Back in March, we reported that Plastic Surgeon enjoyed its most successful month for business, ever. Interestingly – and hopefully a sign of recovering confidence in the industry, new home registrations by house builders reached the highest monthly number for over three years during that month...

The sustainability debate and the roll out of the Code for Sustainable Homes has put carbon reduction at the forefront of almost everybody’s mind in the construction industry, though there still remains a great deal of uncertainty as to the right course of action to follow...

Experts at the Halifax building society are predicting a 4.5% fall in house values this year, meaning that prices are approximately 20% lower than the 2007 peak. This drop may seem alarming in itself, but one cannot ignore the fact that the average cost of a home, at over £160 K, is historically still very high,

“Since the last newsletter, I can report that March was the most successful month for Plastic Surgeon ever; and this, I feel, must be indicative that the construction industry is beginning to recover, albeit a slow and gradual process.

Plastic Surgeon is pleased to announce it has been shortlisted as a finalist at the 2011 National Recycling Awards, under the category of ‘Waste Minimisation’ for its ‘repair not replace’ sustainable strategy...

Stone has been used as a building material for thousands of years, its appeal to humankind being that it is strong, durable and above all attractive. The colours from the various minerals within give it a depth...

Architects often talk about a building’s glazing “making the connection between the interior spaces, and the landscape beyond”, but such is the sensitivity of the human eye, that there only needs to be some slight blemish on the glass to break...

Technical Journalist and Editor of Modern Methods of Construction, Bruce Meechan, talks to the Managing Director of Crittall Windows...

We regularly encounter the same causes of damage to surfaces, the type that happens so easily, usually resulting in a few choice words. Here are the ‘top 5’ regular glass offenders. When you have a surface that gets damaged...

2010 ended much as it began, with snow and ice blanketing much of the country – and the construction industry largely at a standstill. It may be a situation we need to get used to, and like those responsible for our roads or airports...

With demand for affordable housing being constrained by mortgage availability, we are now seeing a shift by housebuilders towards the development of prime properties. The general feeling being that people who already have a home enjoy equity...

According to the widely used waste hierarchy, recycling is only 4th on the list of priorities. The top priority is to eliminate waste, by not creating it in the first place....

Scientists have studied more than 7,200 tree fossils from the past 2,500 years, looking at their growth rings to show links between climate change and major events in human history.

We really can repair almost anything! The photos show a badly damaged hot tub which was expertly repaired by one of our finishers up in Scotland. Much cheaper and faster than having to replace it with a new hot tub, which is just as well for the customer, as the snow continues to fall and the temperature drops even lower.

“As 2010 draws to a close, many people will be breathing a sigh of relief that they have survived one of the most crippling recessions in living memory...

Technical journalist and Editor of Modern Methods of Construction, Bruce Meechan, interviews the Contracts Director for one of the UK’s leading cladding specialists...

Preoccupying many people’s minds at the moment are the latest changes to Part L of the Building Regulations, which came into force on October 1st...

Something as simple as blocked gutters on a block of flats has led to Plastic Surgeon carrying out a two week contract for one of its regular customers North of the Border...

In our research centre at Head Office we’ve recently developed a new improved stone repair system. This involves two stages, part one filling and part two coating...

Laminate is widely used in the building industry, but it is very easy to damage. These are the 'top 5' causes of damage that we come across...

Repairing rather than replacing can save money, time, landfill and your reputation. These are the top ten items we repaired from July to September 2010...

When a building component has been damaged by accident or by vandalism and a claim lodged with an insurance company the most cost effective solution may well be for the insurer to call on us...

Amongst the strategies announced by the new Government has been the Green Deal which is intended to encourage people to make substantial improvements to the performance of their properties...

Events quite literally took a ‘turn’ for the worse for a shop-fitting contractor working inside one of London’s landmark sites when a number of new hardwood benches it had fitted began to warp and split due to the tightly controlled humidity levels maintained in the building...

Plastic Surgeon, the market leading cosmetic repair specialist, has been awarded SAFEcontractor accreditation for 2010 / 2011...

Plastic Surgeon, the UK’s market leader in cosmetic repairs both inside and outside the home, is able to offer a rapid repair service for landlords...

Maintaining social housing property to the correct standards by replacing broken items can be expensive and time consuming. With the economy still uncertain, keeping housing stock in the marketplace is financially crucial to social landlords...

For any developer trying to complete a new property, or homeowner trying to sell one on, it is vital that the interior looks pristine before it is put on the market, as the condition of the living environment is one of the first things a potential buyer will scrutinise...

With more and more people choosing the sustainable route of repairing rather than replacing damaged construction materials, it is inevitable that they are going to need the services of companies such as Plastic Surgeon...

According to Phil Spencer, the presenter of Location, Location, Location and its spin-off, Relocation, Relocation, there are several ways to add value to your house, as well as make it more saleable, beyond doing the obvious such as converting loft space or adding a conservatory...

When accidental damage occurs for more and more facilities managers responsible for healthcare properties it’s Plastic Surgeon to the rescue. Founded in 1985, the Devon-based company is now the UK’s largest and only national provider of cosmetic repairs - indoors and out...
 

We have all heard that a company’s net income or loss is called the ‘bottom line,’ because it is typically found on the last line of a business’s income statement. It can also be used for emphasis, to make a point...

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is to cut £34 million spending on the UK’s low carbon technology programme and, while I see this as possibly short-sighted, I think we all realise that the deficit has to be reduced somehow...

The UK spends less on waste management than other European countries who are recycling significant amounts of municipal waste. In fact, we pay around 50 pence per person per week on this and recover just 22% of household waste...

Since the new Government took the reins of power, many in the house building industry are praising its actions to help businesses. Indeed, the Federation of Small Businesses has welcomed moves to increase the Entrepreneurs Relief threshold to £5 million from £2 million...

Already recognised as the foremost specialist in executing repairs and snagging for the construction industry, Plastic Surgeon is continuing to expand its range of services through the development of new techniques and the purchase of sophisticated new equipment...

Plastic Surgeon is continuing to help its clients to reduce their landfill bills, saving them £104,208 in landfill taxes alone (excluding VAT) last year by preventing 78,925 items from going to waste thanks to its ‘don’t skip it, fix it’ policy...

High street giant, Marks & Spencer, has outlined plans to become the UK’s most sustainable retailer by 2015 as part of its so called Plan A programme. Among 80 commitments added to the original 100 outlined in 2007 are pledges to cease sending operational and construction waste to landfill...

Working in the building and construction industry we need to constantly innovate to keep pace with the latest developments in interior and exterior surfaces. At our head office in Devon, our research centre is constantly developing new repair techniques...

We regularly encounter the same causes of damage to the same surfaces, the type of damage that happens so easily, usually resulting in a few choice words. We’ll be compiling a ‘top 5’ of the regular offenders in each issue...

Damage on a busy site is costly. Repairing rather than replacing can save money, time, landfill and most importantly your reputation. Big or small, ceramic or glass, metal, plastic, stone or wood – these are the top ten items we’ve repaired so far this year...

News that six more local authorities across England have joined the Building Schools for the Future programme and will share nearly £420 million of Government investment presents a real opportunity for sustainability principals to be applied by the application of smart ‘’Don’t skip -it fix it‘’ processes...

The repair specialist, Plastic Surgeon, has introduced a new technique for repairing reconstituted or wet-cast stone. Such manufactured masonry is commonplace on modern construction projects, taking the place of more expensive natural quarried stone, and offering consistent strength...

Building involves too many trades for contracts or refurbs to go smoothly, and the closer you get to completion, the more hectic it becomes, and the more likely that one trade will damage another’s work. And that tradesmen’s eyes will be increasingly dim when it comes to the chips, scuffs, scratches and knocks....

Between the controversial business practices of ‘No-Win No-Fee’ personal injury lawyers, and the rising tide of claims resulting from extreme weather events such as flooding, it seems certain that everybody’s insurance premiums are set to rise sometime in the not too distant future. It’s all down to statistics and actuaries, but if the insurance companies are paying out more money, the only place they are going to recoup it is from the policy holders.

Fans of TV programmes such as Property Ladder or Grand Designs might have noticed there is a key ambition shared by many of the aspiring developers, self-builders and house-hunters in general. And it has nothing to do with the energy efficiency, the number of bathrooms, or even the location.
 

The MMC agenda may be moving sections of the building industry away from some of the more inefficient practices of the past, but new legislation now means that controlling waste is not only desirable on environmental grounds, but actually becomes a financial necessity. And therefore repairing damaged products...

The upsurge in off-site manufacturing, or Modern Methods of Construction as it is commonly referred to, has served to highlight what a problematic element to the building process, kitchens and bathrooms represent.

Using kitchen and bathroom pods is one means of ensuring minimum defects at a building’s handover, but for those choosing to fit-out such rooms in-situ, dealing with a variety of physical imperfections remains a financial and logistical burden. Rob Mouser puts forward the case for repair as opposed to replacement.

The leading exhibition for the construction industry, Interbuild is the place for bringing together leading suppliers of building materials, equipment and services face-to-face with clients and buyers from across the UK...