A wide range of interesting articles that help you make informed decisions and deliver the best projects for your clients authored by our team of NBS subject specialists and construction industry contributors.
Discover how specification can support BREEAM New Construction V7, with practical guidance from NBS and BRE on assessment requirements, evidence and more sustainable project outcomes.
With tightening regulations and growing client demand, the construction industry is under increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable progress against carbon reduction targets. For specifiers, that ...
Because of how they are used, kitchens and bathrooms experience more moisture, more contact, and more ongoing maintenance. Standard emulsions are not designed for this level of use. Over time, ...
Few pieces of legislation have reshaped the UK construction industry as significantly as the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA). Introduced to improve accountability, traceability and safety standards ...
In December 2006 the government made an ambitious pledge. It was a pledge that would have ensured that within a decade every new home would be a 'zero carbon' home.
Measure, compare and reduce upfront embodied carbon using trusted UK data and pre-built assemblies.
All material contains moisture to greater or lesser degrees. Those that are porous – concrete, mortar, wood – begin their life with their pores filled with water. As they dry, the water content drops ...
Cavity wall insulation can be a great way of improving the thermal performance of a building, making it both warmer and cheaper to heat, but it's not always a suitable solution. We explore the pros ...
Straw bale construction first came to prominence in the mid-19th century in the USA as a cheap indigenous building material, and has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years as an ecological alternative ...
In recent years the term ‘Passivhaus’ has become a byword for an ‘eco-friendly’ dwelling. The evolution of the energy-saving home has taken leads from Scandinavian and mainland European ...
With the nights starting to draw in and the summer drizzling to an autumnal conclusion many of us will be tempted to fire up the central heating for the first time in the coming weeks.
A reinterpreted farmstead has become the first Certified Passivhaus in Northumberland and winner of the Small Projects Category at the 2015 Passivhaus Awards organised by the Passivhaus Trust.
Although the main focus of environmental performance of buildings is now on carbon usage, there is still a need to consider thermal performance of the building fabric as a contributing factor. ...
This programme will present key research on the impact of energy efficiency strategies - such as the installation of insulation, draught-proofing and boiler upgrades - in low-income houses. It ...
NBS Technical Author Charles Stirling discusses the hazards of moisture penetration in external walls and potential ways to avoid or correct problems.
The ever increasing levels of thermal insulation required by thermal regulations can result in a higher risk of condensation forming on those elements not enclosed by this insulation, e.g. roofing ...
An erstwhile colleague once commented: “Why would you want to specify a roofing material which makes perfect nesting material for most of the local wildlife and could go up like a two bob rocket if a ...