More Comment – Page 484
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Hear, hear
I read your article on school acoustics with much interest. As a maker of acoustic ceiling and wall absorbers, we have been working with our customers for some time now to push acoustics higher up the agenda for new schools and we warmly welcome the end-user’s contribution
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Inflammatory words
The Practitioners Forum and the Business and Community Safety Forum’s recent report to the minister makes some valid points on the fire risks of timber-framed buildings during construction, and they urge the government to review the Building Regulations
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The long game
The construction industry is undoubtedly one of the hardest-hit sectors in this current recession so it is no surprise that consolidation and survival have become watchwords. Job cuts are the answer for some but wholesale cutbacks can prove dangerous in the long term
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CommentAim high …
The tower blocks that were built in the sixties and seventies failed because they were for the most part poorly constructed and detailed (“That past is gone”, 29 May, page 19)
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Maybe a little lower
I’m not convinced that energy efficiency is a reason for advocating high rise
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CommentLife after debt
Before you know it, UK plc is going to be staggering under a real debt burden of £2 trillion. Here’s Kevin Cammack’s simple survival guide
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And the good news is...
The uber-bearish traders in house price futures appear to have softened their view on the depth of the slump in house prices quite markedly over the past month or so.At the turn of the year you could have bought a notional average house three years hence on the futures market ...
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The orders figures and public spending fears point to industry chaos ahead - need it be so?
The good news is that after the monstrous distraction over the past month cause by raking over expense claims made by MPs we are getting back to debate about things that really will shape our lives - notably how much dosh there is (or rather isn't) in the Treasury coffers ...
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Housing activity rises but prices set for further falls
The latest RICS housing market survey paints a more optimistic picture of the housing market, with evidence that confidence and activity continue to improve.The ‘new buyer enquiries' series (the balance of surveyors reporting an increase rather than a decrease in buyer interest) has been rising since November and, at 48 ...
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North-South divide develops in housing market - is it a cause for concern?
The latest housing market report from the surveyors' body RICS will provide further cheer for most of those selling homes.The June 2009 report suggests that the pace of collapse in prices continues to ease, the volume of sales has nudged up and there appear to be more buyers. And there ...
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Worst fall in output on record
The construction output figures from the Office of National Statistics covering the first quarter of 2009 highlight the true nature of the construction recession, or should we say depression, with considerable destocking leading to sharp falls in output. Total output in construction during the first quarter of 2009 fell an ...
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Construction shrinks at the fastest rate ever recorded
It was with genuine shock that I looked at the latest output figures. I was busy finishing something off when Noble Francis of the Construction Products Association called to ask if I'd seen the figures.I thought he was pulling my chain when he read over the numbers.I'm regarded as gloomy, ...
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Why you might want to raise a glass to building homes?
As we rage about the cost to the taxpayer of 80p bath plugs and the construction of elaborate duck houses, here's a figure to contemplate.For every new home built in recessionary times, each taxpayer is about 10p to 15p better off.Not a lot maybe, but see 20 homes being built ...
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CommentHansom: Rock, paper, scissors
It’s a dead heat for who’s had the worst week: a load of rockery-dwelling statues, the man faced with a mountain of company records, or a client forced to delay a – ahem – delicate procedure
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CommentThe true aim of architecture
Robert Adam’s rant (22 May, page 24) about architects and how “they like to pretend they know best about what’s good for society ... “ reminded me of a talk Buckminster Fuller gave at the school of architecture at Bristol university in 1965
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A cable to the sun
In reply to Hugh Bantin’s query about wind energy (8 May, page 32), yes, it is fickle and average output is about 30% of maximum
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Noises off
In my experience, good acoustics in schools are still viewed as a nice-to-have rather than a must-have (“Can you hear me at the back?”, 15 May, page 40)
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Good health
Regarding your article on a health scare prompting regulation change (29 May, page 13), hats off to NHBC for producing a report that takes the real world into account
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The third amendment
The Standing Joint Committee for The Standard Measurement of Building Works has prepared amendment three to the Seventh Edition, effective from 1 June.
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Messing about near boats
I work for a charity called the Waterway Recovery Group (www.wrg.org.uk) which restores the derelict canals of England and Wales