CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, 2018-Apr-14 — /EPR CONSTRUCTION NEWS/ — Steve Wightman, Founder and CEO of disruptive construction payment technology company, BuildPay, has been chosen as part of BuiltWorlds’ first-ever Mavericks Report: “25 Pioneers Who’ve Transformed The Built Industry,†a recognition of the movers and shakers who are shaping the future of AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) and RE (real estate) industries.
BuiltWorlds is a global online resource for players in the AEC/RE fields.
The prestigious award puts Wightman alongside some of the top disrupters in the industry, including: Elon Musk, Founder of Tesla, Adam Neumann of WeWork and Michael Marks of Katerra, among others.
“Maverick is a word I’ve not heard appreciated in a long time. I’m humbled to be part of such a hard-hitting list,†said Wightman.
BuildPay is a construction payment platform built to directly combat the construction industries’ chronic cash-flow issues and notorious payment chaos. The online platform was built in 2017 and began deploying to construction funding institutions recently, but the solution had been evolving and refining since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 when Wightman began proving there was a better way to build, supported by smarter payment. Costs dropped and work accelerated.
“Nobody is doing construction payment right, as evidenced by our industry having the longest accounts receivable and least access to working capital of any segment worldwide,†said Wightman. “Payment is the one thing that all construction has in common and is the lifeblood of projects, so that’s the only thing we focused on solving.â€
Wightman and the other mavericks were recognized at the recent BuiltWorlds Summit in Chicago on Thursday, presented by Autodesk. The BuiltWorlds Summit is a gathering of 250 c-suite executives and innovation heads from the built world.
It is now ten months since the introduction of the new UK planning regulations that came in to effect on the 1 st October 2008 and here, ConservatoryLand, a major manufacturer and supplier of DIYÂ conservatories report on the effects that they have had on the conservatory industry since then.
David Bingham, director of ConservatoryLand says “I have heard reports from certain large conservatory roof manufacturers that the volume of their roof orders have increased but their sales revenue has actually decreased in 2009 compared to that of 2008.
This is thought to have been caused partly due to the new planning permission regulations which are causing consumers to opt for smaller conservatories with a view to keeping within the new size criteria for which you do not now require planning permission approval.â€
The size criteria elements within the new planning regulations that could be affecting this are:
• No extension to be higher than the highest part of the roof
• Maximum depth of a single-storey rear extension of three metres for an attached house and four metres for a detached house
• Maximum height of a single-storey rear extension of four metres
• Maximum depth of a rear extension of more than one storey of three metres including ground floor
• Maximum eaves height of an extension within two metres of the boundary of three metres
• Maximum eaves and ridge height of extension no higher than existing house
• Side extensions to be single storey with maximum height of four metres and width no more than half that of the original house
• Roof pitch of extensions higher than one storey to match existing house
Taking the above criteria in to consideration, it is clear to see why some manufacturers of conservatories and conservatory roofs are thinking that consumers are being guided in to buying smaller conservatories and are blaming this for a smaller average order value.
David Bingham Managing Director of Conservatory Land has given an insight into the conservatory industry and the current trend he is seeing. With 20 years personal experience in the industry he has given some useful advice and tips for anyone looking to buy a conservatory.
Currently, one of the UK’s most popular and appealing home improvement projects for homeowners is adding conservatories to their homes. The choice is vast and if you are considering a sizable investment it is wise to start with the company itself. Choose a company that has satisfactorily supplied or installed conservatories for friends, family or someone else you know. The next step is to decide what type of conservatory you want, or more importantly, what type will best suit your property and keep within your budget.
Measure the space you have available and decide what size you would like and which style would look best. Choose a style and size that will provide you with a usable, furnishable living space whilst at the same time not looking out of place or out of proportion with your property. This step is the most important one so take your time as you will only get once chance to get it right. No one wants to end up with a conservatory that is too small to be of reasonable use or too large for the size and style of your home. David Bingham went on to say “I have heard so many times, customers saying that they wish they had purchased a larger conservatory so that there was more room to seat the whole family for dinner or for watching TV, so choose carefully, but don’t over do it, it needs to be just rightâ€.
Once you have decided on the size and style, be it an Edwardian, Victorian or a simple traditional lean-to conservatory, you need to decide on the actual design. There are three main designs to choose from, dwarf wall, full height glass to ground and full height bottom panels.
Then there are the doors. The most popular choice are French (double) doors but in some situations, sliding patio doors or bi fold doors and be more suitable for some conservatories depending of their location on your home and how you intend to use your conservatory. The company you choose will be able to give you further advice on design options and supply you with CAD drawings to help give you an idea of how the finished conservatory will look.
Colour is also very important. Modern PVCu profiles are available in many colours with the most common being white, mahogany, rosewood, golden (light) oak and more recently cream has been introduced. White PVCu is usually the cheapest option. It is a good idea to choose a colour that will best compliment the fabric of your property and your existing windows and doors.
The final step is to decide on glazing types, both for the frames and roof and you don’t necessarily need the exact same glazing type in the roof as the frames. Frame glazing for conservatories can take many different forms. The very basic frame glazing used in conservatories is clear toughened safety class, usually made up in double glazed sealed units.
However, you may want a higher insulating glass to help keep your conservatory warmer during the winter months such as Pilkington K Glass or a solar reflective glass to help keep it cooler in the summer such as Pilkington Activ Blue which is also self cleaning – or even a combination of both to help keep your conservatory more comfortable all year round. Your conservatory supplier will be able to give you advice and associated costs regarding this.
Then there’s the roof glazing which is very important. There are two basic materials, polycarbonate and glass.
You should decide how you would like your conservatory to look and consider your budget as glass roofs for conservatories are far more expensive and often require additional reinforcement of the frames and roof, further adding to the cost.
The main disadvantage with polycarbonate is the ‘drumming’ effect which can become very loud during heavy rain. Glass roofs can be a better option for conservatories as there is far less noise during rainfall.
David went onto say “I have tried to provide this advice with a view to helping anyone buying a conservatory, whether it is fully installed or a DIY conservatory to make sure that they get exactly what they want and need. When it comes to conservatories, especially DIY conservatories, getting it wrong can be a very expensive mistake and I like to think that ConservatoryLand is one company that can professionally advise on these issuesâ€.
In line with Optima Products’ corporate responsibility and environmental awareness policies, the innovative glass partitions company has come up with a new, eco-friendly way of getting vital information to its clients.
Optima Products is now using an ingenious and eco-friendly alternative to the heavy paper version of their Designer’s Guide.
The Designer’s Guide contains in-depth information on office partitioning and other architectural and construction issues spread out over 100 pages of A4. In previous years Optima Products printed in excess of 1000 copies of the Designer’s Guide for its glass partition customers and associates. To bring the production of this year’s Designer’s Guide in line with the glass partition company’s energy efficiency and waste minimisation policies, Optima Products will be providing this fantastic portfolio of information on a small and stylish USB storage device.
This new system will save thousands upon thousands of sheets of paper, not to mention large envelopes, as well as cutting down on the huge postage costs that come with sending out bulky paper packages. This, in turn, cuts down on the amount of fuel used for delivery of the Guides, reducing Optima Products’ overall carbon footprint.
Shaped to resemble a capsule pill, the new USB format Guide will help thousands of Optima Products clients by ‘taking the pain out of detailing.’ It includes:
• The full Designer’s Guide
• 3D interactive Explore-a-Product technical specifications
• Detailed CAD drawings (.dwg files) for designers and architects
• Optima’s Project Photo Galleries
• 3D animations of the Deflection head and Nebula joint solutions
• In-depth case studies of Optima’s latest projects
• Links to Optima’s highly popular Optiman game
The new USB format Designer’s Guide is the latest in a long line of ingenious ideas from the glass partitions specialist to curtail the environmental impact of Optima Products business activities.
Managing Director, Nigel Westray said, “Our products are installed in the offices of some of the most prestigious companies in the UK, companies who are totally committed to Environmental Management, and it is only right that we meet or exceed their standards of environmental best practiceâ€.
Optima Systems’ environmentally ethical practices recently earned the company IS014001 accreditation for its Environmental Management System and the glass partition company has also drawn up plans to make further emissions reductions across all sectors.
Paper copies of the Designer’s Guide will still be available this year by request; however Optima Products aims to faze them out entirely over the coming years.
To find out more about Optima’s eco friendly glass partition systems and services or to learn more about the Designer’s Guide, please visit: http://www.optimasystems.com.
Selecting the correct kind of conservatory blind raises a number of complex issues which do not normally apply to blinds elsewhere in the house. Conservatory blinds are also more costly especially in large structures so it pays to make the correct choice in order to avoid the buyer´s remorse! In this article we will be focusing on the key issues.
It might be obvious but sometimes conservatory owners overlook the most common questions which are simply, “Why do I need conservatory blinds” Do I even want them at all? And if I install them will they do what I need them to do. Ask yourself, “Do I know what I want them to achieve?” If your answer is, “To keep the sun out” Take a look at the wider picture.
1. Reflect huge amounts of solar heat. South facing conservatories or those on bungalows where there is no top storey to offer shade need them.
2. Dissipate the excesses of solar radiation. Structures that face all directions but north usually need blinds that tackle the issue of heat.
3. Reduce uncomfortable areas of direct sunlight. A conservatory that has direct sun light is likely to have uncomfortable levels of heat even in winter on sunny days.
4. Protects furniture and plants
5. Provides privacy and protection
6. Gives the conservatory thermal insulation. In winter even a double glazed conservatory looses lots of heat as it radiates through the glass on those dark evenings. Blinds reduce radiated heat loss.
7. Resistance to dust, moisture and insects especially in rural areas.
8. Reflects light back to the conservatory on dark cold evenings. Conservatory lighting often struggles to illuminate a conservatory without blinds as the light radiates outwards into the night instead of returning into the conservatory.
Both these kinds of conservatory blinds have been around for a while so both can be said to look traditional yet both can be contemporary, this is to do with your choice of fabric. For roof blinds the main drawback with roller blinds is that when the blind is retracted the collection of dust that inevitably builds up gets transferred onto the front side of the fabric as the roller rolls the clean face on the dirt. With pleated blinds all dirt is kept on the protected side of the conservatory blind. Conservatories attract a lot of insects in the summer when doors and windows are open this should to be taken seriously rather than treated as a ´small issue´
Most pleated conservatory blinds can be operated by an extension pole and in most cases it is unnecessary to have lots of control cords. This is not the case with roller blinds.
Roller conservatory blinds offer no particular advantage over pleated blinds and are usually picked for their appearance.
Oakhust Conservatory Blinds are offering a 20% discount on all purchases before the end of May
On May16th, from 7pm to 9:30pm Harmony in the Garden, will be held at the St. Augustine Water and Stone Gallery. The event is hosted by businesses that offer top of the line products and services for homes and gardens. This evening offers discerning homeowners the chance to view ideas for their homes while in a luxurious setting with live music, wine, and cocktails, tastes of “Galanga†Fine Cuisine as well as door prizes from the Jacksonville area business hosts. Homeowners will also be able to enjoy renowned artists’ works displayed in a beautiful Zen garden. Collette Vale is reservations by phone at 904-808-8784. More information about the Water and Stone Gallery and their distinguished artists can be found at www.waterandstonegallery.com.
NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Jacksonville provides the latest in energy efficient LED lighting technology, custom lighting design, professional installation, and outdoor lighting repair. NiteLites outdoor lighting fixtures are weather resistant as they are made of copper and brass and are acid-etched for a durable design.
NiteLites is national outdoor lighting franchise and offers additional information about landscape and architectural lighting online at http://www.NiteLites.com. Throughout the U.S. there NiteLites outdoor lighting locations in over 40 cities including: NiteLites Outdoor Lights of Asheville, Greenville, SC 29601, 29602, 29603, 29605, 29607, 29609, 29611, 29615, 29616, and 29617. NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Atlanta 30305, 30319, 30327, Alpharetta 30004, 30005, 30022, 30305, 30319, Duluth, GA 30097, Marietta 30062, Roswell 30075, and Aiken 29801. NiteLites Architectural Lighting of Augusta, SC, Blythewood, SC 29016, Chapin 29036, Columbia 29290, Elgin 29045, Irmo 29063, Leesville 29070, Lexington 29072, and West Columbia 29169. NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Charleston 29401, 29403, 29407, 29412, 29414, 29419, 29492, Daniel Island 29445, Goose Creek 29445, Hanahan 29410, Isle of Palms 29451, Johns Island 29455, Kiawah Island 29455, Moncks Corner 29461, Mt. Pleasant 29464, North Charleston 29405, Sullivans Island 29482, Summerville 29483, 29485, Wadmalaw Island 29487, and Wando 29492. Arlington 60004, Bradenton 34209, Bernardsville 07924, Brentwood 37027, Bridgewater 08807, Branchburg 08876, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Boca Raton 33433, Bonita Springs 34135, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Central New Jersey 08857, Cape Coral 33914, Centerville 45458, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Charleston 29412, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Charlotte 28269, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Chicago 60604, Chicagoland 60004, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Cincinnati 45243, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Clearwater 33755, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Columbia 29212, NiteLites Landscape Lighting of Columbus 43230, Covington 41011, East Brunswick 08816, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Dayton 45423, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Delaware 19898, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Fort Myers 33908, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Fort Lauderdale 33326, Franklin 37064, Greenville 29601, Hilliard 43026 , NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Houston 77095, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Indianapolis 46032, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach 32240, Jupiter 33458, Katy 77450, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Lima 45805, Livingston 27391, Lynchburg 24083, Madison 53707, Maryland 20854, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Middle Tennessee 37075, Millburn 07041, Morristown 07962, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Mt. Pleasant 29464, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Myrtle Beach 29597, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Naples 34109, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Nashville 37221, Newport 41076, New Providence 07974, North Augusta 29841, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Northern Kentucky 41012, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Northern Virginia 22124, Novi 48377, Oxford 45056, Philadelphia 19118, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Roanoke 24018, Sanibel 33957, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Sarasota 34243, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Southeast Michigan 48380, Spartanburg 29304, Springboro 45066, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of St. Louis 63005, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of St. Petersburg 33715, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Toledo 43699, NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of Tampa 33647, Valrico 33594, Venice 34293, Wilmington 19808, Washington, DC 20510, Watchung 08089, West Caldwell 07006, West Orange 07052, Westerville 43081, and NiteLites Outdoor Lighting of West Palm Beach 33414.
EPR Construction News is a new blog, part of EPR Network, that is going to be focused on and will be covering the construction news and stories from press releases published on EPR Network.
EPR Network (EPR stands for express press release) is one of the nation’s largest press release distribution networks on Web. The EPR’s nationwide network includes 12 State based PR sites, one major PR forum and a number of industry specific PR blogs and what started as a hobby on Internet years ago turned out to be a rapidly growing business today. EPR Network is also known as one of the most trusted (human optimized, published, edited and monitored, spam/scam/low quality PR content free) PR sites on the web with more than 10,000 company and individual press releases distributed per month. EPR Network is putting your press releases on top of all major search engines’ results and is reaching thousands of individuals, companies, PR specialists, media professionals, bloggers and journalists every day.
EPR Network has thousands of clients around the world including global 500 corporations like Hilton Hotels, Barclays Bank, AXA Insurance, Tesco UK, eBay/Skype, Emirates, just to name a few. The network’s PR web sites are currently reaching from 150,000 to sometimes 500,000 unique visitors per month while our viral reach could possibly go to as much as 1M people per month through our presence across various social media sites. EPR Network was established in 2004 and as of May 2008 it had more than 800,000 press releases (pages) published on its network.
