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Hot Rates
  Thickness mm thermal resistance m2 °C/W £/m2
Quilt insulation      
Floors      
Low-density glass-wool overslab between battens beneath timber boarding 60 1.5 1.75-2.00
Between ceiling or flat roof joists      
Fibreglass quilt 100 2.5 1.75-2.00
Rock-wool insulation mats 150 4.05 3.50-4.00
Mineral-fibre mats 200 5 4.00-4.50
Flexible resin bonded slab (45 kg/m3) 100 2 6.75-7.75
Between roof rafters      
Glass-wool insulation faced with laminate of kraft paper and polythene, stapled 100 2.5 5.75-6.25
External stud wall      
Rock-wool insulation mats pinned vertically between studs 100 2.7 3.25-3.50
Glass-wool insulation faced with laminate of kraft paper and polythene stapled vertically between studs 100 2.5 5.75-6.25
Flexible resin bonded slab (45 kg/m3) 100 2 8.00-10.00
Internal stud wall      
Resin-bonded glass-wool mat between studs 50 1.32 2.80-3.60
Board insulation      
Below ground-floor slab      
CFC-free rigid urethane foam insulation polyethylene-coated glass-fibre tissue faced both sides 25 1.09 6.50-7.00
Rigid extruded polystyrene insulation board (34 kg/m2) 50 1.85 6.25-7.00
Overslab beneath screed      
Standard duty expanded polystyrene 25 0.68 2.00-2.25
Tissue-faced mineral-wool board with rebated edges 30 mm thick 30 0.83 7.75-8.50
Rigid resin bonded mineral-wool slab (140 kg/m3) 50 1.52 11.75-12.75
Flat roof      
Tissue-faced bonded mineral-fibre slab (175 kg/m3) cut to falls average 70 1.82 50.00-55.00
Pitched roof across rafters      
High-density mineral-wool slab overlay board 40 1.11 7.50-8.50
Glass-fibre reinforced rigid polyisocyanurate foam board, foil-faced both sides 48 2.53 7.00-8.00
Pitched roof between rafters      
Rigid extruded closed-cell polystyrene foam insulation board 50 2 3.75-4.25
CFC-free rigid urethane foam board, foil/kraft-faced both sides 50 2.17 8.50-9.50
Cavity-wall insulation      
Full fill      
Blown mineral insulation 75 1.92 4.50-5.00
Mineral-fibre batts 65 1.91 3.25-3.50
Mineral-fibre batts 100 2.78 3.50-4.00
Glass-wool batts; treated with water-repellent silicone; two layers 150 4.2 7.00-7.50
Partial fill (costs exclude retaining ties)      
Standard grade expanded polystyrene board with interlocking tongued-and-grooved edges 50 1.35 4.50-5.00
Semi-rigid glass wool batt treated with water-repellent silicone 50 1.39 5.00-5.50
Rigid urethane foam board faced both sides with aluminium foil 30 mm thick 30 1.53 6.75 - 7.50
Mineral-wool slab 60 1.82 7.50 - 8.00
 
Materials price changes
change since spring/summer 1999 (%)
Diamond drilling +5
Ready-mixed insitu concrete +2
Concrete blocks +4.5
Structural steelwork +3
Clay roof tiles +2
Roof insulation +10
Softwood/hardwood skirtings, architraves and frames +3
Garage doors +5
Expanded metal products +3
Wood preservatives +5
PVCu soil pipes and fittings +7.5
PVCu waste pipes and fittings +7.5
Bitumen macadam surfacing +2
Key indicators
  % change in past six months % change in 12 months to Jan 00
Retail prices index    
Headline rate +0.9 +2
All items, excluding mortgage interest payments – government’s target index +0.7 +2.1
All items, excluding mortgage interest payments and indirect tax +0.8 +1.8
Industry generally    
Materials and fuel purchased by manufacturing industry +6 +10.4
of which: materials +5.1 +12.4
of which: fuel +13.2 –1.8
Key indicators
% change in past six months % change in 12 months to Jan 00
Materials and fuel purchased by manufacturing, excluding food, beverages, petroleum and tobacco industries +3.9 +0.6
Output prices of manufactured goods +0.9 +2.5
Output prices of manufactured products (other than food, beverages, petroleum or tobacco) +0.7 +0.5
Construction industry    
Construction materials +0.5 +0.2
Housebuilding materials +0.4 +0.2
Machinery and equipment +0.7 +0.8
Electrical machinery and apparatus +0.1 –0.9
Packages whose indices have fallen
Work category Index title % fall July 1999-January 2000
Mar-18 Cladding and covering: plastics –7.8
Mar-13 Metal: decking –4.2
Mar-32 Linings and partitions: self-finished –2.5
Mar-34 Raised access floors –2.5
Mar-41 Glazing –1.6
03-Jun Concrete: insitu –0.7
Mar-30 Boards, fittings and trims: manufactured –0.7
 
Packages whose indices have risen
Work category Index title % rise July 1999-January 2000
Mar-58 Pipes and accessories: copper +10.1
Mar-22 Cladding and covering: aluminium +7
03-Mar Filling: imported, hardcore and granular +3.5
Mar-24 Cladding and covering: zinc +3.5
03-May Insulation +3.5
Mar-49 Sanitary appliances +2.9
Mar-17 Cladding and covering: coated steel +2.7
Mar-59 Pipes and accessories: aluminium +2.6
Road construction TPI
Year 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Annual
average
1998 99 102 97 96 99
1999 93 104* 100* – –
* provisional Source : DETR
Constructed civils cost index
(base 1970 = 100)
Year 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Annual
average
1998 1138 1152 1163 1156 1152
1999 1158 1166 1206 1213* 1186*
* provisional
Landscaping cost index
(base 1976 = 100)
Year 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Annual
average
1998 442 445 466 466 455
1999 466 468 488 489* 478*
* provisional          
Wage agreement summary for major wage-fixing bodies
Operatives Agreement body Wage rates effective since Date of next review
Builders and civil engineering operatives Construction Industry Joint Council 28-Jun-99 26-Jun-00
    Early negotiations under way: initial union claims call for £10/hr for craft operatives, compared with the current £6.05/hr
     
Building & Allied Trades Joint Industrial Council (BATJIC) 14-Jun-99
12-Jun-00
Rates will rise 4.4%
     
Plumbers The Joint Industry Board for Plumbing Mechanical Engineering Services in England and Wales 23-Aug-99 Aug-00
Scottish and Northern Ireland Joint Industry Board for the Plumbing Industry 09-Aug-99 Aug-00
Heating and ventilation operatives Joint Conciliation Committee of the Heating, Ventilating and Domestic Engineering Industry 23-Aug-99 04-Sep-00
Electricians The Joint Industry Board for the Electrical Contracting Industry    
– main operatives 07-Feb-00 08-Jan-01
– apprentices 04-Oct-99 Oct-00
Scottish Joint Industry Board for the Electrical Contracting Industry 07-Feb-00 08-Jan-01