This week, a range of goodies as shiny and new as the items they are helping to sell, so have your own shopping spree with frameless glazing, heavy-duty switchgear and customer-proof carpeting

Electrical switchgear
Hager has added several products to its Ashley metalclad range of electrical switchgear including fuse connection units, a 25 A connection unit, a 45 A double pole switch and a four-gang two-way wall switch. The 45 A double pole switch is intended for heavy duty switching applications including controlling supermarket car park lighting. The products are supplied with painted face plates and what the company says are specially developed, tough plastic back boxes.
Hager
www.hager.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 301

Wall fixings
Fixings specialist Rawlplug has launched a wall plug called Uno that it says is suitable for any material, from masonry to sheet metal. The plug can be used for mediumweight tasks, including sanitaryware and electrical fittings. It comes in five colour-coded sizes, from 5 to 10 mm.
Rawlplug
www.unoplug.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 302

Shopfront glazing in a retail mecca
Solaglas Structural Contracting was responsible for this shop front in London’s Oxford Street. It is for international fashion retailer Esprit and extends over three storeys. It features double height, frameless entrance doors with the frameless shop front secured using the company’s Spider Glass bolted system. SSG’s Parsol tinted glass was also used as screens to act as a backdrop for the merchandise on the first and second floors.
Solaglas Structural Contracting
www.saint-gobain-glass.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 303

Emergency lighting
Lighting solutions specialist TridonicAtco has launched a combined electronic Ballast and emergency lighting module called PC CFL ComboCONNECT. This controls florescent lamps and provides back-up electricity in the event of a power cut. Its interface enables expansion modules to be connected, so it can be used as a regular emergency lighting unit or upgraded to the internet-controlled DALI system. It can provide back-up power for up to three hours; the battery has deep discharge protection and a recharge period of 24 hours.
TridonicAtco
www.tridonicatco.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 304

Durable entrance mat
Flooring specialist Gradus has launched a heavy-duty primary entrance mat called Esplanade Plus Open. It has aluminium scrapers and nylon wipers with flexible PVC hinges, which Gradus says gives flexibility underfoot.

It also has holes incorporated into the linking strips so dirt can pass through into the matwell. The company has launched two secondary barrier carpets, Boulevard 2000 and 5000. These are designed to look like conventional carpet but act as barrier mats. The 2000 is available in eight colours and 5000 in 10 colours.
Gradus
www.gradusworld.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 305

Compound for levelling floors
Sika has added a latex-modified, cement-based self-levelling compound to its range of floor preparation products. It is intended for smoothing uneven floors prior to laying new floor coverings and is suitable for applying over solid mosaic and wood block floors, as well as suspended chipboard, plywood and tongue-and-groove floors. It can be applied in a thickness ranging from 6 mm to a feather edge. It can fill deeper depressions if mixed with sand and the company's SikaBond SBR.
Sika
www.sika.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 306

Cold resistant lamps
Lamp maker Greenstock says its Aura Thermo fluorescent tubes have been upgraded to offer up to 60,000 hours life. The firm says the lamp operates at temperatures as low as -20°C making it suitable for applications such as car parking, signage and cold-store lighting. It consists of a 38 mm diameter insulating glass tube containing a 26 mm diameter fluorescent tube. It is available in a choice of outputs ranging from 18 W to 58 W, and a choice of colours. It fits T12 type luminaires.
Greenstock
www.greenstock.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 307

Recorder for CCTVs
Mitsubishi Electric has introduced a 16 channel digital recorder that captures images from CCTV cameras. The DX-TL5000E can record up to 200 pictures a second, and play them back at 800 a second. It can accommodate up to three hard disk drives and can be connected to seven external drives to increase storage capacity. The recorder’s other features include full networking capability, dual multiplexer outputs, multi-channel audio recording and a DVD/CD copy function.
Mitsubishi Electric
www.mitsubishielectric.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 308

Convenient bolts
Fixings maker the Blind Bolt Company has added two products to its range. The TW bolt is intended for thin wall situations including cladding, and is suitable for applications such as attaching signage. The HD bolt is a heavy-duty product for use with girders and masonry support systems. Both are intended to provide a quick and easy fixing in spaces where access is restricted.
Blind Bolt Company
www.blindbolt.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 309

Multipurpose carpets
Armstrong Floor Products has launched 12 carpet and carpet tile ranges. These include Desso Bizz floor tiles, which are available in a choice of 10 colours and are intended for a wide range of environments, including retail. A rectangular format carpet tile called Desso Libra Planks measures 25 × 100 cm and can be combined with square tiles to individualise designs. The products also include DLW Scala luxury vinyl tiles and DLW linoleum.
Armstrong Floor Products
www.Armstrong-europe.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 310

Movers and makers

  • The British Standards Institute has published the fifth of six parts of BS EN 1279, its standard for insulating glass units. This means that insulating glass unit makers are now in a position to comply with the Construction Products Directive, which comes into force in February 2007. BSI offers Kitemark accreditation for BS EN 1279 and says 300 companies have been issued with a Kitemark licence to date.

  • The British Woodworking Federation has published a 64-page specifiers guide. It contains details of the BWF’s members including shop interior specialists, door and window makers and architectural joinery firms. Users can search for BWF members under the main disciplines by location.

  • Wood flooring retailer Floors-2-Go has set up a contracts division intended to serve housebuilders, contractors, architects and specifiers. It offers a full specification, supply, delivery and fitting service. Specifiers can choose from what the company describes as the largest choice of real wood and laminates in the UK. It has also invested in a Midlands based warehouse so it can make deliveries nationally within 48 hours.

  • Building products and materials distributor Wolseley has completed the second phase of custody certification for its wood products. This will mean that a total of 20 Build Center branches stock the products. The company says it intends all 40 of its branches to have certification in place by the end of this year. This includes the Forest Stewardship Council and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and it extends to more than 1500 products.

  • Pilkington Building Products has announced a downloadable suite of literature called The Guide to Glazing for Safety and Security. It is aimed at architects and specifiers and includes information on Building Regulations, relevant test methods and details of how to satisfy requirements in critical locations. It is available in pdf format from www.pilkington.com

  • The Centre for Accessible Environments has teamed up with RIBA Enterprises and automated doors specialist Dorma to publish a specifiers’ handbook entitled Automatic Door Systems. The 34-page guide is said to cover all aspects of automatic door systems for use in non-dwellings and offers guidance including how to understand the types of door systems available, factors contributing to design and specification and related legislation, including Building Regulations and standards.

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