22
APRIL 2016 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
FMB BUILDER FEATURED IN
‘HORROR HOMES’ SHOW
The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has
issued reassurances
after a company listed
in its Find A Builder
service carried out
a catastrophic cellar
conversion featured in
Channel 5’s ‘Britain’s
Horror Homes.’
Jacquie Hale and Ed
Goldswain were left with no
home of their own, a demolition bill for over £300,000
and an enormous mortgage
still to pay.
The couple, in their 40s,
owned a ground floor flat
in a house in Finchley,
North London and decided
to convert the cellar. They
took time to find a reputable builder - recommended
by the FMB - check their
insurance, and get all the
agreements in place.
Shockingly, the builders
did such a terrible job that
their home started to collapse, and the couple was
forced to flee the property.
Despite making sure all
the right insurance was in
place before starting the
work, the insurers refused
to pay out.
The couple took the
builders to court, and
although the court ruled
that the building work had
been ‘incompetent’ and
the builder must pay them
£287,000 in damages, the
company went into liquidation, so paid nothing.
Barnet Council decided
that the building had to
be pulled down and the
couple were then stuck
with the demolition bill of
£318,000.
A spokesman from the
FMB said: “The moment
we were made aware of
the incident, the building
company concerned had its
membership immediately
Pyroguard invests to
increase global share
Fire resistant glazing manufacturer Pyroguard has announced the appointment of
a new Chief Executive and a
major investment programme
into its manufacturing facilities in the UK and France.
Neil Tilsley joined the company
as Chief Executive on 1st January
2016 and brings experience from
the manufacturing and construction engineering sectors. He has
previously held commercial and
general management roles with
organisations including Abloy
UK, NG Bailey and most recently
Polypipe Ventilation, where he
oversaw a period of significant
growth including three strategic
acquisitions.
Neil’s appointment coincides
with the completion of a £1million investment programme into
Pyroguard’s manufacturing facilities in Haydock, UK, and Seingbouse, France. This investment
has included new resin mixing
equipment and a semi-automated
racking system at the UK site and
delivers further improvements to
the company’s cuttable fire glass
products in terms of improved
processability, tighter thickness
tolerances and improved optical
performance.
Commenting on his appointment and the investment activity,
Neil said: “Pyroguard is a leading
brand in the fire rated glazing
sector, with a team which has a
wealth of technical knowledge
and a first-rate customer service. I
look forward to leading the company through a period of further
investment for growth, building
upon our market-leading product
portfolio and excellent customer
relationships to increase our share
of the global fire resistant glass
market.”
www.pyroguard.eu
suspended and was later
struck off.
”If serious malpractice
or incompetence by a
member is alleged by a
client, then the case will
be referred to our National
Standards and Conduct
committee. If it decides
the allegation is justified,
then it can also decide to
terminate membership if it
feels the incident is serious
enough.
“The overwhelming majority of clients are satisfied
using our services, which
we believe is an affirmation of the stringent checks
we have in place. The reason we independently vet
our members upon joining
and as a mandatory part of
continued membership is
to protect consumers from
substandard tradespeople.
“Obviously, in this instance this hasn’t happened, which is deeply
regrettable. We are still
confident though that the
vast proportion of our
members are trustworthy,
skilled and safe tradespeople who can be relied
upon by clients.”
To be on the FMB’s
‘Find a Builder’ service, a
company has to have been
demonstrably trading for a
minimum of 3 years, and
must undergo independent
assessment by the British
Board of Agrément (BBA)
of a working site to test for
quality of workmanship
and safe practice.
The company must pass
independent credit and
director checks and have
no undischarged bankruptcies. It also has to have
signed up to the FMB Code
of Practice. Once a firm
has become a member, it is
then bound to be inspected
every 3 years.
New flat rooflight from Atlas
A new generation in flat
rooflight design has been
unveiled by Atlas Glazed Roof
Solutions. The Flat Rooflight,
which brings ultimate performance and maximum light in
a minimalistic design, complements the range of aluminium
conservatory and lantern
roofs from Atlas.
This rooflight features a 27%
slimmer overall frame height than its
rivals to achieve a flush glazed look
with minimal internal and external
sightlines. It delivers a complete roof
(glass and frame) U-value of 1.3 W/
m2k, without the need for triple
glazing.
The flat rooflight is described as
the best looking and highest thermally performing double glazed flat
rooflight on the market thanks to
its bespoke structural PVCu internal
core and sleek aluminium internal
and external capping. Fitted flush
to the internal plaster, the rooflight
appears frameless from below to
create the illusion of an open roof
space.
Gareth Thomas, Sales and Marketing Director at Atlas Glazed Roof
Solutions said: “Just like the rest
of the Atlas range, the roof light
has been carefully developed to be
extremely fitter-friendly so it is very
easy to transform a mundane flat
roof into a breathtaking light pool.”