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When Dundee City Council's Architectural Services department wanted to create a demonstration house to showcase sustainability in building, they called on Sandtoft to provide the roof tiles. The house itself is an existing caretaker's house from the 1960s at Whitfield Primary School that features all the poor detailing, cold bridging and poor thermal performance of buildings from that period. The council plans to refurbish the building to show how current building stock can be improved to meet new environmental challenges. The house will feature a wind turbine, geothermal underfloor heating which will draw on 90m boreholes to draw heat from the earth, a timber frame complete with insulation made from recycled newspaper and organic paints. Sandtoft will be supplying its Cassius roof tiles, which architects chose due to the sustainable way the company operates. The tiles are made from alluvial Humber clay, and will help designers meet the specification to replace the existing flat roof with a pitched roof made from natural materials.

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Stormsaver has commissioned three rainwater harvesting systems for Skanska as part of a £70 million initiative. The rainwater recovery system has been included in three brand new schools buildings constructed by Skanska in the Midlothian region of Scotland. Midlothian Council included rainwater harvesting and other environmental best practice initiatives in the specification for Strathesk Primary School, Stobhill Primary School and Gorebridge Primary. The system, designed by Stormsaver, will capture, filter and integrate an estimated 3,400 litres each year into the school's WC systems, saving £6,000 per year in mains water bills. Building work on the three sites is being overseen by Andrew Putman of Skansa, who said: 'Stormsaver had previously worked with Skansa in England, but this was the first time we've worked with them in Scotland. We were very impressed with the Stormsaver system and the people behind it. We were confident that they knew what they were doing and they had a better technical approach than their competitors so it was an easy decision to make.

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Leading national hire company Buckhurst Plant Hire has bought 22 brand new Barford site dumpers to boost its fleet. These include 10 SK10 High Capacity Dumpers (each capable of handling a 10 tonne payload), a dozen of the SXR Rotary Tipping Dumpers, four 3 tonne SXR3000s and eight 6 tonne SXR6000s.

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Ardex has redesigned its Ardex WPC Flexible Rapid Setting and Drying Waterproof Protection Coat pack to make it more user friendly. The newly named Ardex Waterproof Protection System now contains a free roll of mesh scrim alongside the existing powder and liquid components as well as a "Five Step Guide".

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Ready-mix Joint Cement Lite Easy Sand from Knauf Drywall has been improved further to make it more user-friendly. The cement is now even lighter, as well as faster and simpler to sand - joint edges can be feathered finely for a seamless, invisible finish. It also offers greater resistance to cracking and excellent adhesion. Packed as before in 12.7 litre tubs, the product now weight about 2kg lighter than before, at 14kg a tub, for easier handling. Furthermore, shelf-life has been increased by 50% so, if necessary it can be stored for longer. Because it is factory mixed, the manufacturers maintain that consistent high quality is assured. Knauf Drywall Product Manager Stuart Hiscott said: 'We have worked with industry professionals to improve the properties of the product even further, in direct response to customers' needs. With these improvements, Knauf Joint Cement Lite Easy Sand should be the first choice for any dry lining contractor.'

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Knauf Drywall has launched a new time-saving product - the Knauf Putty Pads. Said to be the easy answer for reliable acoustic and fire protection of electrical socket boxes in drywall partitions, it also comes with Robust Detail approval for use in plasterboard separating walls in timber frames or steel studs. The pads are primaily used to preserve the integrity of drywall around electrics.

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TraceTek water leak detection systems from Tyco Thermal Controls are being installed throughout the Shanghai World Financial Centre - one of the world's tallest buildings. To prevent disruption to business continuity, water sensing cables are being located in all sensitive environments such as the building's data centres and computer rooms. The TraceTek sensor cable systems offer high-integrity leak detection and precise location, provided by distributed rather than single point sensing. Said to be easy to install, it is supported by a digital communication network for building management systems.

Details for Tyco Thermal Controls

urapipe is going for gold in China after more than 2000 metres of fuel pipe system Durapipe PL-X was installed as part of the construction of the Olympic Qindao International Sailing Centre, the venue for all of the sailing events at the forthcoming 2008 Olympic Games. The fusion-welded composite plastic pipe system has been installed in the new service station which will refuel the sailing competitors boats. The underground pipework system starts at the filling station for cars, where there are nine dispensers, and finshes at the harbour wall for boats, where there are a further three.

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The DM Academy in West Yorkshire has had Impact sound reducing sheet vinyl flooring from Polyflor installed in its dance studio. The Polyfloor Gallery FX Acoustic was fitted in the studio by Leeds-based flooring contractor Fresco Interiors. Polyflor said earlier this month that the Gallery FX was developed in response to the growing demand for 'effective and attractive' solutions to noise pollution in buildings. Its Gallery FX Acoustic is said to offer a choice of 14 wood, stone and mottled granite effect and features a 0.5mm wearlayer. The Gallery FX is part of Polyflor's new Acoustic Flooring Solutions collection. The range includes Forest FC Acoustic and Acousticfoam. The latter is described as a 2mm closed cell foam backing sheet with can be used in combination with a number of Polyflor heavy duty and safety vinyls to achieve an imapct sound resistance of 18dB. Both Gallery FX Acoustic and Forest FX Acoustic provide a high impact sound insulation of 19dB. Polyflor says that its Acoustic Collection products are manufactured in accordance

Details for Polyflor Ltd

The DM Academy in West Yorkshire has had Impact sound reducing sheet vinyl flooring from Polyflor installed in its dance studio. The Polyfloor Gallery FX Acoustic was fitted in the studio by Leeds-based flooring contractor Fresco Interiors. Polyflor said earlier this month that the Gallery FX was developed in response to the growing demand for 'effective and attractive' solutions to noise pollution in buildings. Its Gallery FX Acoustic is said to offer a choice of 14 wood, stone and mottled granite effect and features a 0.5mm wearlayer. The Gallery FX is part of Polyflor's new Acoustic Flooring Solutions collection. The range includes Forest FC Acoustic and Acousticfoam. The latter is described as a 2mm closed cell foam backing sheet with can be used in combination with a number of Polyflor heavy duty and safety vinyls to achieve an imapct sound resistance of 18dB. Both Gallery FX Acoustic and Forest FX Acoustic provide a high impact sound insulation of 19dB. Polyflor says that its Acoustic Collection products are manufactured in accordance

Details for Polyflor Ltd