
Designed to ‘work hard and play hard’, the dynamically styled Vito 119 CDI Sport is assigned to Lead Surveyor Jack Stringer, who visits sites all over the country. The Vito Sport’s range-topping 2.1-litre twinturbo diesel engine delivers punchy, 190 hp performance, and is paired
as standard with a slick-shifting 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic transmission.
The 140 hp Mercedes Benz Vito 114 CDI and 90 hp Citan 109 CDI both have second rows of seats, so each can carry up to five members of the Bellamy team for work on complex assignments. They also retain practical cargo areas for carrying tools and equipment. A tow bar fitted to the Vito allows it to tow a trailer and additional access equipment.
The Citan is the smallest member of the Mercedes-Benz Vans and is impressively fuel-efficient – research by one of the country’s best-known financial services comparison websites recently concluded that it will travel 831 miles on a single tank, 123 miles further than its nearest rival.
Bellamy’s 109 CDI model returns 65.7 mpg (combined cycle). It is used primarily by surveyors to attend appointments and travel to and from survey sites, either locally or in central London, where its smaller footprint is an advantage on narrow streets or in busy traffic. “Our Mercedes-Benz vans have always been reliable, comfortable and extremely costeffective to operate, from day one,” added Mr Bellamy. “Given our Duty of Care to employees and, indeed, other road users, we’re also reassured by the manufacturer’s long-established leadership in the field of safety. The three-pointed star is also a recognised symbol of quality and underpins our own commitment to the highest levels of customer service.”
www.bellamyasbestos.co.uk
48 SMARTROOF LAUNCHES SMARTMOVE CHALLENGE 2021
Smartroof is delighted to launch the Smartmove Challenge 2021 as a fun way to boost the physical and mental wellbeing of its staff, suppliers and customers, win prizes and raise funds to support the mental health charity Mind.
At a time when our health and wellbeing has never been more important, the six month Smartmove Challenge hopes to get people moving for a healthier mind and body, whilst at the time raising much needed funds for the charity Mind, which provides support and advice for anyone experiencing mental health problems. Set to start on 1st April and end on 30th September 2021, the Smartmove Challenge comprises three activities – walking, cycling and running – with participants submitting their completed miles. Smartroof has a set a collective participant target of 250,000 miles in six months after which the company will donate £2500 to Mind. Its parent company The Keystone Group has committed to match the donation. Commenting on the challenge, Kevin Sherlock of Smartroof said: “We are hoping the launch of Smartmove Challenge will motivate people to make meaningful and lasting changes to their health. The challenge will also raise vital funds to help Mind, a charity at the frontline of people’s mental health.” A monthly prize giveaway of an Apple SE Watch is on offer and a Smartroof Challenge 2021 certificate will be awarded to participants who complete a challenge for six consecutive months. Participants who sign up to the Smartmove Challenge will receive a branded sports towel, snood, water bottle and drawstring bag to use while enjoying all the benefits of increased activity. Mind helps the one in four people in the UK that experience a mental health problem every year. The money raised will fund their vital work including the Mind Infoline, advice services and the campaigning Mind does. To find out more or to sign up click Smartmove Challenge or contact: info@smartroof.co.uk
