News
Flooring – Poor Payment
THE third national survey of specialist contractors from Streetwise Subbie concludes that there has been no significant improvement in the construction industry’s ‘dire payment situation’. The StreetwiseSubbie survey, with 216 responses, is headlined ‘betrayal of the specialist contractor’. It claims that Government promises to help small businesses with its ‘half-hearted’ schemes such as the Prompt Payment Code, ‘Name and Shame’ and Construction Supply Chain Charter are all proving to be ineffective! It claims also that...
read moreContractor Administration
MAJOR contractor Costain is at the centre of a furious row after withholding £2.8m in retentions, forcing TEG Group, a national waste recycling sub-contractor and specialist green technology business, into administration. TEG Group handles over 300,000 tonnes of organic waste a year through processes including anaerobic digestion. The company, which offers tailored organic waste solutions throughout the UK, said the £2.8m owed by Costain was hampering its working capital requirements. The retentions were held back after TEG carried out...
read moreMajor Contractors Remain Upbeat
ACTIVITY in the UK construction sector in December 2014 grew at its slowest pace since July 2013 (for 17 months). But it remains robust thanks to continued growth in housebuilding, says a new survey from Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI). The December data highlighted divergent trends between the three broad categories of construction output monitored by the survey. House building activity remained the strongest performing sub-category, although the pace of expansion moderated to its least marked since June 2013. Commercial...
read moreShock Floorlaying Survey
THERE is a shock for professional floorlayers in a new survey on home improvement. A staggering 41% of homeowners interviewed consider floorlaying to be a DIY job that they could tackle. The survey on home improvement commissioned by the Travis Perkins Group, interviewed 1,092 British homeowners. While over 80% would hire a tradesman for re-wiring, bathroom installations and plastering, 87% said they would happily take on odd jobs such as small repairs around the home themselves. A significant number of DIY enthusiast homeowners would...
read moreWinners & Losers In Flooring
THE latest edition of the Palmer Market Research report on the contract floorcovering market in Great Britain, exclusively previewed in CFJ, heralds brighter prospects in this sector. The authoritative report reveals a decline in the UK contract flooring market by nearly 7% between 2011 and 2013 to 61.8 million sq m. Latest figures contained in the Palmer report show that overall a difficult two year period is coming to an end; but not in all sectors. ‘This was in line with our forecast two years ago. ‘But not all floorcoverings saw...
read moreJames Erskine
Area specification manager, Pergo Did you ever get into trouble at school and, if so, why? Yes, jumping over a school gate as a short cut home. Broke my foot so karma provided the punishment. What was your first part-time job? Valeting cars. What did you spend your first pay cheque on? It would have been saved for a deposit on a house. What was your first full-time job? I worked for a well-known baked bean manufacturer. What was the best piece of advice you have been given? Never miss a good chance to shut up. What...
read moreConsumer Law
Sarah Riding on key changes in consumer law FLOORING retailers must be aware of the new consumer law relating to the supply of goods and services to ensure they are fully compliant. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (CCR) came into force on June 13 last year. The new requirements replaced the existing legislation and apply to any retail business selling to a consumer. The first change is on the provision of information. Following the introduction of CCR, more information must be...
read moreWater-damaged Carpets
Peter Collins on drying water damaged carpets THE restoration of water damaged carpet can often be a painstaking process and almost impossible if you are untrained in this area. Synthetic carpets are usually easier to restore than natural ones, however both can fall victim to off-gassing and, if left wet for more than a few days, can develop fungus, mould and mildew. So, when tackling this type of work it is important to get started as soon as possible. When you arrive on site the first task is to assess the situation. If the carpet can...
read moreFlooring Marketing
Leo Aspden on getting your marketing strategy right WHATEVER the scale of your business (micro, SME or multinational) or development stage (start-up, established or market leader) you will almost certainly have used marketing to promote your company. How to do you tell if your marketing is working and if your marketing strategy is right? The following key thoughts will help you maximise return on investment, ensure best use of resources, avoid fire fighting and get it right. l Maximising return on investment: If marketing isn’t giving...
read moreBack Ache In Flooring
John McDonald on dealing with back pain BACK pain is the second most common cause of long-term sickness in the UK after stress. Over 7 million working days are lost annually due to work-related back pain. The costs of back pain to society and the economy run into billions of pounds. There is also a high price for individual companies when key workers are off ill for any length of time. The construction trades are particularly prone to back pain. Floorlayers, for example, have to kneel, stoop, bend and crouch; as well as pushing, pulling...
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