Brighten up: open up your home to the light!

Brightening your home is crucial in creating a peaceful living space for you and the family. There are plenty of ways and tricks to lighten up the mood in a home, with a few well chosen accessories and a good lick of luminous paint on the walls. But when this isn’t cutting it – and this is especially true for older buildings that tend to have smaller windows, it might be time for a bigger structural makeover.

1. Conservatories

Getting a conservatory to lighten up a room such as a dark kitchen is an excellent investment as you’re getting more space and much more light for a reasonable budget. Depending on your home style, you can decide to go for traditional CR Smith conservatories, or go full on modern with more daring bespoke designs that will display your architectural avant-garde taste. Both options are likely to add a ton of value to your home as conservatories are one of the most profitable home upgrades on the market: if it is well done, a sunroom or conservatory can add up to 7% value.

2. Rooflights

Bring the light levels of your home to the roof with rooflights. Sometimes adding extra glazing to the roof is the easiest solution. You can add it to gloomy corridors and rooms in the middle of the house that could always benefit from a little extra light. If you’re after a design option, roof lanterns can take many different shapes and are usually fitted onto flat roofs.

3. Open plan living space

Breaking down some walls may be the best option to bring in the light. Such open plan living layout makes the light flows throughout the home and it’s a trend that’s here to stay. Taking down a wall can be done relatively on the cheap: between 400 and 3000 GBP to get it done professionally. Opt for a half wall if you’re planning to install a breakfast bar or extra storage.

4. Courtyards

The center parts of the house have a tendency to be the darkest. Mini courtyards are a great and modern design solution to brighten up the space from within and create a cosy and intimate outdoor setting where you can relax, even in the busiest neighbourhood.

5. Make the windows bigger

If the budget is tight, another optimal solution could simply be to take pre-existing windows and turn them into glass door windows that will maximise the light and the view. If the current structure allows it, you could also invest in extra windows. You shouldn’t need to apply for planning permission in the UK if you decide to install extra doors or windows on your home, under the condition that they remain of a similar appearance to those used in the construction of the original building.

from The UK Construction Blog http://ukconstructionblog.co.uk/2016/03/28/brighten-up-open-up-your-home-to-the-light/

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Construction industry can now show how it is Building Social Value

New resource from the Considerate Constructors Scheme to capture the social value created through construction

London, United Kingdom, 16 March 2016: Building Social Value – a simple way to report on the social value created through construction – has been launched by the Considerate Constructors Scheme for all Scheme registered sites, companies and suppliers.

Building Social Value has been developed by the Scheme in conjunction with a number of leading construction companies and industry clients across the UK:  Basildon Borough Council; Kier Group plc; Land Securities Group plc; and Morgan Sindall.

By using the Scheme to carry out the report, contractors and clients recognise that gaining a professional, third-party report will help them to evaluate the impact of their construction sites in creating social value.

Scheme Monitors will visit construction sites and record the social value created, using the Social Value Monitoring Checklist. The Monitor will then produce a Building Social Value report, based on the results gathered from the Checklist.

All sites, companies and suppliers undertaking Building Social Value will then have the opportunity to publicly demonstrate their commitment to creating social value by displaying Building Social Value posters.

Since the Social Value Act came into force in 2013 there has been a requirement to focus on how the construction industry creates social value. While the act applies to the public sector, many private clients are also taking into account social benefits when awarding construction contracts.

Considerate Constructors Scheme Chief Executive Edward Hardy said: “Construction activity produces huge amounts of social value for local communities, the local economy and the environment. It is, however, difficult to define, capture and report on this value creation. Building Social Value will provide construction, clients and the public with a much-needed understanding of the extent to which a particular construction project has created opportunities for long-term social value.”

Clive Johnson, Group Head of Health and Safety at Land Securities commented: “We greatly value this service, as do our extensive supply chain. It gives us a cost effective and independent means of measuring social value from our many developments across the UK. I would recommend all clients to take advantage of this facility if they wish to play a leading role in delivering the best possible social value to the communities they conduct their businesses within.”

Basildon Borough Council Asset Strategy Manager, Daniel Greenwood added: “Social value plays a central role in all our procurement activity and having a consistent and robust way to measure outcomes has been a constant challenge. Building Social Value really adds confidence that projects are delivering on our promises to the community.”

Click on the link to find out more about Building Social Value: www.buildingsocialvalue.org.uk.

from The UK Construction Blog http://ukconstructionblog.co.uk/2016/03/21/construction-industry-can-now-show-how-it-is-building-social-value/

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