Industry News comment finishing touches
efit most kitchens. Reducing household water
consumption also plays a role and there are several design choices that can be made, par- ticularly in the bathroom, to help reduce a build’s environmental impact. A number of bathroom taps
Paul Joyner, director,
Sustainable Building Solutions, Travis Perkins Plc
The finishing touches of any self build provide a great opportu- nity to make a significant impact on the sustainability of a project and its ultimate affect on the environment. The kitchen is often seen as
the heart of the home and the design choices you make in your kitchen can play an impor- tant role in ensuring your house- hold, as a whole, is not only sus- tainable but works effectively. For example, household recy-
cling centres provide a discreet and compact way of easily and effectively sorting waste for recycling; with options such as three way recycling bins, auto- matic pull-out double bins and space saving triple waste bins, available from lots of retailers including Benchmarx, there is something to fit and ben-
product launch
northcot brick launches the new ‘cotswold collection’
Northcot Brick has launched the new ‘Cotswold Collection’, the first of a new generation of machine made bricks with many of the qualities and character of traditional handmade products. Made from finest Cotswold
clay, this unique collection is coal- fired to create an attractive natu- ral appearance, with distinctive warm tones and a variable tex-
tured surface, which will add value to a wide range of self build and renovation projects, enabling self builders and home improvers to create a stunning design feature. Available in three distinctive
pastel shades, red, blend and orange, the range is hand blended to create a consistent mix of bricks within each pack.
feature cartridges that can cut down on unnecessary water use by acting as flow regulators, allowing the homeowner to choose between reduced and full flow water, while also limit- ing water flow to 8 litres per minute. Low litre flush toilets can simi-
larly lessen a bathroom’s water consumption, as they use less than half the water of most stan- dard toilets. The choice of flooring used in
a home can dramatically trans- form the atmosphere; however, buying timber in large quanti- ties also comes with a social and environmental responsibility. Make sure the timber you choose is obtained from renewable sources by choosing a builders’ merchants committed to reducing their environmental impact. For more advice and top tips
on how to apply the finishing touches to your project, go to Travis Perkins’ Self Build website at
www.travisperkins.co.uk/self- build or pay a visit to your local Travis Perkins branch.
is the green deal a good deal for everyone?
Energy secretary, Chris Huhne, has advised that the govern- ment’s proposed Green Deal could create 250,000 jobs and two-thirds of energy would come from renewable sources by 2030. However, is it a good deal for everyone? The Green Deal is a govern-
ment initiative that will see leg- islation introduced to make it possible for consumers and businesses to have energy effi- cient measures implemented from autumn 2012. The initia- tive is a way of making a prop- erty more energy efficient, whether you own or rent it, with the improvements being paid for from the savings on the occu- pier’s energy bill. While on face value, The
Green Deal is admirable – less pollution, lower bills, and more jobs – there is a big problem: consumer’s bills will not be lower. With work being paid out of energy savings, con- sumers will not see any benefit in reduced energy bills. When customers realise this, will they want to pay for work that is in effect lowering pollution, creat- ing jobs and helping to meet government targets to cut global warming emissions? In addition, the Department
of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will only confirm that up to 14 million homes could be improved as a result of the Green Deal by 2020 and cus- tomers will have 20-25 years to repay the costs. Customers will be disappointed further when they realise how much interest they are paying to fund
a government policy. So do consumers have any
other choices? “Solar panels are the answer”, thinks Alan Proto, managing director of The Green Home Company. Fitted to the roof of your home they will give you an immediate reduction in your energy bills, and will continue to save you money for 25 to 30 years. In addition to offering imme-
diate savings on energy bills, thanks to a government initia- tive, there is the opportunity for some households to obtain solar completely free. This initiative will see The Green Home Company fund up to £15 mil- lion worth of solar installations. The only stipulation is that pan- els can only be installed on south facing, unshaded roofs that can achieve the right levels of electrical output. The initiative is possible as The
Green Home Company benefits by taking the government’s Feed- in Tariff scheme (FITs), which came into force in April 2010, repaying them for the cost of installation over an agreed time. There are no hidden catches or additional costs for the home- owner with maintenance and insurance for the next 25 years taken care of by the company – leaving the consumer to benefit from free energy. So with new government ini-
tiatives not quite being the great deal they seem to be, solar looks like the solution to provide immediate returns – especially if it is free!
Bespoke blends can also be created to match existing projects or to meet specific customer require- ments. A reliable, cost-effective and
practical alternative to conventional handmade bricks, the Cotswold range is not only machine pro- duced to the highest technical specifications, but each brick is ‘dual faced’ for ease of use and to reduce wastage.
This versatile range is available
in both 65mm and 73mm sizes to suit both old and modern proper- ties. A range of British Standard special types is also available. All Northcot first quality bricks
are manufactured to British and European standards and are hand checked to ensure consistency of quality.
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www.buildingconstructiondesign.eu
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