News & Blog

Hotel guests always appreciate a clean room and comfy bed, but what about noise from the people next door? Sound travel between rooms was a critical issue for Project Manager Kevin Wood when building an extension to his Elme Hall Hotel.

The UK has been a world-leader in the development of aspirational codes for the construction of new buildings with the zero carbon definition, originally planned for introduction in 2016, being the most ambitious yet conceived.

With BIM being widely touted as the future of the construction industry, Mark Oliver offers his opinion.

Prior to the latest revision of Part L, heat loss through party walls had not been considered as it was thought that the loss would be insignificant.  However, research on completed homes showed that the heat loss was in fact the equivalent of having a wall U-value of 0.5W/m2K.

Launched at Ecobuild 2011, the pallet repatriation initiative is supported by the CPA, WRAP and BRE. H+H was one of the first suppliers to join the scheme, and within the first year we anticipate that we will have 15% of our pallets returned. Our objective is to achieve 30% in 2012, amounting to approximately 200,000 pallets.

The R? Build method of masonry build using Thin Jointed large format aircrete blocks from H+H was specified for 44 new council dwellings being built by Ashford Borough Council for its exceptional thermal performance, design flexibility and robust durability.

Town & Country Housing Group (TCHG) in Kent decided to construct a low carbon prototype home to act as a test bed for building to level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. In the process they used the H+H Thin Joint system with large format Jumbo Bloks.

H+H has provided Solar Thermal 215 blocks as part of a new partnership with Sussex Coast College in Hastings to elevate the profile of sustainability in construction. The blocks will be part of a 100m? eco house, an initiative of the European funded Interreg project, Eco Fab2. The eco house is being built indoors at the Ore Valley site within the Sussex Coast College Hastings as an opportunity for students to create, design and work on a fully-sized and operational house.

The Futures Group was formed in 2007 as an alliance between the Modern Masonry Alliance and the Home Builders Federation.  The objective is to research the issues around the increasingly stringent energy efficiency requirements of building regulations.  It was formed in the context of some market scepticism that masonry would prove to be a practical solution.

There has been a range of conflicting statistics published over the last few weeks.  Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say a range of interpretations of the statistics.  We have Grant Shapps quoting the CLG figures as showing a 16% rise and NHBC showing a 16% fall ? so who is right?

A R? Build, thin-jointed solid wall aircrete masonry shell was the most cost effective solution for the Stondonfield social housing development in Essex. Principle Contractor Collins and Beckett looked at timber frame and off site methods before opting for H+H Hi-Seven 7.3N/mm2 Jumbo Bloks for the ground floor external walls of the 6 houses and 2 flats that make up the scheme.

After successfully obtaining planning consent, the AIMC4 consortium, created to research and deliver mass market Code Level 4 homes using a fabric-first approach, has announced the project's chosen sites.

Scottish house-builders Malcolm Allen used H+H Celcon Blocks Standard Grade in solid external wall constructions at their Broadmeadows development of family homes near Aberdeen. The solid wall design was chosen for its speed of build and excellent thermal insulation.

The latest statistics from NHBC show that timber frame building methods now account for 16% of all new housing starts.  This is down from 24% at the start of 2010 and marks the third successive quarterly fall.

H+H has launched an online training module, designed to give general information on aircrete as a material, how it is used and its performance characteristics.

H+H has been shortlisted in the Manufacturer of the Year category at this year?s Building Awards. The Awards are judged on a company?s innovation, industry commitment and sustainability credentials and recognise the top performers from the last year.

There has been much discussion on the subject of cavity wall dimensions required to meet the increasingly stringent Building Regulations? requirements.  Aircrete, with its inherent thermal insulation characteristics, contributes to a cavity wall width for masonry that will compare favourably with timber frame structures.

H+H, the UK?s leading manufacturer of aircrete building products, has appointed Neil Thomas to the critical Director of Housing role.  Neil joins H+H from British Gypsum where he was responsible for sales to national housebuilders.

H+H UK Ltd Hi-Strength Grade 100mm and 140mm aircrete blocks have been specified for a ?1.7 million project at Batheaston Primary School in Bath. The blocks have been used to build a new hall, reception, classrooms and a kitchen facility with the aim of the project to achieve U values 25% better than the current Building regulation requirements for walls.

H+H UK has recently become one of the first manufacturers in the UK to be awarded BSEN 16001 ? the latest European standard to focus specifically on energy efficiency and also the British Standards Institute Energy Reduction Validation (ERV) Kitemark scheme for demonstrating reductions in carbon emissions.

H+H UK is Britain?s largest manufacturer of aircrete products and has signed up as an associate sponsor for SHIFT, joining the list of companies already in support of this nationwide sustainability initiative.

Jenny Smith-Andrews, H+H UK's Marketing Communications Manager talks to Cortexa about the reasons behind the development of their e-learning Academy. In this interview, created for Cortexa, Jenny explains the process, her expectations and the future of e-learning for H+H.

H+H UK is using Ecobuild as a platform to demonstrate how its aircrete building products fit within a sustainable building agenda.