Citation
Todd, S. (2003), "Structural Survey and the Internet", Structural Survey, Vol. 21 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2003.11021eag.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
Structural Survey and the Internet
Stephen Todd
The Web site information included below includes two key and other informative sites. If there are any other interesting sites or sources of information that you have found useful, please e-mail me at s.todd@salford.ac.uk
Key sites
The Building Research Establishmentwww.bre.co.uk
The “Latest news” section of the BRE’s Web site gives information the following:
- 1.
Sound insulation of floors – Approved Document E. Two vertical laboratories for use by flooring manufacturers to test the sound insulation value of their products have been opened by BRE. The facilities can be used to test internal or separating floors as well as floating floors and other floor coverings (e.g. carpet, vinyl).
- 2.
Aircraft air quality findings to be announced. Key findings of the EC funded study Cabin Air will be presented to the industry at a conference being held at the Royal Aeronautical Society, London.
- 3.
Specifying dynamic compaction. A new BRE report Specifying dynamic compaction provides a technically prescriptive specification for dynamic compaction.
- 4.
Greenwich Millennium Village saves £150,000 by cutting construction waste. Greenwich Millennium Village has exceeded its target to reduce – by 50 per cent– on-site construction waste for its Phases 1a and 2a. In addition, cutting the number of skips by more than half has led to a direct cost saving of £150,000.
- 5.
Non-ferrous waste in road construction. A BRE project on the use of non-ferrous industry waste as bound aggregate in road construction, has reached a key stage with the recent laying of a demonstration asphalt road containing ISF slag as aggregate at the Britannia Zinc site at Avonmouth.
- 6.
Regulatory barriers to building with wood. A project has started for the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries (CEI Bois) to identify regulatory barriers to building with wood.
- 7.
New Fire Safety Engineering Guide. A new guide to fire safety engineering has been published by BRE this in both Web-based and printed versions to provide simple guidance to this complex topic.
- 8.
Constructing the Future. A 16-page magazine is available for downloading. This includes information on:
- 9.
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off-site manufactured construction;
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buildings to deliver the Government’s energy policy;
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concrete building fire test;
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serious R&D money;
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CFD for fire design;
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delivering modern schools.
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The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyorswww.rics.org.uk
The spotlight section includes information on:
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RICS, how it works.
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Restoration of buildings and the impact on their content.
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Hooke 2003 – a tercentary commemoration of the life of Robert Hooke (1673-1703).
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RICS research nominated for an award.
The press release section includes details on:
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Small landlords dominate rental sector.
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Sellers regaining upper hand as numbers of houses coming onto the market reaches a virtual standstill.
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RICS blames homes crisis on lack of social housing as housing underclass grows.
Party Wallwww.partywalls.com
This site is maintained by Paul Chynoweth who is a lecturer at the University of Salford and consultant to Hawley & Partners, Chartered Building Surveyors. This revised site includes the The “Party Wall Cookbook”. This provides a comprehensive analysis of over 80 leading cases that define the courts’ approach to the Party Wall, etc. Act 1996 and the relevant common law rules.
The book also provides readers with practical and legally up-to-date guidance on the practice of party wall surveying, including:
- •
Making sure that notices are properly served under the Act.
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Protecting the interests of appointing owners during negotiations.
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Ensuring that awards are legally enforceable.
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Dealing with compensation claims by adjoining owners.
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Advising clients on appeals under the Act.
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Defining the role of the appointed surveyor. This paper published by the RICS Foundation defines the surveyor’s role and duties of individual party appointed surveyors.
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Party Walls and Rights to Light Discussion Forum.
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Links to RICS Foundation News items.
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Publications.
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Events.
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Research.
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Sustainability.
BBA British Board of Agrémentwww.bbacerts.co.uk
This updated Web site includes downloadable versions of BBA’s Agrément Certificates with enhanced search facilities. Other services include:
- •
Quality management systems certification (ISO 9001).
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Product certification to European standards.
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Approved installers for injected cavity wall insulation and other materials.
Kingspan Group plcwww.kingspan.com
This Web site includes information on Kingspan divisions:
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Kingspan insulated panels.
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Insulation products:
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insulated roof and wall systems;
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ward building components;
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insulation products;
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environmental containers.
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Market Transformation Programme (MTP)www.mtprog.com/index.aspx
MTP is a Defra programme aimed to develop policy strategy for advancing the resource efficiency of traded goods and services in the UK. This site publishes a coherent set of maintained policy briefs together with associated briefing notes – representing a UK common position which can be used to inform policy discussion and Government decisions. The latest news section gives information on:
- •
EU launches consultation on integrating environmental aspects into European standards.
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Environmental Audit Select Committee reports on The Energy White Paper.
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Ecolabeled co-operation and co-ordination management group.
- •
Consultation document – economic instruments for household energy efficiency.
Boiler Efficiency Databasewww.sedbuk.com/
The database was first published at the end of September 1999, and new information is collected from boiler manufacturers continuously. The database is updated on the first working day of each month. The main menu allows the user to:
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View the boiler efficiency database.
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Download the boiler efficiency data file (SAP assessors only).
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News items.
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Explanations of the boiler data.
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SAP (standard assessment procedure).
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SEDBUK (seasonal efficiency of domestic boilers in the UK).
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Energy efficiency bands.
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Information for boiler manufacturers.
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Energy Saving Trust product endorsement scheme.
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Annual fuel cost estimator.
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Recommended boiler size.
The boiler data stored includes:
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Original name of manufacturer.
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Name of boiler manufacturer.
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Model name.
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Name of boiler model, as it appears on the boiler casing or leaflet of owners” instructions.
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Model qualifier.
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Boiler ID.
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First year of manufacture.
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Final year of manufacture.
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Fuel. Fuel type, which will be one of “gas”, “LPG”, or “oil”.
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Mounting position.
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Main type. Main boiler type, for the purpose of SAP efficiency calculation. It will be one of “regular” (see SAP 2001 Appendix D (clause D1.3), “combi” (clause D1.6), or “CPSU” (clause D1.13/14).
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Condensing. Either “non-condensing” or “condensing” (see SAP 2001 Appendix D clause D1.2).
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Flue type. Flue type, which will be one of “unknown”, “open” or “room-sealed”.
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Fan assistance. Whether or not flue is fan assisted. It will be one of “unknown”, “no fan”, or “fan”.
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Boiler power. Output power (to water) of the boiler in kW. For boilers with SEDBUK efficiency figures this is the rated output as required for the purpose of the Boiler Efficiency Directive (Council of the European Communities Directive 92/42/EEC). If the power was declared only in BTU/hr then it will have been converted using the factor 1 BTU/hr=0.000293kW. If the boiler is range rated then both the lower and higher limits of the range will be given. If it is a modulating boiler then the modulating range will be given.
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Energy efficiency band. The energy efficiency band, determined by the range in which the SEDBUK efficiency value lies.
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SAP seasonal efficiency. Seasonal efficiency for use in SAP, expressed as a percentage and rounded to the nearest 0.1 per cent. This will be obtained by one of the methods defined as the efficiency category.
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Efficiency category. Category of SAP efficiency, which will be one of “SEDBUK” (see separate page for explanation), “SAP default” (meaning taken from SAP Table 4b), or “estimated” (for obsolete boilers only).
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SAP equation used. The number of the SEDBUK equation used to calculate SAP efficiency, as defined in SAP 2001 Appendix D Tables D2.4 and D2.5. Number 0 indicates that no SEDBUK calculation has been performed. The equation number must be consistent with boiler type and other properties (whether gas/oil, instantaneous/storage/CPSU, and on-off/modulating).
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Ignition. Whether or not has a permanent pilot light.
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Burner control. Whether on-off or variable (variable may be either stepped or modulating).
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Electrical power while boiler is firing. Average electrical power consumed while the boiler is firing, in watts. This includes fans, motors, heaters, and other electrical equipment but excludes any pump used to circulate water outside the boiler.
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Electrical power while boiler is not firing. Average electrical power consumed while the boiler is not firing, in watts. This includes fans, motors, heaters, and other electrical equipment but excludes any pump used to circulate water outside the boiler.
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Store type. For a storage combination boiler this will be “primary” or “secondary” according to whether the internal hot water store contains mainly primary water (heated directly by the boiler) or secondary water (heated indirectly for domestic hot water supply). It applies only to storage combination boilers and CPSUs.
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Store loss in test. This will be “excluded”or “included” according to whether heat loss from the internal hot water store has been excluded or included in the efficiency tests carried out. It applies only to storage combination boilers and CPSUs.
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Store volume. The total water volume (primary and secondary) of the internal hot water store in litres. It applies only to storage combination boilers and CPSUs.
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Store insulation thickness. The thickness of the insulation applied to the internal hot water store, in mm. It applies only to storage combination boilers and CPSUs.
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Store insulation type. The material used to insulate the internal hot water store, which will be one of “mineral wool”, “polyurethane foam”, or “fibreglass”. It applies only to storage combination boilers and CPSUs.
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Store temperature. The average temperature of the hot water in contact with the exterior walls of the internal hot water store in degrees Celsius. It applies only to storage combination boilers and CPSUs.
- •
Store heat loss. The measured heat loss from the internal hot water store in watts. It applies only to storage combination boilers and CPSUs.
H & H Celconwww.celcon.co.uk
This Web site claims to offer easy access to up to date information on the application and performance of the “aircrete” product range, including the latest changes to the Building Regulations. The main menu is structured as:
- 1.
Corporate.
- 2.
Jämeriä:
- 3.
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components;
- •
construction;
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installation;
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design guidelines.
- •
- 4.
Thin joint:
- 5.
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benefits;
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diversity;
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mmc (modern methods of construction);
- •
components;
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installation;
- •
design guidelines;
- •
U-values;
- •
further information;
- •
demonstrations;
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FAQs.
- •
- 6.
Applications:
- 7.
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foundations;
- •
walls;
- •
floors.
- •
- 8.
Technical:
- 9.
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design;
- •
references.
- •
- 10.
Topical:
- 11.
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part L;
- •
part E;
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mmc;
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cpd;
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colleges.
- •
- 12.
Infocus: self build.
Sustranswww.sustrans.org.uk
Sustrans is a sustainable transport charity that works on practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport in order to reduce motor traffic and its adverse effects. The site includes an interactive cycle mapping section which shows more than 7,000 miles of national cycle network, plus over 3,000 miles of other signed cycle routes. It is possible to search by town or postcode. The mapping section of the site also gives details of over two hundred ferry crossings. The resources section includes details on a range of free cycle maps and technical information and policy sheets published by Sustrans.