COMMERCIAL FEATURE
Significance of making better choices about the architectural ironmongery in all buildings New research conducted on behalf of the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI) by AMA Research revealed that some types of buildings can incur up to 19% of their total maintenance budget on architectural ironmongery despite the average spend on this being 1-2% of the value of a new-build. This research has analysed what proportion of a project’s overall cost and ongoing maintenance is attributed to door hardware such as handles, locks, hinges, door closers and other essential ironmongery. Douglas Masterson, technical manager of the GAI, said: “As a proportion of a project’s value, the budget needed for specifying architectural ironmongery has increased over the last 40 years, most likely in response to increasingly robust standards for safety, accessibility and other improvements in the built environment, advances in technology such as access control products, and the quality of products themselves. The value can now be up to 5.8% of a project value, depending on the sector”. November/December 2020
Repairing or replacing door hardware can still be time consuming and now we also understand its budget implications too – for some building types such as educational establishments it can be as much as 30% per year. This research underlines the financial significance of making better choices about the architectural ironmongery in all buildings. www.gai.org.uk/GAI/GAI_News/News-Items/2020/ Industry-research-sheds-light-on-ironmongery-budgetestimates-.aspx
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