Welcome to the March edition of theNBS.com eNewsletter

In this issue we give you information about the Natural Stone Show, discuss the forthcoming 17th Edition Wiring regulations, and highlight a selection of new books available from RIBA Bookshops.

The Natural Stone Show

The 8th Natural Stone Show returns to ExCeL from 11-13 March 2008 and is open from 10.00am to 5pm daily.

Register now for your free entrance badge to the showcase event for the industry. Select stone from a choice of more exhibitors than ever before and enjoy a range of exciting visitor features including:

Demonstrations area
The best of British stone in the Stone Federation Village
Free specialist advice on conservation and restoration in the Conservation area
Free entrance to the acclaimed Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference.

For more information and to register for this event, visit the Natural Stone Show website at http://www.stoneshow.co.uk/ or telephone +44 (0)115 945 3889.

17th Edition Wiring regulations

17th Edition Wiring regulations The IEE/BSI Requirements for electrical installations has
been updated as BS 7671:2008 Requirements for electrical installations. IEE wiring regulations. 17th Edition. This creates a new revised edition of the wiring regulations, which will come into effect on 1 July 2008.

New sections have been introduced to align BS 7671:2001 much closer to IEC 60364, which is the basis of the electrical rules for international adoption. Up to July 2008, engineers can use either the 16th or 17th Editions but after 1 July all installations must be designed and installed to BS 7671:2008.

Read more >>

Deadlines 'needed' for energy efficient building

EU member states have been disappointingly slow to implement legislation on energy efficient building and should be set deadlines to meet zero-energy and low emissions requirements.

This is one of the recommendations of a report from the European Energy Network (ENR) after it carried out a survey of compliance with the EU's Energy Performance in Buildings Directive.

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Speak to NBS staff at the forthcoming IT Showcase exhibition

NBS staff will be on hand to demonstrate our products and answer any questions you may have at the forthcoming IT Showcase exhibition, being held at the Mercedes Benz World at Brooklands, Surrey.

IT Showcase is taking place between 10am and 3pm on Thursday 6 March, and is free of charge to attend.

To register your place, or for further information about IT Showcase, please visit www.itshowcase.co.uk/nbs.

RIBA Product Selector 2008 – now published

Register for your free annual copy of RIBA Product Selector 2008.

For over 25 years RIBA Product Selector has been the most comprehensive and valued building product and information directory in the industry.

The 2008 edition contains 7,800 manufacturer contact details, 24,000 trade names, 1,000 structured technical pages and 1,000 advisory organisations.

New books from RIBA Publishing

Keep up to date with the latest design and construction reading with these new releases from RIBA Publishing. All books featured are available to order from RIBA Bookshops.

Contemporary Property Development – The second edition of the highly successful Contemporary Property Development is an
up-to-date and in-depth examination of the process of developing property for commercial gain. Written with construction and property professionals and students in mind, it provides both a basic level of information and also the opportunity to acquire more advanced skills.
It will also be useful to more peripheral members of the development team as well as a wider readership of policy makers searching for a better understanding of the sector's mechanics.

Good Practice Guide: Painless Financial Management – How can
you keep up with the relentless costs of running a practice – the monthly payroll, the rent, income tax, VAT and so on – when your fee income is prone to so much unpredictable delay? How do you know if you'll have enough cash to operate in six or twelve months' time? Are you likely to make any profit? And how can you take care of the finances when you've got a building to design? This book answers all of these and many other questions with straightforward advice and practical solutions based on years of hard-won experience.

Environmental Construction Handbook – An illustrated analysis of
the various specific sustainability challenges presented by different building types. Based on rigorous research, it examines the consequences of contemporary construction methods and the ways
in which their environmental impacts can be improved. Overall, Environmental Construction Handbook is an important, authoritative compendium designed to help architects and other building construction professionals to deliver more sustainable buildings.

RIBA Book of British Housing: 1900 to the Present Day – This book looks at the design solutions developed during the 20th and the 21st centuries, and illustrates over 200 of the best projects. It is both a
guide to the most significant schemes built in Britain since 1900 and
a resource for practitioners and students of the built environment. Referring extensively to relevant websites, journals and publications,
it provides a valuable resource for anyone engaged in housing design wishing to conduct further research.

Most popular NBS articles - January/February

Find out what NBS website visitors are reading. This month, we round up the most popular technical articles from January and February on www.theNBS.com.

The benefits of master specifications
Specification is an essential part of the design process. Unfortunately, for most engineers, it is the least enjoyed task. This often results in specifications of inferior quality. If a specification is written badly it can cause major problems for every member of the construction team, and can cost the client a great deal of money. If the specification is well written it can enhance project delivery for the whole construction team while saving everyone money.
Read more >>

Specifying colour
There is a veritable rainbow of standards for the generic specification of colour. John Gelder, Content development manager, looks for the pot of gold.
Read more >>

Replacing refrigerant R22
Because of the adverse impact of CFCs, HCFCs and halons on the environment (ozone depletion, global warming) we should avoid specifying these gases as refrigerants. This article brings you up to date on alternatives to one commonly-used HCFC refrigerant, R22.
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Preliminaries and contemporary procurement
With the construction industry adopting design and build, partnering, or PFI procurement for certain sized projects, NBS is consulting with subscribers to understand and formulate proposals that address the particular challenges associated with these procurement routes. A workshop on preliminaries was held as a step in this investigation.
Read more >>

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