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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

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The Sumatec range of earth blocks by Lime Technology. has been launched as factory produced blocks. In a statement, Lime Technology said the earth blocks, which were originally designed to be site produced using the company's block press, will now be factory manufactured in order to cope with anticipated demand. The blocks are said to be produced from waste material and have low embodied energy.

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Time and money saving news from Knauf Drywall: The company has lifted the lid on its online tool that gives drywall specifiers and contractors the ability to produce accurate procurement schedules from complex drywall specifications in seconds. Knauf told Building Products that its Procurement Schedule tool complements its award winning Partition Specifier tool. Procurement Schedule uses data from Partition Specifier to minimise the additional information needed to calculate precise requirements for a complete drywall installation. The additional data includes the overall run of a specified partition type.

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Butlins new timeshare development in Minehead has been supplied with Lochinvar's high efficiency space and water heating equipment. Three CP-M100 fully condensing boilers with manifold pipework assemblies were supplied for space heating requirements. The Lochinvar equipment was specified by London-based Curona Design.

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Specifiers and contractors now have a professional timber frame system that will provide a time saving solution for garage and carport buildings. The system by Finnforest is made from engineered precision cut timber and is said to offer the look and nostalgia of a traditional oak-style framed building. Finnforest say the system also benefits from the Beamlock system which is an adjustable post support fixing which helps cut installation time and, therefore, cost. The new timber frame system is a technically-advanced modular structure available as either a two-bay carport or a garage with cladded walls. The company also offers 16 models comprising of gable, hipped and barn-end roof designs.

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Access doors and vents manufacturer, Bilco UK, has delivered 13 smoke vents from its REM range to the Anchor Point development in the Bramall Quarter of Sheffield. As part of the project Bilco supplied six NB-50REM, five FW-50REM and two HW-50REM smoke ventilators, which are installed on the rooftops. The company told Building Products that three new buildings at Anchor Point have a smoke control system installed in case of fire. If smoke is detected the Bilco REM vents will automatically open above the various stairwells (including the fire escape stairwells) tha provide access to the buildings.

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The Kingspan Lighthouse has hit another high note by becoming the first to achieve level 6, the top level of the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH). The Lighthouse has already been acclaimed as the most advanced house design ever produced for mainstream construction, It was designed to achieve unrivalled levels of efficiency in terms of the construction method, energy use, CO2 emissions and carbon footprint. This high performance, sustainable home has annual fuel costs of just £30. Lighthouse is the next generation of Kingspan Off-Site’s range of sustainable house designs and the company is working alongside Sheppard Robson, Arup, MacFarlane Wilder, Davis Langdon and CCB Evolution to realise its vision for the delivery of affordable and sustainable homes. The 93m2, two and a half storey, two-bedroom house has been designed in line with Lifetime Homes and Scheme Development Standards (SDS) and every building material and component used has been specified for its ability to optimise the house design’s overall sustainability credentials.

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Lochinvar has launched a new fully condensing gas-fired water heater, the EcoKnight. The company believes this addition will give it one of the largest and most flexible range of gas-fired condensing water heaters available on the UK commercial market. Offering thermal efficiencies of up to 109 per cent and low NOx emissions, there are five models with hot water outputs ranging from 709 to 2,436 litres per hour based on a temperature rise of 50 deg C.

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Two external Reznor heating and ventiliation units and two internal air mixing ducts have given Cranford Community College in Hounslow, Middlesx, total control over heating their sports all. The hall was previously heated by a 25-year-old system that had performace limitations. In particular, the system was unable to provide ventilation and, when a temporary partition was used to sub-divide the hall for use with small groups, the whole of the interior had to be heated, with consequent excessive energy use and costs.

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Members of Recovinyl, the European-wide PVC industry's recycling initiative, are likely to be benefiting from increased volumes as a result of new legislation governing the disposal of non-hazardous waste. New legislation which comes as part of the Landfill Directive requires producers of non-hazardous waste, as as waste PVC-U to pre-treat the waste before it is landfill. Roger Morton, of Axion Recycling predicted the new legislation would act as a 'driver' to encourage recycling of a range of waste streams.

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