refurbishment

Durable and weather resistant metal pipe boxing from UK Boxings is widely used to conceal and protect external pipework and building services from the risk of damage, while also helping improves the finish of completed projects.

If our water usage patterns don’t change, the UK will have an ongoing water deficit of 4,000 Megalitres per day by 2050.  Some water companies are introducing a new strategy to manage the ever-growing demand caused by increasing population and new developments - ‘water neutrality’.

The continued growth in population and housebuilding means that reductions in leakage and domestic consumption have not been enough to offset the increasing demand.  In all regions, even in our traditionally wetter regions water companies in response to OFWAT guidance, will be introducing Environmental Incentive Schemes in the near future.

The use of pre-formed boxings and casings for concealing pipework on social housing refurbishment projects has gradually overtaken the time intensive procedure of fabricating individual boxing on site to become the preferred solution for most social landlords and contractors.

Traditional methods of covering surface mounted heating system and boiler pipework typically involved the fabrication of boxing from wood or MDF. To create the required shape, the raw materials need to be cut to length then fixed to the wall, as well as sanding, sealing, priming, and painting sealing, all of which are extremely time consuming and costly, especially in terms of labour.

While the most obvious and persuasive advantages of using ready-made plywood boxing are the significant reductions in time and costs that can be achieved, aesthetics also play an increasingly large role in the decision to adopt ‘pre-made’ over ‘site-made’.

The UK has some of the oldest housing in Europe, with approximately 20% of current dwellings built before 1919 – that equates to about 5.8 million homes in the UK that are over 100 years old. And, using data1 to 2017, 17% of the current housing stock has been built since 1990. That means that roughly 23.6 million homes across the country were built over 30 years ago.

With legislation changing all the time, specifying the right products is essential to meet the correct standards. We spoke with Howard Trotter, business manager of window and fire door manufacturer Shelforce, to find out what housing associations must look out for when specifying windows and doors and how Shelforce can help provide the right products for the right value.

When concealing external pipework, building services and other utilities associated with low carbon district heating schemes or air-source and ground-source heat pumps, Pendock metal pipe boxing range provides protection against accidental damage or tampering, while helping improve the project’s aesthetics.

There is a real need to ensure we have a retrofit program that provides a sustainable solution for the existing UK building stock.

Buildings contribute 39% of global energy related carbon emissions, with the majority (28%) coming from operational emissions. This means that over a quarter of total carbon emissions are from the need to heat and power our homes.