As I’m sure you all know we’re a completely free website for the construction trade, set up by builders for builders, that aims to facilitate contact between different trades people and help them to use up surplus in the supply chain. BuilderScrap.com provides an outlet to encourage reuse of material that would otherwise be thrown away. It’s a way for the industry to work together to reduce the amount of builders’ waste sent to landfill.

Lets have a look at some of our more interesting available items…. with a water theme.

Executive Restrooms

A Swimming Pool Slide

Stainless Steel Urinal Trough

We do have a wide and varied range of items available

Thanks to our colleagues over at BuilderBusiness for this article. 

As the economy starts to show tentative signs of recovery, many involved in the industry will be wondering how they are going to get an edge over their competitors throughout 2010.

Keeping a focus on the job in hand is quite rightly the number one priority however it doesn’t mean the other elements of running a successful business can be let to slip. So builders wanting to make the most of 2010 will be interested to hear of a new club that will provide them direct and easy access to a whole host of services, information and advice.

Called Builderbusiness Club, those who sign up online at builderbusiness.co.uk will automatically become part of the UK’s biggest buying group with members also getting free access to a range of building support services.

The brainchild of builder Adrian Wild, who, with over 25 years experience of running a design and build company is all too familiar with the frustrations and pitfalls of the construction industry and knows how important it is to have the right suppliers, support, tools and finance in place at the right price.

Being first to enquire on a new planning application, finding the best van insurance, getting advice on how to improve your image, getting help on securing finance or making sure your VAT payments are up to scratch are all areas this new club will benefit builders.

Club Helps Builders Keep On Top Of New VAT Rules

An example of how the club is already helping builders is with the new rules on VAT that are being introduced by HM Revenue & Custom (HMRC) from 1 April 2010.

The new legislation means that from the new financial year, some businesses will have to file their VAT returns online and pay any VAT due electronically.

The new rules will apply firstly to businesses that are VAT registered and have a turnover of more than £100,000 and secondly to all businesses that are newly registering for VAT, whatever their turnover.

It means any builders that fall into these categories will have to make sure they fully understand how to comply with the new legislation.

Fortunately Builderbusiness Club members can get hold of what has been labelled as the best accounting software package on the market for builders with added benefits exclusive to the club.

Called Construction Industry Accounts (CIA) it’s an accounting software package designed to handle the new 2007 CIS Scheme, Invoices & Job Costing, Retentions, Applications (Stage Payments) and Certifications

It also helps builders file their VAT returns quickly and makes electronic payments by using the VAT Online service.

Developed specifically for the building industry this fully integrated software package means that only one entry is needed to update all relevant areas. So when it comes to submitting VAT returns or paying VAT, because everything is available at the click of a button it will make the process infinitely easier.

Adrian added: “Construction Industry Accounts is an absolute godsend for those who are looking to keep a close grip on their accounts, want to know how much they are going to make on a job and want to keep up-to-date on their VAT.

“Anyone wanting to make their lives easier in April need to start planning now how they are going to ensure they don’t give HMRC a reason to come knocking. It also links directly to HBXL’s EstimatorXpress estimating software so once an estimate has been produced the revenue and profit generated is automatically updated onto CIA.

“To be able to offer this through Builderbusiness Club is just one example of how it is going to help members mange their business more effectively, generate more profits and ultimately come out of the recession stronger.

“Our mission is to provide a dependable and trusted resource for both builders’ projects and business. Working with the FMB and many other trusted names, we think Builderbusiness Club is great news the building industry.”

Builderbusiness Club member offer – when you buy CIA accounting software £1950 ex VAT, members will also get a FREE copy for their accountant plus four hours online training (worth £220 ex VAT)!

In addition, as well as a free copy and training members will also get a free PAYE payment model worth £699 and is available until February 2010.

CIA is available through HBXL which acts as a re-seller of the software.

To sign up to Builderbusiness Club visit www.builderbusiness.co.uk

To find out more about CIA visit www.hbxl.co.uk/accounts

The government must toughen its approach to cutting landfill – with firm targets for companies and food waste recycling for homes, say MPs.

The excellent BBC News website had brought us a fantastic article on how we’re actually performing against our national recycling and landfill targets. We love this at BuilderScrap.com because our primary aim is to reduce waste sent to landfill.

Policies focus on household waste which makes up 9% of the 330m tonnes England produces a year, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee says. Their report says firm plans to deal with business waste must replace “vague ambitions and rhetoric”. It says 23% less waste went to landfill in England and Wales in 2007 than 2001. The use of disposal plastic carriers has also dropped – from 13bn in 2007-8 to 10bn in 2008-9 – the committee’s report says.

Cheap clothing

The wide-ranging paper looks at the government’s Waste Strategy for England. It says some progress has been made getting homes to recycle more – with nearly 37% being recycled or composted in England. Household waste also reduced by 3% in 2008 and fly tipping dropped by 9%. But it says more effort should be made to reduce waste thrown away in the first place.

“Defra should have the courage of its convictions and go for a more ambitious timescale to implement this change by 2015” MPs report

It points to an increase in “textile waste” sent to landfill – which waste operatives had dubbed the “Primark effect”, assuming people throw away cheap clothing more quickly. Asda, which has its own George clothing line, told MPs it was moving away from “fast fashion” in response to people’s demands for more sustainable clothing. The government should set “more ambitious” targets to recycle 50% of household waste by 2015 and 60% by 2020, the committee says.

‘Few firm targets’

But the committee says the government has failed to address waste from the industrial and commercial sectors sufficiently – expressing only an “expectation” that their waste levels would be reduced by 20% over six years from 2004. Apart from a target to halve total construction, demolition and excavation waste sent to landfill by 2012, there were “few firm targets” for “non-household” waste, which accounts for 90% of total waste. There was a “significant gap” in details of what businesses were doing to tackle waste because it was not being properly surveyed.

“At the same time it must encourage companies to take a completely new view of waste and see it as a valuable source of raw material”
Michael Jack
Committee chairman

And the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had “failed to set firm targets for these sectors”. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has announced Defra will consult this year on banning some substances from landfill “by 2020 at the latest”. But the committee said it was “too generous” to let another decade go by before banning some waste altogether. “Defra should have the courage of its convictions and go for a more ambitious timescale to implement this change by 2015,” it says.

The report says a third of all food bought is thrown away – about 6.7m tonnes a year generating more carbon dioxide than four million cars – and says more needs to be done to persuade people to change their behaviour.

Food waste

Institutions such as schools, hospitals and Parliament should be encouraged to compost food waste, it says. Food waste should be collected from homes, separately from other waste – especially those properties which cannot compost – and the government should set itself “a target for mandatory collection of food waste”. Committee chairman Conservative MP Michael Jack said Defra “must give a clear lead” on reducing business waste. “At the same time it must encourage companies to take a completely new view of waste and see it as a valuable source of raw material which must not be squandered in these difficult economic times.”

A Defra spokeswoman said the government wanted to see all local authorities collecting food waste: “Our latest research is very encouraging as it shows that separate food waste collections are definitely working in the areas that are using them, and – more importantly – people are happy with them. “We would like to see all local authorities collecting food waste as soon as possible and by 2020 at the latest.”

BBC News Website 19/10/10

Here in the office we’re always looking at ways to help small businesses cut Construction Costs. It’s also our aim to make our readers aware of their potential clients attitudes to current topics related to environmental issues. This survey that BuilderScrap.com has found, measures respondents’  attitudes towards using water. All respondents were presented with two statements and asked to indicate how much they agreed or disagreed with each, using a five-point scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Responses are summarised in Figure 7.

The majority (87%) of respondents agreed (either strongly agreed or tended to agree) that we should all try and save water. Only a small minority 3% disagreed with this viewpoint. Around one quarter (24%) of respondents agreed that they did not ‘pay much attention to the amount of water I use at home’ in comparison to a third (33%) of respondents who agreed with this statement in the 2007 Defra survey. Two-thirds (66%) disagreed with this statement in 2009 in comparison to half (53%) who disagreed in 2007. Opinion therefore had changed substantially since the time of the 2007 survey.
Attitudes towards saving water were linked to presence of a water meter in the home. Respondents who had a water meter in their home were less likely to agree that ‘I don’t pay much attention to the amount of water I use at home’ than those who did not have a meter (17% compared with 28%), and were more likely to agree that ‘we should all try and save water regardless of whether it rains or is sunny’ (91% compared with 86%).

The fifth and final stage of the Buildability Process is all to do with what happens at the end of a buildings life cycle.  Many buildings are demolished, whereas we believe that, wherever possible, disassembly and reuse whould be encouraged and employed. 

The following points should be looked at when arriving at this stage:

Use the reverse of the installation process to minimize damage
Allow realistic tolerances in the deconstruction process
There should be no “false economy” solutions
Identify markets for reused materials before commissioning deconstruction
Engage with all local third sector and voluntary organisations as potential ‘reusers’
Deconstruction/re use supply chain
Look for “outside the box” proactive reuse and recycling initiatives

So that finishes our series of blog posts concerning Buildability – Managing the Lifecycle of Your Building.  The following points offer a summary of the whole process:

1) Minimise the number of different types of components – this will simplify the process of sorting on site and make the potential for reprocess more attractive due to the larger quantities of same or similar items

2) Use an open building system where parts of the building are more freely interchangeable and less unique to one application – this will allow alterations in the building layout through relocation of component without significant modification

3) Use modular design – use components and pre-assembled subassemblies that are compatible with other systems both dimensionally and functionally

4) Use assembly technologies that are compatible with standard building practice – specialist technologies will make disassembly difficult to perform and may require specialist labour and equipment that makes the option of reuse more difficult

5) Provide access to all parts of the building and all components – ease of access will allow ease of disassembly, if possible allow for components to be recovered from within the building without the use of specialist plant equipment

6) Use components that are sized to suit the intended means of handling – allow for various possible handling options at all stages of assembly, disassembly, transport, reprocessing, and re-assembly

7) Provide a means of handling components during disassembly – handling during disassembly may require points of connection for lifting equipment or temporary supporting devices

8 ) Provide realistic tolerances to allow for movement during disassembly – the disassembly process may require greater tolerances than the manufacture process or the initial assembly process

9) Design joints and connectors to withstand repeated use – to minimise damage and deformation of components and materials during repeated assembly and disassembly procedures

10) Allow for parallel disassembly rather than sequential disassembly – so that components or materials can be removed without disrupting other components or materials.  Where this is not possible make the most reusable or ‘valuable’ parts of the building most accessible, to allow for maximum recovery of those components and materials that are most likely to be reused

11) Use prefabricated subassemblies and a system of mass production – to reduce site work and allow greater control over component quality and conformity

12) Provide spare parts and on-site storage for them – particularly for custom designed parts, both to replace broken or damaged components and to facilitate minor alterations to the building design

13) Sustain all information on the building manufacture and assembly process – measures should be taken to ensure the preservation of information such as ‘as built drawing’, information about disassembly process, material and component life expectancy, and maintenance requirements.

The fourth stage of the Buildability cycle is the management and maintenance of facilities and buildings.  Through managing each stage of the process, care can be taken to ensure that a complete construction project is as sustainable as possible, with as little adverse effect on the environment as is possible.  The following stages should be considered after a building project has finished, during the lifecycle of the building.

Energy performance certificates and monitoring
Manage running costs by efficient maintenance of high spec plant, therefore reducing carbon emissions
Observe all legal requirements and statutory obligations
Prevention of “sick building syndrome”
Life cycle costing

The final phase of this process, is to look at what happens at the end of a buildings life – the ‘deconstruction’ of said building.  Watch out for the next post which looks at this.

The third phase of the Buildability cycle is construction.  The following points should be considered at the construction stage to improve the environmental impact of the build.

Assembly techniques should be compatible with standard not specialist techniques
Plan for simplicity of assembly and logical trade sequences
Achievable tolerances
Energy efficiency and pollution control on site – generators, lighting, plant etc
Vigorous separation and segregation of waste
Consider new, untried site recycling initiatives (plasterboard, paint tins etc)

The fourth stage to be looked at is the management and maintenance of the building and facilities.

More on the frankly remarkable results from ‘home energy use’ Builders and Contractors take note. There is an opportunity here!

All respondents who had not installed cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation or loft insulation (but were able to do so) were asked to say what the main reasons were for not doing so. Those who said they had not heard of that type of insulation and those who said it was not applicable to them were excluded from these questions.

Around 300 respondents (30% of those whose homes were constructed with cavity walls) had not installed cavity wall insulation. Respondents were most likely to say that they had not installed this form of insulation as they could not afford it (27%). Other key reasons provided included never having thought about it (14%), not knowing whether they had it already (11%), because they were waiting until they needed to do other major renovations (9%) and because it would take too long to get costs back through lower energy bills (7%).

Similar reasons were provided by the small proportion (16%) of respondents who had a loft but said they had not installed loft insulation or top-up loft insulation. Cost was the most frequently cited reason – a quarter (23%) said they could not afford to do this, 17% said they were waiting until they needed to do other major renovations, 15% had never thought about it, and 10% said that it required too much effort.

In contrast, respondents whose homes were constructed with solid walls were most likely to say that they had not installed solid wall insulation as they had never thought about it (27%). That said, cost was also a significant factor with one fifth saying that they could not afford to install this form of insulation (20%). Around one in ten indicated that they did not know if they already had it or not (11%) or that they did not know how to go about it or who to ask (8%).

This leads me to the question…. Does the government need to be more proactive when informing homeowners of energy saving options e.g. solid wall insulation. What about Government subsidies?

At Interbuild 2009, BuilderScrap worked in collaboration with CCI, Envirolink and other prestigious organisations to develop a series of boards highlighting the different phases of Buildability.

Stage 1: Design and Specification

BuilderScrap is pleased to announce an exciting new collaboration with Construction Centre for Innovation North West (CCINW) and Salford University.  The partnership has been created in order to develop a technology to accurately measure the amount of carbon saved by members of the BuilderScrap website.

The BuilderScrap website launched a year ago and, at the time of writing, has 900 members using the site, a figure which is growing continually.  The website works simply, effectively, and is free to use.  Members can register and upload any leftover, surplus construction materials to the website.  Other members can then search for these materials, and contact the seller to make an exchange.  The website has been received very well by the construction industry, as this partnership with CCINW shows.  The initiative is supported by CCINW through the North West Opportunities Programme, which is linked to the region’s Carbon Reduction Targets.

The development of the ‘Carbon Calculator’ is still in the very early stages, and it is hoped that this will be up and running by the New Year.  The aim of the Calculator is to provide statistics on carbon reductions to the individual companies involved in an exchange, and also to local councils and corporate clients.

 BuilderScrap is pleased to be part of WRAP’s Halving Waste to Landfill commitment and is also partnered with Envirolink Northwest and Envirowise.The main benefit of using BuilderScrap, is that by encouraging reuse of surplus materials within the industry, less waste is sent unnecessarily to landfill, offering significant cost savings to the user.  The introduction of the Carbon Calculator service will allow members and corporate clients to quantifiably prove their individual savings, which can potentially help them to gain new clients and work and improve their Corporate Social Responsibility.