Facadeshield FR Class B is the latest addition to Proctor Group’s range of external wall membrane solutions. The vapour-permeable membrane can be used as the breather membrane in external wall build-ups. It is suitable for a wide range of applications, from low-rise timber and steel frame structures to high-rise rainscreen façades and offsite modular systems. A key focus in the development of Facadeshield FR was achieving the right balance of fire performance, water resistanc

Matthew Sexton, Technical and Compliance Director at BMI UK & Ireland, explores the technology reducing risks while working at height. Working on roofs poses a significant safety risk. Whether carrying out inspections, repairs or full refurbishments, the consequences of falls from unsafe edges or fragile roof elements can be severe. For specifiers, the challenge is understanding where this risk can be reduced in a profession where working at height is unavoidable. To prepare

Vent-Axia has delivered high-performance ventilation across Centre Court, Olympian’s purpose-built student accommodation development on Alfreton Road, Nottingham. The site consists of three buildings: The Alfreton Building, The Spine Building and The High Hurst Building. Built on the former Forest Mill site, which stood derelict for over a decade, the £120m scheme comprises 790 student beds and 19 affordable homes, supporting the regeneration of the area and meeting increasin

Ed Morris, Technical Manager at Altecnic, explores what water scarcity means in practical terms, and what future regulation changes could mean for residential system design and specification. Water scarcity is increasingly becoming a housing and infrastructure concern, driven by population growth, regional water stress, ageing infrastructure and changing weather patterns. As pressure on water supplies grows, water efficiency is becoming a genuine design and compliance conside

Specify & Build met with Qvantum UK to learn why its water-to-water heat pump has been created for apartment developments. As the Future Homes Standard moves the newbuild housing sector away from fossil fuel heating, heat pumps are increasingly being positioned as the default route to decarbonisation. While air source systems have become the most familiar option, apartment developments often present different challenges. External space can be limited, acoustic considerations

Ian Dean, Managing Director, Concrete Products at Holcim UK, explains why early collaboration is key to Future Homes Standard success. The Future Homes Standard (FHS) represents the next tightening of the UK’s long-term trajectory towards low-carbon, high performance homes. With it comes an urgency for developers, contractors and specifiers to embed lower carbon delivery into every part of a build. The FHS builds on the whole-house energy efficiency principles already in play

Jon Knaggs, Technical Manager for Industrial Lightweight Construction at EJOT UK, explains why the ETA is crucial for compliance and key to faster, lower-risk project delivery. Higher performing and better quality building façades rely heavily on the right fastening and framing systems. But how do you establish which products and systems will meet the brief with confidence, as well as minimising non-compliance risks and delays when the façade design is reviewed by building co

Andy Williamson has joined the board of QuickFix Profiles as the company’s new Non-Executive Director.

It’s a damp protection approach used by many builders in new building or when forming an opening in a cavity or solid external wall, extending a building, or tackling an existing damp problem. A Wellington Boot keeps the wet out and prevents wet soaking upwardly or inwardly – and that’s exactly what the Type LTT Tray does. Simply bed it in position, and the shape protects the opening at ground level, including the reveals and extending into the cavity. Wellington Boot It or

Alpha has expanded its renewable heating technology range with the Magis M Top, a monobloc air source heat pump designed for newbuild and retrofit residential properties. The Magis M Top provides heating, cooling and domestic hot water and can achieve flow temperatures of up to 75°C. Using advanced inverter technology, the system regulates its output in line with real-time demand. This ensures maximum performance while minimising electricity consumption, especially during mi

Eight golden tickets took a group of installers to ESBE’s Reftele factory in Sweden for an intensive, entertaining two-day course, where they could hone their skills and familiarise themselves with pumps and valves specifically developed to improve heat pump performance. The group had all attended an industry training seminar last September at Kings Norton Golf Club, Birmingham, organised by iNstallD. This education hub was established by engineer Dominic Eves, who is a stron

Rinnai Director Chris Goggin looks at current domestic energy policy and the movement towards widespread electrification. Current UK energy policy aims to introduce wider electrification for issues relating to domestic energy security and lessening carbon output. One, if not the, reason for this shift away from fossil fuels is the potential geopolitical weaponisation of oil and natural gas. Exorbitant cost spikes perpetuate the reputation of fossil fuels as being an unreliabl

The first site development by a new luxury housebuilder is benefiting from Proctor Group’s Proctor Air® underlay on the pitched roof. Braddus Homes is a small housing developer set up by childhood friends who wanted to offer something different to the volume housebuilding companies they had previously worked for. Their first development is Priory Fields, a site of four homes, each with five bedrooms. The company has set out to deliver excellence as standard and needed to ensu

Rinnai Director Chris Goggin looks at and discusses the potential next generation of energy technology ideas and appliances that could deliver economic and efficient power to residential and commercial properties in the near future. New and original approaches will replace traditional and well referenced methods of heating and hot water provision. History is saturated with case histories of a process and pattern of technological replacements. Join the free Rinnai newsletter f

MACO UK is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026, marking four decades of supporting the UK window and door industry with high-performance hardware solutions, technical expertise, and long-standing partnerships. Founded in 1986, the first MACO UK office and warehouse was located in Dartford before relocating to the market-leading sales, distribution, and innovation centre in Sittingbourne in 2000, where it continues to operate today. Over the past 40 years, MACO UK has pla