Yes, yes, we know how awful the economy is and yes we know the building industry is extremely hard hit by it all BUT…. There are little rays of light beginning to shine through the gloom. We have had the best spring quarter that we have ever had and we are getting enormous interest in the new product we have added to our range over the last 9 months or so.
Due to the great interest in natural insulation and cladding systems, during the week of the 28th of September we are holding a 1 day seminar for architects on how to correctly specify the range of Unger woodfibre insulation systems that we sell. This will be followed by a 2 day seminar/training course for builders to learn how to install the systems and, assuming they pass the various tests, they will be certified as installers and able to offer the 15 year guarantee on the systems. We are expecting builders and architects from all over southern England to attend and the event will be held at the Genesis Project in Taunton. (www.genesisproject.com)
One product that is showing enormous potential is the Lithotherm Underfloor heating system. Because of the way the tile is made up it means that you need much lower input temperatures to achieve a similar heat output which makes it ideal for use with solar, ground- or air-source, all of which are becoming more popular. The product is made from recycled waste brick and takes the place of a conventional floor screed. Because it is a dry system it means that it is ideal for use with timber or tile floors as they can be laid on top immediately after the Lithotherm tiles are laid. Fantastic!!!!
Now that the market for these green materials is growing so much, manufacturers are beginning to manufacture here. Ibstock are now producing the Thermoplan block here, meaning that very soon the price of the system will drop considerably, coming extremely close in price to conventional cavity walling. This will then make it a complete ‘no brainer’ when it comes to masonry construction, why use conventional cavities when you can have solid, breathable walls with a really good U-value that can be built much much faster than any other sort of masonry?
We have now added an e-brochure to our website, it is in the product page http://www.backtoearth.co.uk/products.html and should come up once you click it. If you can’t see it you may need to empty your cache and then return. The idea was to get all of our product info in a format that is more manageable than 65 different pdf downloads and one that makes it easy to skim through and find the info you need. Hopefully you agree that it is better……Otherwise I’ve wasted a lot of our money!!
So, in summary, although it is tough at the moment, I think things are beginning to move once again. The building industry may well be different to what it was before but change is rarely easy or comfortable and hopefully things will be better.