STERLINGOSB RIDES TO THE RESCUE!

SterlingOSB, one of the most versatile wood panel boards on the market, is a common sight in the building trade and is now becoming a popular as a fashionable panel for the designer home.

For Dorset-based specialist contractor, Doors, Locks & Glass, SterlingOSB is an indispensable product. The company specialises in emergency boarding-up, most often in the aftermath of a burglary of vandalism, and SterlingOSB is the ideal solution, says company owner, Graham Bird.

“We’ve been specialising in this area for the past 15 years and, to begin with, we used plywood,” he says. “But as soon as we discovered OSB, we switched and we’ve never gone back,” adds Graham.

“SterlingOSB is just as strong and durable as plywood and it’s better to work with. With plywood, you always get splinters when you cut it  but you don’t have this problem with OSB,” he explains. “We use 9mm SterlingOSB. Two layers of this are perfect for boarding up 20mm double-glazed units. The two thicknesses fit exactly into the reveal and then it’s just a case of replacing the beading; and it’s more secure than glass.”

Similarly, Graham finds that SterlingOSB has the strength and rigidity to temporarily replace damaged glass in most patio doors: “It’s rigid enough to hold the door in line and, once in place, the door can be opened and closed again with no problem. When we started using SterlingOSB, we discovered that it was as strong and reliable as the more expensive plywood,” comments Graham. He continues: “Boarding up is usually a temporary repair but we’ve also boarded up properties that have remained empty for years. If the SterlingOSB is painted over with a primer and undercoat, it seems to last forever.” Graham cites the back door of a pizza restaurant in Southampton that he boarded up 11 years ago following a burglary: “They didn’t bother replacing the glass – they just painted the whole door white. It’s still there today,” he says.

“We’re the only specialist in Dorset because it’s such a low-crime area. In Southampton, there is a couple more companies operating and there are three in Devon & Cornwall because it’s such a big area. Nevertheless, we still get through up to 15 sheets of SterlingOSB a week – and often more during the period from November to January when burglaries tend to peak,” says Graham.

For further information, call 01786 812 921 or visit www.norbord.co.uk.

Robert Palmer

A new report from Palmer Market Research suggests the composite door sector will see ‘significant growth’ through to 2020.

Findings reveal that the market for entrance doors grew by 2.2% to 1.40million doors in 2015. Installed value was also up 7.6% at £692 million.

According, to The Market for Domestic Entrance Doors, composite doors now account for 50% of the market, the share rising to 54% by installed value with the inclusion of PVC/ABS faced doors.

PVC-U panel doors took 25% of the market in both installed value and volume terms, while wood (including engineered timber) took 20% by volume and 15% by installed value. Steel fell to just 46,000 doors.

The study suggests that forecast figures for last year should also be expected to show a modest overall increase in volume. It is less sanguine about fortunes this year, however, in the face of Brexit.

Although The Market for Domestic Entrance Doors suggests only a minimal impact on the home improvement and social sectors, the report’s authors warn the impact of Brexit may be felt acutely in new build.

It states: ‘The main change is that we believe house prices in general, and new build properties in particular, will slow and even go modestly negative during the Brexit negotiations (2017 and 2018) as uncertainty in the wider economy prevails. And it is on a rising housing market that housebuilders are spurred to increase supply.’

This aside, The Market for Domestic Entrance Doors predicts that in its entirety, the door market will remain ‘almost static’ for the next five years. Within it, there are however, significant gains and losses. Most notably a forecast 22% increase in composite door sales through to 2020.

Robert Palmer, Palmer Market Research, said: “Overall our forecast is for an almost static market for entrance doors over the next five years. Growth in home improvements will be offset by declines in both new build housing and social housing refurbishment.

“We are, however, forecasting significant differences in trends between door leaf materials.

“Composites have grown their share of the market over the past 15 years both in volume and value terms – and will continue to do so through to at least 2020 when they will be close to two thirds of the market.”

The findings follow Palmer’s publication of The Window, Door and Conservatory Markets in Housing in Great Britain, last autumn.

This argues that a flattening of the market in 2015 saw total volume fall by 0.7%. This was, however, offset by a shift towards higher-end products and higher value installations, which delivered a 2% increase in installed value to £4.20 billion.

Palmer continued: “Consistent with other areas of the window and door industry, some products are seeing growth, others are going into decline.

“This is variable by market but also notably, material type within those markets. For some we’re reporting a 41% drop in volume by 2020, others as much as a 56% increase in volume over the same period.

“This and continuing product innovation makes the entrance door market complex but an area of the window and door industry which in common with others, represents sizeable areas of opportunity.”

www.palmermarketresearch.co.uk

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The construction industry has started 2017 strongly, with an increase in activity levels as the value of new building contracts awarded in January reached £6 billion, spearheaded by strong figures from the housebuilding sector.

According to the latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from industry analysts Barbour ABI, housing figures increased sharply across January (see figure 1.1), with construction contract value reaching £2.7 billion, a massive 83 per cent increase compared with January 2016. 

Of all the type of projects across housebuilding, it was private housing that dominated in January with 91 per cent of the total construction contract value in January, compared to just 66 per cent a year ago. Market conditions for private housing were also favourable for housebuilders in 2016, with Crest Nicholson recently reporting a 27 per cent increase in full year profits.

There are also currently £5.8 billion worth of housebuilding contracts that are nearing award status, suggesting this month’s growth is likely to continue over the next few months and beyond.

London unsurprisingly led all regions based on total construction contract value in January, accounting for 26 per cent. This was helped greatly by the £900 million One Nine Elms Twin Towers development, the largest project recorded on the month.

Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: “Whilst the housebuilding sector is performing admirably, we expect to see its growth continue to flourish across 2017. However, other sectors now need to start producing more auspicious figures, such as the commercial & retail sector, which saw a year-on-year decrease of 40 per cent last month. Infrastructure, another traditionally big performing sector, is also in a slump with January figures being the lowest for 12 months.”

“On the positive side, the number of projects awarded in January jumped by 50 per cent compared with December and 25 per cent when looking at January last year. These figures are encouraging and would suggest that work is most certainly on the way.”

www.barbour-abi.com