When the use of flat-roofing in construction hit its first wave of popularity (roughly from the 1950’s to 1970s), most of the properties that were built during that time offered little or no insulation. This approach, known as ‘cold roof’ construction, is now only rarely used as modern day property developments are far more likely to use ‘warm roofing’ methods which help to ensure rooms in the building are warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, thereby reducing energy usage, bills and environmental impact.
In this week’s blog, we’re putting the spotlight on roofing insulation, its benefits and what’s changed between the older and newer generation systems.
This week, the UN Climate Change Conference known as COP26 opened in Glasgow, bringing representatives from around 200 countries into the Scottish city.
With so much ground to cover, the conference is due to last two weeks, closing on 12th November. One pledge that’s already been made by leaders of more than 100 countries is a commitment to end deforestation by 2030. As the days progress, no doubt we’ll see more headline pledges like this but meanwhile, we thought it might be helpful to summarise what COP26 is all about and what it potentially means for construction. Read on for your five-point guide.
Between July and September this year, the number of vacancies in construction soared to around 43,000 *. That’s double the amount of unfilled jobs the sector saw this time last year and the highest level ever recorded in the 20 years since the data was first collected back in 2001!
While this (alongside other issues like the rising costs of materials) might seem to be cause for concern as we head into the winter, some industry and recruitment experts believe things may be about to change. Find out more, including news of current vacancies at Sheriff, in this week’s blog.
With the news headlines moving slightly away from the coronavirus pandemic into an almost daily dose of woe about the energy market crisis, in today’s blog we’re looking at what effect this might have on construction.
While Sheriff Construction and other building contractors like us do not use very much natural gas in our day-to-day work, the problem is that our suppliers do. Manufacturing the materials we use is often energy intensive and, with the hike in the price of gas, it’s inevitable that those costs will start to pass through the procurement process. One leading economist is warning the industry to be prepared for a ‘phase of rising prices’ in bricks, cement and concrete. Read on for more information.