Talk.Build

The ever-widening skills shortage faced by the construction sector is driving up wages and having a significant impact on the government’s ambitious plan to build 300,000 homes every year in England alone.   But it is not just building targets that need to be met, there are also the ... http://talk.build/blogs/15/285/closing-the-skills-gap-in-construction

The construction industry faces many challenges. One of these is around delivering projects on time and on budget writes Fiona Irvine LIoR, Technical Services Advisor, Sika UK. Refurbishment projects is one area where accurately predicting cost and time is notoriously difficult as all too often ... http://talk.build/blogs/15/284/thermal-imaging-technology-reduces-risk

Summer has ended and September has begun, meaning it is back-to-school week for all children across the UK. Sadly, this won’t be the case for pupils at Roding Primary School, Dagenham, as a huge fire tore through half the school’s premises, reducing classrooms, break-out-areas and ... http://talk.build/blogs/15/283/the-wider-effects-of-fire-on-education

Time is of the essence in business, particularly the roofing business. Delays, however minimal, incurred during commercial new-build or refurbishment projects can lead to disproportionate costs to the client writes Mahroof Hussain, Area Technical Manager at Sika-Trocal . When someone falls behind ... http://talk.build/blogs/15/282/making-fast-work-on-commercial-roofing-projects

It makes a difference when it comes to relationships, but having the right chemistry is also a key ingredient in the creation of polyurethane coatings, adhesives, and sealants. Like any good relationship, it’s something you must work hard at in order to achieve the best result. This is why ... http://talk.build/blogs/15/281/coatings-custom-chemistry-that-performs

Attention has been quite rightly focused on fire safety issues in new and existing buildings since the terrible events at Grenfell Tower writes Richard Harral, Technical Director at CABE. It is vital that the problems identified within the Hackitt review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety are ... http://talk.build/blogs/15/280/looking-beyond-fire-safety

Flooring in schools isn’t just a necessary part of a building’s fabric; it can help create the ideal learning environment in which children can thrive. Design and specification is key, however, to a floor living up to expectation in terms of performance.  Durability ought to be a ... http://talk.build/blogs/15/279/floor-specification-for-schools-homework-pays

Now that students have opened their A level and GCSE results, it brings a fresh reminder that the construction sector is facing a major skills challenge writes Kevin Bohea. Government has pledged to deliver 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s. The issue we have is that we simply don’t ... http://talk.build/blogs/15/278/making-sure-we-have-the-skills-to-deliver

It is high time the misconceptions surrounding renewable energy were demystified. With the effects of climate change a pressing concern, now more than ever it is important to turn to renewable energy resources, such as solar energy, to preserve our planet. Andrew Knapp addresses the top five ... http://talk.build/blogs/15/277/five-myths-and-misconceptions-of-renewable-energy

The waterproofing of existing below ground structures, particularly ageing ones, needs as much careful planning as a new-build project in terms of materials and process writes Stuart Benham. System options, however, tend to be more limited when it comes to putting a watertight seal on a basement or ... http://talk.build/blogs/15/276/the-challenge-of-waterproofing-below-ground-structures