Mace has upped its tender prices forecast for 2015 as contractors increasingly seek to boost margins and walk away from bidding risky jobs.

The cost consultancy arm of the contractor said construction was becoming a sellers’ market amid rising demand.

Mace has hiked its tender prices forecast for the year by 1%, both nationally to 4.5% and in London to 5.5%.

Rival cost consultants EC Harris and Gleeds are going even further predicting tender prices will rise by 7.5% and 7.0% in the capital this year.

The hardening line being taken by main contractors with clients is causing some tension.

One major private residential client told the Enquirer: “We are looking seriously at changing our favoured contractors because our existing firms are trying to push up prices too far.”

Background to the call for evidence

There is a significant rise in the numbers of reported issues of condensation and mould growth in properties that have received insulation measures over the last 15 years. Increases in the occurrence of mould growth, condensation and other related issues are increasing significantly in properties that appear to have been insulated with techniques and materials that may not be suitable for the construction, exposure or location of the dwellings.

Research

BRE Wales has been commissioned by the Wales Low Zero Carbon Hub to undertake research into the reported increase in failure of insulation measures and then report on failure rates and remediation costs for these measures that will include cavity wall insulation and external wall insulation. The aim of the project is to undertake a scoping exercise to ascertain the extent of the problem in Wales, and the likely cost of remediating the works, and the impact on reported carbon reduction measures by the work.

Response

To establish an understanding of the scale we are looking for the cases, where wall insulation of any description has been undertaken where problems are now being reported. If you have been aware of any of the reported issues of premature failure, please respond to this call by answering the following questions:

• Type of insulation done (EWI, CWI)
• Location
• Number of properties  done
• % of failures
• Type of problems (mould growth, condensation, insulation degradation)

• Would you be happy to have a follow up call?

Please send your answers to BRE . If you have any questions or need additional information, please call: 01792630111. The deadline for the “Call for Evidence” should be the end of February

The 4th CIWM conference for the Welsh waste and resources sector will take place on the 10th March 2015 in Cardiff

Wales has achieved great things. It’s been down to clear plans, enthusiasm, determination and, maybe most of all, working together. The momentum is established. A strong foundation is in place on which to build further success. Now the key is for all of us to continue working together. And for us to enthuse and encourage participation by more homeowners and businesses.

Wales is establishing itself as a thought leader in moving from coping with waste to managing resources. It leads the way in municipal waste recycling in the UK; however much more is needed to achieve the vision of one Wales – one Planet.

This conference will ask what are the big issues for the future of resources and waste management in Wales, and what are the solutions?

Click here to view the programme.

For more information please contact: Kent Love Tel: +44 (0)1604 620426

Email: CIWM

• 89%* of clients believe that companies will gain a competitive advantage if they adopt a circular approach (one that retains longer-term interest in products and buildings)
• Trail blazing companies are already adopting and benefitting from this new way of doing business

These half day interactive workshops will help you start your journey towards a more circular way of doing business:

• hear experiences from companies in the built environment and other sectors
• consider how applying some of the concepts could work in reality for your business
• find out about tools and resources available to support you – for example, innovations in this area are to be supported by up to £6m of funding from Innovate UK. We will have a guest speaker on-hand to present and take questions about this funding

*taken from a UKCG survey (2014) on views on the Circular Economy concept in construction

Who should attend? This workshop is aimed at colleagues from built environment and built environment supply chain businesses who are interested in improving the way buildings, products and services are supplied to clients.

Please register your interest below if you’d like to find out more.

In order to be considered for a place please register your interest here by 5th February 2015.

Click here to register