refurbishment

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.

When designing properties, housing providers should think carefully about the colours used in each room and the emotions they evoke in building occupants. In this article, Dawn Scott, Senior Colour Designer at Dulux Trade explains what people want to feel in their homes and how colour and design can be used to improve occupant wellbeing and help to make a space more welcoming and homely.

Frost is the greatest threat to water services throughout the winter.  UK Water Regulations require any fitting or apparatus to be correctly insulated to prevent frost, unless in a location that is heated for more than 12 hours a day [2]. It seems obvious when you are scraping the ice from the car on a frosty morning. However, the insurance claims show that many homeowners, landlords and occupiers seem to be unaware of this requirement.

In the worst-case scenario, the replacement of water supply pipes is required.  Traditionally this has required major excavations outside a property and usually a great deal of disruption and trauma within, over several days and possibly weeks – inevitably at high cost.

Tough metal pipe boxing and services casings from UK Boxings are being widely used to conceal and protect external pipework from the risk of damage, while also improving the look of the completed project.

The Encasement range of pipe boxing and casings for social housing is widely used across the UK to conceal interior and exterior pipework in fire sprinkler installations, heating system upgrade projects and low carbon district heating schemes.

Versa pre-formed pipe boxing is already installed in countless retrofit fire sprinkler projects to cover pipework in flats, lobbies and corridors, while for applications requiring a flame retardant solution, Versa FR pipe boxing provides an ideal solution.

The Problem
Armed with the latest U-value testing equipment, and excited by the improved thermal performance data shown by the next generation SprayCork material in the lab, Corksol set out to assess the product’s thermal insulation performance as a Thin Internal Wall Insulation in a real-life situation.

The background to the testing was the UK Government’s March 2021 report on Thin Internal Wall Insulation (TIWI), which highlighted the potentially very large nationwide benefits for both energy efficiency and fuel poverty from high performance TIWI systems. The chosen test property was an 1890’s solid walled Yorkshire stone detached cottage in Halifax.