Insulation specialist Actis has welcomed Boris Johnson’s plan to ‘build, build, build’ – but says the refurbishment options put forward must be carried out in a thermally efficient way. The PM’s announcement this week included confirmation of a £12 billion investment in building 180,000 affordable homes over the next eight …

Plumbing and drainage manufacturer Brett Martin has added a pair of fuel-efficient DAF trucks to its fleet. Featuring Brett Martin’s distinctive branding, the DAF LF vehicles will deliver the company’s plumbing and drainage products to merchants across UK and Ireland as well as direct delivery to sites. The 18-tonne trucks …

The Green Homes Grant, to be announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer this week, will give hundreds of thousands of homeowners vouchers of up to £5,000 for energy-saving home improvements, a move which the Treasury hopes will help to support more than 100,000 jobs in the industry. Rishi Sunak …

Independent builders merchants EH Smith has announced a number of senior management appointments, including a new managing director, head of finance and HR director. Mark Setchell has joined EH Smith as managing director, taking over from Phil Yates who retired in June after over 20 years at EH Smith. Setchell …

Plastic drainage manufacturer Polypipe is the latest building products manufacturer to announce redundancies as a result of the economic situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. The 250 jobs will represent around 8% of the workfrce, though there are no plans to completely close any facilities. In a statement …

Builders merchants trade organisation The Builders Merchants Federation is backing new guidance launched last week to provide reassurance to homeowners to have tradespeople carry out work in and around their homes. The Work Safe. Safe Work campaign has been developed by Trustmark, the only government endorsed quality scheme for tradespeople, …

The Manufacturers Association of Radiators and Convectors   has launched a targeted consumer campaign, the ‘You are what you Heat’ campaign, to boost awareness of quality, *CE marked radiators, with homeowners and consumers. Isaac Occhipinti, Head of external affairs, MARC said: “MARC members are committed to driving change. Members are proud of their …

Building was the stand-out performer in June in economic terms, according to the monthly IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index. Output increased in June and forward orders stabilised after falling for three months, according to the Index which jumped to 55.3 in June, from 28.9 in May, having hit …

Brick maker Ibstock plc, has welcomed Boris Johnson’s  pledge of significant investment for the UK’s construction sector. With key elements of Johnson’s plan including reform of planning regulations to make it easier than ever before for homeowners to extend their homes and £100m worth of investment for UK infrastructure Joe …

Brio’s new Brio Pocket Slide 80 universally sized pocket door kit offers a flexible, simple-to-install solution, while reducing cost and valuable inventory space for architectural ironmongers and builders merchants. The Brio Pocket Slide 80 can cover installation widths ranging from 600 to 1000mm. Simple, efficient and customisable, the kit is …