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Soft Covering Flooring Market 2020 Growth Analysis, Size, Share, Analysis, COVID 19 Analysis, Opportunities and Challenges with Focus on Top Players, Forecast to 2025

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The Global Soft Covering Market is estimated to expand with a CAGR of 3.0% during the review period from 2019 to 2024. The global soft covering flooring market 2020 has experienced a robust growth due to the rising demand for green building materials along with the increased expansion of the commercial replacement market. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Continue Reading

The Effects of Subsidence & How to Fix it

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As a major, potentially serious problem, subsidence is something that every homeowner dreads. Whether you own a brand new, modern home or a traditional-style office building, subsidence can strike when you least expect it, and for a variety of reasons. From tree roots and hot weather to uneven ground and ill-prepared foundations, subsidence is something that, often, cannot be prevented – but it can be easily rectified.

In this article, we’ll be detailing exactly why subsidence should be dealt with as a matter of urgency, together with a fast, highly-effective solution that’ll stand the test of time.

What is subsidence?

Subsidence occurs when the ground beneath a building begins to sink, subsequently causing the property’s foundation to be pulled down with it. In turn, this can cause both exterior and interior walls, floors, driveways and garden paths to shift and eventually crack, putting the integrity of the entire building at risk.

It can be easy to spot signs of subsidence before it becomes a significant problem, including:

  • Cracks in interior or exterior walls, particularly around windows or door frames
  • Noticeable ripples or wrinkles in wallpaper
  • Doors either becoming jammed or harder to open and close
  • Windows that you struggle to open and close
  • Puddles around the outside of the house
  • Cracks in driveways or garden paths
  • Sloping floors

It can be difficult for a homeowner to pinpoint exactly what it is that’s causing the subsidence. Although it is more common in older buildings, new build properties can also succumb to the problem. There could be a number of different factors at play that are causing the subsidence of your home, including:

  • Heavy, persistent rainfall over a long period of time – this can make the ground uneven as it has the potential to wash soil away, therefore making it more likely that the ground will move or shift
  • Clay or soil shrinkage caused by extensive periods of hot or warm weather – the heat can draw moisture out of the ground, causing it to shrink and leave voids, allowing for loose, dry earth and clay to fall into the gaps
  • Tree roots – tree roots will burrow into the ground in order to reach the water it needs to survive. As it draws up the moisture from the ground, it can cause the clay and soil to shrink, thus leaving the ground unstable
  • Poorly prepared foundations – this is more common in new build houses, but if the ground underneath the foundation of the house hasn’t been prepared properly, then subsidence is likely to occur

The effects of subsidence

Despite the fact that your house insurance covers you should subsidence occur, it’s still considered to be every homeowners’ worst nightmare, and for good reason. Not only does it put the overall structural integrity of your home at risk, but it also threatens to put the occupants, neighbours, pedestrians and even motorists driving in close proximity to your house, in danger.

A house can fall within five different categories, with category one meaning that hairline cracks are visible and little action needs to be taken and category five meaning that cracks are around 25mm wide, walls are leaning, windows are breaking and timbers are snapping. Category five generally means that the house could fall down at any moment. Category two, however, is for situations where cracks are around 3mm wide and, according to the experts, a solution needs to be found in this instance as soon as possible to prevent the subsidence from progressing to a dangerous level.

Many homeowners will find a suitable solution to their subsidence problem before their property is classed as a category five risk, but for those who, for whatever reason, cannot have the subsidence issue resolved, it can cause misery – the effects of subsidence can be felt on a personal, emotive level as well as from a structural point of view.

For those who would rather sell on a property with a persistent history of subsidence, they may well struggle. According the Independent, “mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend on affected buildings”, although there are some mortgage lenders who will “consider properties with a history of subsidence if there has been no recent movement” or if a structural engineer verifies that the method used to rectify the problem has worked and will continue to do so for some years to come.

From buying a house with a history or susceptibility to subsidence, to insuring the property or even selling it on, subsidence can put many obstacles and hurdles in the way for everyone along the property chain, making it all the more important to sort the problem as soon as possible by using a reliable, innovative solution, such as the resin injection method.

How can subsidence be rectified?

Due to the seriousness of subsidence, it’s important that the situation is resolved as safely and as effectively as possible and the resin injection method can provide such a solution. It can be a difficult, overwhelming task to have to deal with subsidence within the home, but through the use of a resin injection, you’ll be able to have the issue resolved all without having to move out of your home.

With Geobear, all work can be carried out with minimal disruption to your everyday life and, most of the time, it can all be done without needing internal access. The expert engineers at Geobear are highly-skilled to deliver exceptional results. Crucially, unlike traditional underpinning, there is no excavation or digging at all and the repair usually takes one day.

Firstly, a 16mm hole is drilled directly into the ground beneath in order to reach the affected areas. After that, a geopolymer resin is carefully injected into the weakened ground below. Once the resin has been injected, it will immediately start to expand in and around the soils, hardening at an impressive rate.

You can rest assured that the resin will be 90% cured within just 15 minutes of its application, ensuring that your home is structurally sound once again in no time at all. In some cases, as the resin begins to expand, you’ll start to notice cracks disappearing as the foundations are gradually lifted – the image below illustrates how the resin injection method is carried out by Geobear.

The work Geobear performs is guaranteed to last for up to ten years, restoring your property to its full, healthy structure and aesthetic, enabling you to enjoy your home for many more years to come. So, if subsidence threatens the integrity of your house or another building you own, get in touch with Geobear for a fast, successful, innovative solution to an otherwise complicated problem.

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Talented young development surveyor scoops national award

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A talented Newcastle woman is building a successful career in the construction industry after winning the title of RICS Matrics Young Surveyor of the Year.

Twenty-seven-year-old Pippa Heron, originally from Durham but living in Gosforth, scooped the prestigious national title in the project management category of the Young Surveyor of the Year Awards 2020 in an online ceremony on Friday 27th November.

Pippa, who completed an MSC in Real Estate at Northumbria University, joined Newcastle-based fast-growing The Morton Group as a Development Surveyor in April 2019.

The Morton Group is a wholly-owned family business run by CEO Gary Morton and his father Brian, and consists of LOK Developments, Kapex Construction and Regents Gate Homes, meaning that it can act as both developer and contractor on building projects.

Announcing Pippa as Young Surveyor of the Year winner, the judges said: “Her adaptable, personable, can-do approach and out of the box thinking helps her excel when leading internal and external teams on a variety of projects. Her passion for the industry and drive for continual growth has brought unrivalled dynamism to her organisation.”

Pippa said: “I was so shocked when I won, as there were some really strong contenders in my category. I really didn’t think I’d win and I was happy just to be shortlisted.

“Now it’s settled in, I’m so happy and grateful for all the opportunities that have come my way. The past 19 months have felt like a bit of a whirlwind at times as we are growing so fast and we have so many exciting projects.

“Sometimes I think it’s important to take a step back and appreciate how far we’ve all come, individually and collectively.

“I work across all the LOK Development schemes but my favourite has to be Montague Court in Hexham, which is going to be absolutely stunning when it is complete. Kapex Construction has done an amazing job of sympathetically restoring all the original features and I can’t wait to see it finished.

“It’s really exciting to be part of The Morton Group.The pipeline of work and business plan is phenomenal – and the future is looking very bright. I’d like to thank my APC Mentor Michael Henning from Todd Milburn, along with Brian and Gary Morton and Chris Nunn, for nominating me and for the great faith and support they have shown in me over the last 19 months.”

To find out more about The Morton Group visit www.themortongroup.co.uk


About The Morton Group

The Morton Group is a wholly-owned family business specialising in property development, construction, residential home development and sales as well as the ownership and operation of successful leisure accommodation and facilities business.

Established in 2016 and based in Newcastle, Morton Group’s unique vision and approach means they bring together their expertise, push the boundaries and deliver exceptional returns for their investors.

Consisting of Lok Developments, Kapex Construction and Regents Gate Homes, Morton Group is behind several exciting new developments across the North East and the UK. These include Regents Plaza and Sycamore Square in Gosforth, All Saints Church in Newcastle and Six Hills in Stevenage.

For more information visit www.themortongroup.co.uk

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The Build to Rent sector set for growth

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Purpose-built Build to Rent housing is only a recent concept, with just over 51,000 dwellings completed across the UK as of Q3 2020. This equates to only around 1% of total Private Residential Sector stock.

In Q1 2020, a large number of schemes completed, driving up the volume of operating units by 42% on Q1 2019, equating to an additional 13,000 homes. In Q2 2020, the impact of the first Covid-19 lockdown was sudden, with only three funding deals, worth £96m and with just 1,800 starts across a dozen sites.

Alex Blagden, Senior Researcher at AMA Research and Editor of the Build to Rent Market Report comments “Since 2016 cumulative BTR completions are forecast to have quadrupled by 2021 to over 60,000. Quarterly data for Q3 2020 indicates circa 37,000 units are under construction and approximately 84,000 are in planning. However, several additional proposals were announced in October and November which suggest over 90,000 are expected to be in planning by the end of 2020”.

The build to rent sector has seen an influx of institutional investors enter the market in recent years as the focus for investment propositions moves away from the High Street retail and into developments that are likely to provide a higher return.

Population growth, a younger mobile workforce, increasing house prices, tighter mortgage requirements by lenders – and declining levels of social rent housing – have led to a worsening shortage of affordable build-to-sell housing, particularly for first-time buyers in the 25-34 age group.

Several larger housing associations have also diversified into the PRS. Due to budget cuts to housing, they have had to find other income sources e.g. through developing housing for sale and private rent.

A final comment from Senior Researcher Alex Blagden states “A key factor contributing towards forecast growth has been important changes in the planning system. Now BTR is formerly defined as an asset class in its own right in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and is entitled to specific land allocation rather than having to compete with build-to-sell developers in the open market”.

About AMA Research

AMA Research is a leading provider of market research and consultancy services with over 30 years’ experience within the construction and home improvement markets. For more information, go to www.amaresearch.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @AMAResearch for all the latest building and construction market news.

Since 2017, AMA Research has been part of Barbour ABI, a leading provider of construction intelligence services. Barbour ABI is part of Informa PLC, a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organiser in the world. To learn more and for the latest news and information, visit www.informa.com.

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