Tag Archives: DIY

Charity & CSR, Construction, Construction News, News

Covers’ Help for Hospices campaign raises more than £32,000

Eleven hospices in the south are to benefit from more than £32,000 thanks to a special fundraising campaign by Covers Timber & Builders Merchants.

The company, which has 14 depots across Hampshire, Sussex and Kent, gave £5 for every purchase during its annual Help for Hospices charity week, which took place from 12th to 16th September, and donated a total of £32,155.

Covers’ chairman Rupert Green said:

“Thank you to everyone who supported our Help for Hospices week this year and helped us to provide an incredible amount of money. It means that since we launched the initiative in 2015, our customers have helped us to raise more than £217,000 for hospices across the south east.”

“Charities rely on donations and the money raised will help hospices continue to provide vital services to the communities they serve.”

Hospices being supported by Covers are:

• St Barnabas Hospice in Worthing, West Sussex
• St Catherine’s Hospice in Crawley, West Sussex
• St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Bosham, West Sussex
• Mountbatten Hospice in Southampton, Hampshire
• Naomi House & Jacksplace in Winchester, Hampshire
• Rowans Hospice in Waterlooville, Hampshire
• Martlets Hospice in Brighton, East Sussex
• St Peter & St James Hospice in Lewes, East Sussex
• Hospice in the Weald in Tunbridge Wells, Kent
• Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in Farnham, Surrey
• Demelza Hospice Care for Children in Eltham, London

The family-run company, which opened its first depot in Chichester, West Sussex, is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year. It supplies specialist timber services and products to the building trade and for home DIY. Mr Green said Covers is proud of its heritage and its close connection with the communities it serves.

Charity & CSR, News

RGB Porthleven team completes 50k charity cycle challenge

A team from RGB Building Supplies’ Porthleven branch completed a 50k cycle ride on Sunday 25th September in aid of the RNLI.

The team, made up of RGB colleagues Karen Richards, Clive Jeffery, Geoff Harry, Chris Instance and Ross Atkinson, and friends Nigel Groom and Bryher Blackmore, utilised the Camel Trail to complete the cycle ride. They followed the Camel Estuary from Padstow to Wadebridge, then carried on through the Camel Valley to Bodmin Jail, before double looping back to complete 50k.

The RNLI, which dealt with 7,242 incidents across Cornwall last year, is RGB’s chosen charity and, so far, the Porthleven team’s cycle ride has raised £465.

Karen Richards, Branch Support Assistant at RGB Porthleven, commented:

“Throughout the year, the whole company is fundraising for the RNLI to help it continue its 24-hour search and rescue, and education services. The charity does fantastic work across our area, so we wanted to challenge ourselves while supporting it. It was great working as a team as we were able to help each other.

“Thank you to Lakeside Cycles who provided two of our team with bikes, and thank you to everyone who has donated – it’s very much appreciated.”

Donations can still be made to the Porthleven team via their JustGiving page – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rgb-building-supplies.

News

Leominster designers eye £1m opportunity after launching new ‘construction’ innovation

An accomplished team of Leominster designers and engineers have created a new ‘construction’ innovation that will change the way temporary steel supports are adjusted.

Having experienced the pain of using ‘acrows’ first hand on a renovation project, Grove Design’s Austin Owens challenged his colleagues to come up with a solution that would transform the time-consuming process to make it safe, quick and easy to adjust the supports using a standard impact driver.

After months of consultation and numerous prototypes, the answer involved replacing the threaded collar with the patented J-strut gear collar, which can be wound up and down to adjust the support height using the J-strut pinion gear.

The new product was exhibited at The Executive Hire and Professional Builder Live shows recently and the response was outstanding, justifying the new firm’s prediction of a £1m opportunity for sales between now and the end of 2022.

“Despite their global success, setting up temporary steel supports is still time consuming, labour intensive and fraught with the risk of injury,” explained Will Helme, one of the main designers on the project.

“Spinning the collar to the right height requires physical effort and when threads are caked in dirt, rust and cement it takes significantly longer and can feel a hundred times harder. We found that out for ourselves and often innovation comes from trying to solve a problem in everyday life.”

He continued: “J-strut removes the need for manual adjustment of the collar, avoiding the frustrations that come with repeatedly winding and adjusting. All the effort to overcome friction is done by the impact driver, reducing operator fatigue, and minimising the chance of injury from human error.

“Temporary support often needs to be deployed and removed quickly to facilitate a smooth build process. Our system enables rapid deployment by greatly reducing the time taken to spin the collar to the correct height. If a support is up against a wall and the operator can only turn the collar half a turn at a time, an adjustment that would usually take minutes to complete manually can be achieved with J-strut in a matter of seconds.”

The challenge for Austin, Will and the rest of the team is to create an efficient route to market, with the construction equipment rental and leasing industry estimated to be worth £6.2bn and comprising 5000 potential customers.

Licensing the design through patents to a large-scale UK-based manufacturer is one option, another is retailing direct to the end user through a website or via a distributor, or it could mean wholesaling to rental and leasing companies.

Austin went on to add: “At Grove Design, we’ve been helping automotive companies, recycling plants, leisure products and health and beauty specialists come up with new innovations under their name.

“There was always a passion to develop an innovation that could be our own and this has come with the arrival of J-strut. We believe we have a game-changing system, and the industry seems to agree…now is the time to take that potential and turn it into a commercial product that will create sales and local jobs.

“Importantly, we want our product to benefit the UK manufacturing supply chain and we have plans to source two thirds of the components from other members in the Manufacturing Assembly Network, a nine-strong group of domestic engineering specialists we are proud to be part of.”

For further information, please visit www.j-strut.com.

News, North of England

100 North West jobs to be created by Gasqet.com following regional expansion

Gasqet.com, a marketplace for DIY and building supplies looks set to rapidly expand its workforce after establishing itself in the North West of England.

Founded during the pandemic, Gasqet.com provides construction firms and home improvement enthusiasts with a stronger, more sustainable alternative to traditional rubber washers.

Gasqet.com will create 100 jobs over the next three years across its sales, field service engineering and technology teams that it hopes will help it expand its hosting into more DIY brands, servicing and petrol stations.

A spokesperson for the company said the workforce expansion “reflected the trust the people of the North West had shown in the brand and the strong PropTech and ethical commitments in the region.”

The office jobs are set to be created within Gasqet’s Manchester headquarters, housing sales and digital technology departments.

It will also be the base for mobile field service engineers who service Gasqet’s fleet, who will be located across the North West including Liverpool, Manchester and Warrington.

Gasqet is also looking to recruit fleet engineers in Stockport, Wilmslow, Alderley Edge and Salford Quays.

The company, backed by well-known technology groups, is riding a wave of ethical production that is a core part of the UK’s Green Recovery.

Its AI technology helps select the most appropriate seals for a job and 3D prints it on-site or at the nearest DIY store.

The company aims to help solve the current shortage of supplies that has hit the construction industry and provide householders with sustainable parts that do not leave them vulnerable to hefty plumbing bills.

Rigorous testing has found that the washers are significantly more durable and have greater longevity than traditional washers, as well as being fully recyclable.

For further information visit https://gasqet.com/

News

Say goodbye to having to constantly replace and work out where to source those essential household parts from

A shortage of supplies has recently hit the construction industry and everyone of us reading this article are just one breakdown away from a hefty plumbing bill.

A North-West based online marketplace called Gasqet is trying to solve these problems by providing a platform for consumers and businesses to order durable washers, seals and gaskets in minutes and dispatched within 24 hours.

Ethar Alali, CEO and Managing Director of Axelisys Limited said: “During their lifetime, millions of households will face at least one of the problems caused by washers that break or waste away. Next thing they know, they are hit with an expensive plumbing bill and emergency call out charge. What Gasqet aims to do is deliver a convenient service that allows anyone to source durable essential parts when they need them, safe in the knowledge that they will not need to replace them regularly.

Its artificially intelligence driven 3D printing fleet helps homeowners and construction teams identify the right plumbing washers by taking a picture of pipework.

Rigorous testing has found that the washers are significantly more durable and have greater longevity than traditional washers, as well as being fully recyclable.

Alali added: “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do as a company, and we have also ensured that the products we sell and how we deliver them to consumers are as environmentally friendly as possible. Our products outstrip traditional washer pressure seals by 40% and offer an almost four times higher tensile strength improvement, and our local deliveries use electric fleets or cycle couriers. Gasqet washers last longer, even though they are made from eco-friendly materials each washer lasts more than 10 years. Moreover, we are signatories to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and have published a charter which lets you know what we have committed to.

“We recognise people lead busy lives with competing demands on their time, so our online marketplace sources the best and strongest parts, closest to you which ensure you never need to go on a quest to find a washer ever again.

“With many washers designed to last as long as the house does, it is much better to pay pennies now then spend thousands of pounds later.”

For further information visit https://gasqet.com/

News, Property, South East

Study shows half of South East homeowners raiding holiday savings to pay for home improvements

The lockdown has led the majority of South East homeowners to make permanent changes to their house and lifestyle, a new home survey from construction company, Inno Construction, shows. Around half of those surveyed (48%) said they were diverting holiday funds to pay for home improvements, and a third of those who were planning to move house in 2020 are now staying put.

Researchers, Savanta, conducted the study for Ramsgate-based Inno Construction, with a base of 1,005 online respondents aged 18+, living in the South East of England and owning homes. Key findings included:

– Almost half (48%) would consider spending money not spent on a holiday on their home instead, with a further 20% still considering
– With the rise in home working, just over one in five people (23%) are considering making changes to help with home working space with 9% considering an extension to help with that
– While  37% want to spend less than £5,000 on home improvements this year, 19% will spend £6,000 – £9,000 and 23% plan to spend £10,000 – £19,000
– One in 20 are considering bigger home changes by budgeting £50k or more
– Almost a third (29%) have already undertaken new home improvements because of the lockdown and almost two thirds (59%) said they have been inspired to try more DIY
– However, a quarter have experienced ‘DIY disasters’ with 15% now turning to professionals to fix them

A rise in home working

With those who can work from home still being encouraged to do so, weeks after the enforced lockdown on 17th March, just over a third (34%) say they are hoping to work from home more in future, and 8% are hoping to work from home full time. Just over one in 20 are hoping to change their workspace to help with home working with 15% being frustrated with the lack of office space.

Home frustrations

A third said they were frustrated with a lack of storage at home and the same number said a lack of space was a bugbear. Meanwhile, one in five aren’t satisfied with the layout of their house and the same number aren’t satisfied with the layout of their garden. In terms of projects, four in ten are considering a bathroom update this year (the most popular home improvement) while 36% will focus on their outside space.

A surge in DIY disasters

Almost a third (29%) have undertaken new home improvements because of the lockdown and almost two thirds (59%) said they have been inspired to try more DIY. However, a quarter of us have had DIY disasters during lockdown, with just over 10% having to get a professional in to fix the problem. Just over a third have been discouraged from DIYing as a result with 8% not undertaking any more themselves.

While one in ten say they still aren’t confident to attempt any work themselves, most people (59%) will do basics such as put up pictures and straightforward painting, while 17% would do it themselves, but don’t have the time.

Popular lockdown activities

The most popular lockdown activities have been watching TV for three quarters, walking or exercise for 68%, followed by gardening (68%), cooking (66%) and reading (57%). Garden DIY and home improvements have been popular for four in 10 of us, beating less popular puzzles and arts and crafts activities.

Tobias Barfoot at Inno Construction concludes:

“We are proud to serve the home and business owners of Kent – our aim is to make your plans a reality and add value through innovation, foresight, integrity and performance. At the end of the day customer satisfaction is everything to us”.

Construction, News

Builders merchant open for business

All branches of RGB Building Supplies are open for business and welcoming all customers.

Those visiting are being asked to respect and adhere to the strict social distancing and general hygiene guidelines that the builders merchant has put in place. These include customers being asked to use the hand-sanitising stations when they enter and leave the branches, make transactions as contactless as possible, and respect the signage and two metre markers that are in the branches, yard and warehouse.

RGB is regularly cleaning all hard surfaces, door handles, work equipment and vehicles, and does have pre-ordered timed collection slots available; further information can be obtained by contacting a branch.

Kevin Fenlon, CEO of RGB Building Supplies, commented:

“We’re delighted to be open and look forward to welcoming all customers through the doors. In view of the social distancing we have in place, there will be a smaller than usual teams, and we thank our customers for their patience and support in helping us to ensure the branches are safe environments for everyone.”

For the time being, RGB is operating revised opening hours of Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. These times will continually be monitored and it is hoping to return to normal working hours when safe to do so.