16 minute read
Editor’s Choice
Architect Embraces the Health Benefits of Titon’s NO2 Filters
Two Titon HRV10 Q Plus units with Trimbox NO2 Filters® have been installed as part of unique self-build project in East Dulwich, London.
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When architect Jake Edgley began building his own six-bedroom house, he included a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system as part of the design, alongside other ‘green’, environmentally-friendly measures, including non-toxic paint and flooring.
The 400m2 house was constructed in two halves, each built around a tree, with one MVHR system covering each half of the property. As Jake designs and specifies homes as part of his job, he often experiments with different products on his own property. Having included Titon’s ventilation systems on a number of projects during the last ten years, he was already fully aware of the company’s product offering.
Commenting on the decision to have nitrogen dioxide filters added, Jake said: “We noticed if a neighbour lit a bonfire or a barbecue, the smell would still enter the house. Fortunately, I had seen the Trimbox NO2 Filter® on the Titon website, so I made enquiries into the possibility of adding one to the ventilation system.” windows, and there is no trace of any odour indoors. The MVHR unit is already a good dust filter and this is improved by the Trimbox, and we’ve also noticed the Trimbox acts as an excellent attenuator to any noise from the MVHR unit. Then there’s the added benefit of knowing the units are filtering out any pollutants so, despite being located about 60 metres from a road, the air inside the house remains clean and healthy.”
Jake now certainly practices what he preaches, as his positive first-hand experience has led him to include the Trimbox NO2 Filter® as part of every new build domestic ventilation system specified by his company, Edgley Design.
The bedroom area had the Trimbox NO2 Filter® added first, and the Edgley family were so impressed with the results, a second unit was installed to the other half of the house six months later.
Jake explained: “The Trimbox filters work amazingly well, they have completely eradicated any smells coming in from outside. In fact, if we smell smoke outside, we just close all the doors and “The Trimbox is a great product, particularly in London areas,” he concluded. “Given the rise of environmental toxicity over recent years, we always encourage domestic clients to put MVHR systems into new build homes. Including the Trimbox as part of the system should make perfect sense to homeowners, especially given its capacity to remove diesel particulates and filter toxins from indoor air.”
Titon developed the Trimbox NO2 Filter® to complement its extensive range of HRV Q Plus Eco MVHR units and combat the high levels of nitrogen dioxide found in exhaust gases from diesel engines. The filter incorporates balanced flow technology to provide class leading absorption of NO2 and is available in two duty sizes (depending on the duty required). The product is effective in reducing NO2 to an acceptable mean annual concentration level of 40µQ /m3, while vastly improving indoor air quality (IAQ). Independent tests have demonstrated the Trimbox to absorb 98% of NO2, not only in normal, continuous ventilation mode but also at ‘boost’ or higher ventilation rates.*
For more information about Titon and its range ventilation systems, visit: www.titon.com
Manchester based property staging company Kharis & Kale Interiors win Best of Houzz 2020
The Annual People’s Choice Award from the Houzz Community Highlights Home Renovation and Design Professionals with Most Popular Designs and Top Ratings
Kharis & Kale Interiors of Manchester has won a “Best Of Houzz” award for Customer Service, on Houzz®, the leading platform for home renovation and design. The award-winning interior design and property staging company Kharis & Kale Interiors was chosen by the millions of homeowners that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 2.5 million active home building, renovation and design industry professionals.
The Best Of Houzz badge is awarded annually, in three categories: Design, Customer Service and Photography. Design awards honour professionals whose work was the most popular among the Houzz community. Customer Service honours are based on several factors, including a pro’s overall rating on Houzz and client reviews submitted in 2019. Architecture and interior design photographers whose images were most popular are recognised with the Photography award. Kharis & Kale Interiors transform properties into beautiful homes that people aspire to live in. Professionally presenting your property will secure more viewings and achieve a faster sale and return on investment. We provide a full range of furniture, art and accessories on a rental basis and we will stage your property and present it to ensure it has the important ‘wow’ factor that will ensure a faster sale.
We are so pleased to accept this award from Houzz for Best Customer Service. Our commitment to providing a great customer experience is foremost in our minds in everything we do.
“This year’s Best Of Houzz awards go to an incredibly talented and service-oriented group of home renovation and design professionals, and we’re proud to highlight the winners on the Houzz website and app,” said Inés Cid, Managing Director for Houzz UK. “This award is particularly meaningful as it reflects the sentiment of the millions of homeowners in the Houzz community who are hiring home professionals for their projects across the UK and around the world.”
The benefits of temporary screening:
Base Structures offering weatherproof screening for building projects
Base Structures are pleased to offer a range of waterproof, weatherproof temporary screening products to help construction projects stay on time and on budget as well as defend against storms and bad weather
If recent stormy and wintery weather has slowed your construction project down, and you’re looking to get back on track, weatherproof screening may help. Base Structures offer a range of screens engineered to withstand wind loads and extreme weather, allowing you to progress work even in the worst of conditions and start internal fit-outs ahead of time without waiting for glazing or cladding contractors.
Base Structures’ screens are safe and comply with all necessary ratings. PVC Coated Polyester temporary screens can be used, which have the equivalent to Class 0 fire rated and conform to EN 13501-1. With safety in mind, temporary screening can also be used to separate works from the general public, creating ‘no-go zones’ and giving you peace of mind that the entirety of your construction site is contained.
The fabric screens Base Structures use are adaptable and fix directly to the building structures, not requiring any scaffolding. This means no scaffold is being carried through completed works and reduces the amount of manual handling. Also, time saved on the programme reduces the number of man hours on site and therefore risk.
Temporary weatherproof screening is an inexpensive, flexible and reliable solution that adds value to a construction site. It allows for project adaptability and saves costs over time. To find out more about the flexible protection temporary building screening provides, contact Base Structures for an initial chat to see what options might be available for your project.
For more information visit our website, email sales@basestructures.com or call 0117 911 5250
5Home Refurbishments That Can Improve Your Mental Health
Jonathan Hey, Founder Aliwood.
Over the past few years there’s been an increase, long overdue it must be said, in willingness and openness to talk about mental health, and rightly so!
An estimated 1 in 6 people in the UK are thought to regularly experience a common mental health condition such as anxiety or depression. Your home should be a sanctuary, a space in which you can feel completely at ease and escape from the worries of dayto-day life. There are several additions and changes that you can make to your home that are almost certain to help boost your state of mind and maintain a more positive outlook, in even the dreariest of winter months.
Aliwood are a new company specialising in bespoke roof lanterns, and the founder, Jonathan Hey, has put together this article explaining some simple changes you can make to your home that will benefit your mental wellbeing.
Roof Lanterns bathe your living spaces in natural light which has been proven to benefit your health, both mental and physical. Increased exposure to natural light leads to your body producing more serotonin, the hormone responsible for lifting your mood. Getting lots of natural light is also known to reduce symptoms of anxiety, and help those suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Aliwood’s roof lanterns not only look fantastic, they will make sure you get all the natural light you need!
House Plants
You don’t have to be an avid gardener to keep a few small houseplants around your home. Studies have shown that tending to plants has a soothing, therapeutic effect that is rivalled by very little else. With
so many psychological stressors in today’s society - a society that is perpetually ‘switched on’ - the simple habit of looking after houseplants is a fantastic remedy. Not only that, but well-looked after houseplants look fantastic, and help keep the air you breathe much purer!
Open-Plan Living
If you’re able to, converting your home structurally to incorporate more open-plan living spaces is a great way of positively affecting your mental health. If open-plan living does one thing well, it’s the improvement in the flow of your home. Each component part of your property becomes infinitely more connected; becoming cogs in a larger system, rather than separate, secluded blocks. Open-plan living fosters a feeling of community and togetherness within a family. This is incredibly important in a time where we feel more and more isolated.
Pastel Colours
Painting your internal walls with calming, tranquil hues is a great way to instil a little bit of zen into your home. Your living spaces become instantly more relaxing if you use lighter shades to decorate. Striking statement walls have become all the rage over the past decade, but the big, bold colours can often become imposing and overly dark. Using pastel-coloured paints mitigates that risk!
Spring Cleaning
Thanks to self-styled home experts such as Marie Kondo, there has been a big social shift towards a less cluttered lifestyle. Whilst we’re not advocating as drastic a clear out as dear, old Marie might be (does that statement spark joy?), there’s definitely something to be said for having a clearer living space. After all, how does the old adage go? A cluttered life equals a cluttered mind? So, why not take the time to streamline your belongings, somewhat; none of us really need the vast quantities of possessions that we own, and reducing the amount of stuff we have also ties in with the increasing need to reduce the singleuse, consumer culture!
If you’d like to find out more about Aliwood and our roof lanterns, then get in touch today! Call the team on 01245 967107 or visit www.aliwood.co.uk
Magicman for Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) Man with a plan
Planned Preventative Maintenance is a method of preserving the original aspect and value of properties by anticipating the failure of assets before they occur. PPM allows facility managers and landlords to control costs and reduce downtime by dictating their own timetable, using known downtimes to schedule in surveys and carry out preventative maintenance. Regularly programmed PPM can recover items from accumulated damage before they fail. In comparison, reactive maintenance is disruptive by nature and can cost 3 to 5 times more than planned maintenance. To use a crude analogy, PPM is like checking your gas boiler every year with very little fuss whereas reactive repairs are like waiting for it to explode.
Magicman are well known as an originator in onsite corrective repairs with over 26 years in the business. That they offer PPM is more of a trade secret, a service they developed for their clients in the hospitality sector such as hotels and cruise line operators but open to all. Magicman carry out regular surveys to identify and correct damage before it becomes unsightly either autonomously or at a level decided by the customer who generally choose the level of control they are comfortable with.
Magicman are experts in renewing tired and worn surfaces such as counters, doors or floors, returning their original colour and sheen. Internal Research & Development has created hundreds of restoration techniques to renew scuffs, scratches, burns, cracks, splits, chips, holes, fading colours or sheens. Renewable surfaces usually include wood, veneers, laminate, ceramics, powder coat, uPVC, stone, marble, brick, stainless steel and even scratched glass. Kitchens, bathrooms, sanitary ware, furniture, cills and tiles, can all be maintained with the minimum of disruption, indoors or out. When items do fail, Magicman are still there to repair even extreme damage, extending the lifespan of assets and saving items from landfill. It is by nature a sustainable business model that provides continuity.
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The Magicman difference is their sustainable ethos that begins in their bespoke training course, reported as ‘exemplary’ during an ISOQAR audit. They invested £200,000 in the Magicman Training Academy which has produced nearly 150 certified repair technicians since opening its doors. It offers a holistic 4 week training programme, followed by field training and further skills in specialist areas such as glass and marble polishing. Successful trainees become fully fledged and directly employed Magicman technicians.
As clients look to secure a sustainable and cost effective supply chain that provides an engaging and reliable service; Magicman are often presented with scenarios where replacing items or in some cases entire suites are seen to be the only option. Whilst expensive, time consuming and disruptive, it is often thought that this is the only option that could keep customers happy. This is simply not the case. It’s costly, wasteful, environmentally damaging and uses up valuable resource. Magicman are able to bring the unit or item back to life, repair or restore and leave the customer amazed. Often asking “where was the original damage?”
With a new planned preventative maintenance programme, Magicman’s specially trained technicians are able to attend sites on a pre-determined/agreed basis and carry out ongoing repairs/restorations throughout the year. Significantly reducing cost, downtime, disruption and increasing asset life; whilst ensuring the value of the asset is maintained. Prevention rather than cure.
Trusted by the Top 50 builders and construction companies in UK, famous hotel chains, well known insurance brands and internationally renowned cruise ship operators, Magicman cover the whole of Great Britain as well as scheduled maintenance abroad with over 90 fully trained and directly employed Magicman technicians currently available to work alone or in teams, during office hours or if scheduled in advance, out of hours, including weekends. Magicman are fully insured and accredited with Achilles Building Confidence, SafeContractor, CHAS, Constructionline and Worksafe Contractor; and approved by ISOQAR, the world’s most established quality framework, in ISO 9001: 2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001: 2018. Magicman’s external Health and Safety support is provided by Ellis Whittam, one of leading companies in the field.
Magicman are completely transparent and publish all certificates and insurance policy documents on their website. Magicman’s accreditation and bespoke training programme are your assurance that you can be confident in their work and quality control. They can help keep your premises defect free, reduce downtime and help you meet environmental targets by reducing waste to landfill.
Contact sales@magicman.co.uk or call 0345 458 1010 to discuss PPM and arrange a site survey.
5 steps to reduce your modular construction
CO2 emissions by over 42%
As suppliers of both new and refurbished portable cabins and modular buildings in Hampshire, Portable Facilities commissioned Acreshort Consulting to conduct an independent study to determine the carbon emissions savings that could be achieved by re-using and refurbishing a ‘typical 5-bay marketing suite’ compared to the equivalent new modular building.
Since both the fabric and building services, along with build specification and transport, would be common to both a newly-constructed modular and a re-used/refurbished modular, the report focused purely on the CO2 emissions associated with:
• Reusing the main steel structure
• Not manufacturing a new main steel structure
• Recycling approximately 6.96 metric tons of waste from the refurbishment process
Carbon saving calculations
Assuming 12m x 3m x 3.2m pre-owned modules were used to create a new 5-bay sales and marketing suite, the overall carbon savings were calculated at 47.682 TCO2 representing impressive CO2 savings of approximately 42% against a comparable new-build modular suite.
Commenting on the findings, Managing Director Richard Crawford said, “We’re extremely excited that by reusing a steel frame it’s possible to reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 50%. There are several ways to achieve even higher savings through reusing other components, fixtures and fittings and specifying energyefficient or sustainable materials for the refit and that’s something as a business we are passionate about.”
In summary
To maximise CO2 savings in your next modular construction project, consider refurbishing:
1. Strip out the existing modules and recycle the majority of waste
2. Re-use the main steel structure
3. Refurbish and re-use any other materials and components which will increase the carbon savings
4. Purchase new materials from ecologicallysound, sustainable sources
5. Install double glazing and energy-efficient lighting, DHW and heating/cooling for continued savings over the lifecycle of the building.
These measures could go a long way towards helping achieve the UK government’s target of a ‘net-zero’ future.
easily mounts in a lay-in ceiling. With the ability to remove the central core, allowing easy cleaning and maintenance, it provided the ideal solution to maintaining the highestpossible standards of hygiene in a healthcare environment.
In addition, the specification also saw Waterloo supply its Vane Swirl Diffusers. Designed for rapid mixing of air in high ceiling areas (2.6m-4m) and ideal for controlling airflow, these diffusers feature adjustable deflectors enabling different discharge directions.
To meet the aesthetic requirements of the external walling, Large Format Fixed Blade Louvres were specified in traffic grey whilst the company’s high performance Exhaust Valves were specified for washroom facilities.
Commenting on the specification, Andy Wardle, Sales Director at Waterloo Air Products said: “Creating a safe and comfortable indoor climate in a hospital environment is absolutely paramount. The careful selection and specification of air distribution products plays a huge role in ensuring the comfort of patients whilst controlling contaminants, odour and indoor air pollution. Our products are designed to meet such requirements and have helped play a key role in creating and maintaining ventilation effectiveness and indoor air quality in this vital community health facility.”
Waterloo has extensive experience across healthcare projects and can provide project liaison staff on site during critical programme phases. In addition to the Glan Clywd Hospital, Waterloo has completed work on a number of high profile hospitals including St Bartholomew’s, Hammersmith, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and St Georges, to name but a few. With this hospital redevelopment and rebuilding programme on track for completion in 2020, Waterloo’s air distribution products are set to play a vital role in the modernised Glan Clywd hospital for years to come, ensuring the air quality of the indoor environment is at its best throughout the facility.
