Reading between the lines

It’s good to hear from director of the Modern Masonry Alliance, Mike Leonard, that the new build housing market has started reasonably well in 2011.

He says this is a result of private developers targeting the family home market where funding is more available. The first-time buyers’ sector has proved more difficult with most lenders requiring a 20% deposit although most major builders have taken advantage of the funding announced in the budget to offer assisted first-time buyers schemes.

Mike believes that the private sector may weaken as a result of continued restrictions on lending and a fall in consumer confidence but we may not see the effect of this in the short term. The missing factor is the smaller developers who are being largely excluded from the market due to lack of bank lending in the sector.

The public sector has also started reasonably well as registered social landlords use up the various funding streams still available. As the year progresses demand from this sector will fall steeply as the effect is felt of a 40% cut in the budget for new social housing.

While the one-off registration of the Olympic Village housing has distorted the early numbers, Mike Leonard says he remains confident that starts will remain static compared to 2010/11 with an overall market of circa 105,000 homes for the year ending March 2012.

Thanks Mike for a glimmer of light at the end of the new housing tunnel.

‘Mort’

You can get updates on the state of the masonry market at www.masonryfirst.com

Our friends at the Concrete Centre have been quick to point out a very satisfying commendation for traditional masonry construction from government in terms of achieving a zero-carbon home. Hidden away in the Spring Budget detail is confirmation that Code for Sustainable Homes level 5 – suitably met by good old brick, block and mortar – will be the highest level required when all new homes have to be zero carbon from 2016.

Head of architecture, housing and sustainability at the Concrete Centre, Guy Thompson, points out that tucked away in an appendix to the budget, government has announced that unregulated carbon emissions produced by cooking and electrical appliances such as televisions are to be excluded from the definition. These account for between one third and half of a home’s total emissions, with the rest coming from lighting, heating and hot water production.

Under original government plans house builders would have been required to fund renewable energy projects to offset emissions from household appliances, substantially increasing the price of new homes at a time when the house building industry can ill afford it.

If you want further information on building to Code level 5, see the Concrete Centre publication ‘Achieving Code level 5 in Concrete and Masonry’ at http://www.concretecentre.com/online_services/publication_library/publication_details.aspx?PublicationId=695, but please note this is currently under review to reflect the changes in Part L outlined in a further publication, Thermal Performance: Part L1A.

‘Mort’

The warmer weather we’ve been having over the last few days has reminded me of the cold conditions we all hit just before Christmas – and the precautions we need to take when using mortar in the colder times of the year. It’s not only winter flu that cries out for a safe cure.

Using mortar in colder conditions needs careful thought and the taking of a few precautions. It all comes down to a simple equation which can be related to daily temperature x number of days. It’s the basis of how mortar cures safely and gains its working strength. Don’t be tempted to think because you’ve left your mortar for three weeks before the frost comes you’ll be safe. If your daily temperature has been lower than, say, 1^o or 2^oC, the mortar will not have gained its safe working strength. You need at least a temperature of 3^oC for a number of days. If the temperature is lower, curing will take proportionately longer.

You can take a few measures to help things on its way when cold snaps are about. Drape sacking or bubble-wrap over the brick or blockwork but if you use sacking, cover it with polythene sheet to avoid saturation. Take special care where there is a north or easterly aspect, especially so if the ground falls away and there are no buildings or trees to provide a windbreak. Also, don’t forget that for every 1000 feet increase in elevation the temperature falls by 2^oC, (that’s why the temperature outside your holiday jet is around – 42^oC).

And if you have any doubts, consider postponing the work until the weather forecast looks a little more promising – remember, best practice suggests a minimum temperature of 3^oC and a rising thermometer.

‘Mort’

I wonder if the government in the shape of the Communities and Local Government department (CLG) has been a bit too hasty in rejecting the findings and recommendations of the recent London Assembly report which called for greater regulation of fire safety on timber frame construction sites and in residential blocks?

In the report, (http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/the-london-assembly/publications/housing-planning/fire-safety-in-london) the assembly included a call for improved fire safety during the construction phase of timber-framed buildings, better fire risk assessment processes and that residents of tall buildings should have better information about evacuation procedures and the way DIY modifications can compromise fire safety measures. It also asked the CLG to ensure all social landlords publish a full register of fire risk assessments online; provide existing and new residents with better information about what to do in the event of a fire; and ensure that inspecting for unauthorised or damaging works are part of routine estate inspections by housing staff.

In response, CLG concluded that further regulation is “not an appropriate approach at this time”

Following up the department’s decision, chair of the London Assembly planning and housing committee, Nicky Gavron AM, pointed out that the assembly was not asking for further regulation, but that the evidence received suggested that existing regulations may be flawed and therefore require urgent review.

I may be biased but I can’t help feeling that use of traditional construction – bricks, blocks, mortar and concrete – is a much simpler and safer answer all round – and demonstrably more sustainable to boot!

‘Mort’

My daughter has moved into a Victorian house and is finding redecoration a challenge because of the antics of the previous owner.

A physics teacher at a local school, the man obviously had good, green ideals and was ahead of his time in recognising the need to insulate the single-brick construction. Trouble is, although presumably a good teacher he wasn’t a good builder and his approach was to stick 25 mm-thick sheets of insulation board directly to existing plaster. The result? Partial covering of period features such as covings, ugly overhangs on traditional wainscoting and, where structural changes have been required, some very hard graft in removing the insulation. It has also adversely affected the proportions of some rooms in terms of depths of clearance under cills.

Now, if the well-minded school teacher had thought about external thermal insulation his life – and my daughter’s – would have been made much easier. The house is an end of terrace so the complete end façade could have been insulated in one relatively simple operation with a suitable render finish. The same is true of the back of the building, which would have left only the attractive front of the house with its brick detailing in its original state.

External thermal insulation is a modern building technique we are going to see much more of in the future as we face up to the need to minimise energy losses on our existing building stock.

‘ Mort’

Looking recently through a pile of cuttings relating to house building statistics, I came across a report of a parliamentary question posed to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, answered on 22 June this year.

Labour shadow minister for housing, John Healey, had asked what estimate had been made of the number of jobs created and supported for each £1 million of expenditure on new build housing in the latest period for which figures were available.

The answer was very illuminating in these days of budget cuts.

Housing minister Grant Shapps said his department has estimated that, in 2009, every £1 million of expenditure in new build housing supported 11 net jobs for a year. The figure takes account of direct jobs supported in the house building industry and indirect (supply chain) jobs. It also takes account of displacement effects, where increased spending on housing building takes investment (and associated jobs) away from other parts of the economy.

Let’s all hope the government bears this fully in mind when examining where its knife will fall directly on UK housing projects and indirectly in its efforts to stimulate investment by the private sector.

Mort

With all the talk and media coverage about climate change and better thermal insulation for all sorts of buildings, including homes, it’s about time more thought was applied not to new housing but to our existing building stock.

With new build, better insulation can be designed in but what about the 25 per cent of our existing housing stock in the UK that is of a solid nine-inch brick construction? Few owners want to see bulky insulation added to internal walls so we need to look outside ourselves.

 It’s here that factory-produced renders – with a suitable insulation board – can provide an attractive, cost-effective answer on the outside of buildings. Choose your colour, choose your finish and away you go. Well almost – but it is an answer more people will turn to in the future.

 ‘Mort’

We are launching a blog to keep association members and their customers up-to-date with developments in the factory-produced mortar industry.

Standards, regulations, product news, industry-affecting appointments will all be covered from time to time, treated – hopefully – in a way that reflects the mood and manner of the industry as well as the personalities who work in it.

 We will welcome suggestions for matters to cover and actively seek your response to what is said.

 After all, reading between the lines is always an intriguing thing to do.

‘Mort’