Latest CBA Newsletter - Concrete Block Association

CBA 

supporting the concrete block industry 

update 

spring 2013 

| CBA at ECOBUILD 

| CE Marking here in July 

| Carbon Negative Aggregates 

| Is timber frame sustainable? 

| Accredited Construction Details 

| Market trends 

www.cba-blocks.org.uk

Welcome 

Cover image - Alan Peters and Andy Littler at ECOBUILD 

Chairman’s report 

Andy Littler 

Chairman and CBA Update Editor 

Welcome to my fourth attempt to give 

you the members a summary of what 

is happening and important to our 

businesses, this time for 2013. Please 

take time to peruse some important 

articles, in particular the revised, “reasons 

for selecting concrete blocks”, which 

should be given to all sales and technical 

staff, posted on the walls of sales and 

distribution offices and used as training 

materials for new starters. Other vital 

reading is Gerry Pettit’s advice on CE 

Marking and the Concrete Centre 

briefing note on perceptions on timber 

sustainability. 

The state we are in - 

Better times ahead? 

2013 was a brutal year for our industry, 

there is no other way to describe it. A 

triumvirate of the inability of people to 

borrow, in Grant Shapps one of the most 

ineffective and dissembling housing 

ministers to date and a record wet year 

combined to see housing starts fall to a 

low of only 89,000 in England. I quote 

England because that is where members 

sell most of their blocks – add about 15% 

for Wales and Scotland combined to get a 

mainland UK figure. 

Looking at what has happened since 2007 

this represents a halving of new starts from 

6 years ago. (See table below) 

According to BIS aggregate block sales 

have now flat lined for 3 and a half years 

at c. 36 million m 2 of which 39% are in the 

lightweight category. BIS records similar 

Commodity BIS Index 2010 

average 

Concrete blocks, 

bricks, tiles 

and flags 

sales for 2012 compared to 2011. 

I would put the figure closer to a 5% 

fall from 2011 to 2012. The discrepancy 

is probably due to BIS overstating the 

October, November and December 2012 

figures, all of which are still estimates as I 

write. 

BIS records aircrete sales as falling 6% 

2011 to 2012, this will presumably be 

further exacerbated as Quarter 4 figures 

are adjusted to actuals. There continues 

a small but steady move from aircrete to 

aggregate. 

CBA continues to represent over two thirds 

of all block manufacturing in the UK with 

Tarmac Building Products and Lignacite 

sadly still noticeably absent. I continue to 

invite them to join, along with all other 

block manufacturers. The association 

would be richer for not only their subs but 

also their marketing and technical input. 

Year Housing starts - England Completions - England 

2012 89,000 111,400 

2011 110,300 116,000 

2010 103,300 103,200 

2009 79,400 118,500 

2008 98,900 143,500 

2007 178,300 176,100 

BIS Index Dec 2012 

% change 

120.8 127.6 +5.6% 

Cement 133.5 144.1 +7.9% 

Aggregates 119.1 118. 2 -0.8% 

Fabricated steel 123.9 124.8 +0.9% 

Gas oil 99.4 128.1 +28.9% 

Electricity 166.2 177.7 +6.9% 

Natural Gas 123.7 159.1 +28.6% 

And for easy reference during the same period. 

CPI 114.5 125.0 +9.2% 

RPI 223.6 256.8 +14.8% 

Market shares amongst block producers 

are changing with independents 

making headway. Following cessation 

of operations at their Ford, Bristol and 

Durham factories and the effective closure 

of half of the flagship Hilton Main site 

Tarmac BP have probably fallen from over 

a fifth share in 2007/8 to about an eighth 

today. They remain for sale. 

Prices for blocks compared to block 

making raw materials continue, in the 

main, to move in the wrong direction as 

shown above. 

Note that cement has increased in price 

by 8% at the same time as gas and gas 

oil have moved forward 29%, a potential 

argument for reducing curing times or 

temperatures at the expense of increased 

cement content. 

When all economic indicators are factored 

in most commentators would forecast 

block sales as improving only marginally in 

2013, BDS Marketing for instance predict 

+2%. Despite a terrible weather affected 

start I am more bullish. The combined 

effects of Funding for Lending , First Buy 

and some government stimulus to social 

housing should start to increase housing 

starts. I am sticking with my bullish January 

Newsletter forecast of a 6 to 7% increase. 

2 www.cba-blocks.org.uk

Raising The Bar 

and concrete block 

sustainability 

credentials 

Raising the bar is a BPCF initiative to visibly 

improve the safety and environmental 

performance of precast concrete. If you 

are starting to turn off at this point think 

money instead – companies with good 

records on safety and environmental 

performance are better run and more 

profitable – trust me. 

Through records submitted to BPCF we 

now have a really good handle on some 

tangible measured key performance 

indicators, (kpi’s and apologies for the 

jargon) representing over 60% of blocks 

manufactured in the UK. 

Let us have a look at some of these and 

take heart at how good some of the 

figures already are. (Shown right) 

Due to the nature of manufacturing and 

the comparatively low product strengths 

blocks are one of the lowest generators of 

waste and the lowest category in energy 

usage for precast concrete. For instance 

tonne for tonne aircrete uses 10 times 

as much energy in manufacture, a figure 

subsequently reduced to 3 to 5 times per 

equivalent volume. However we could 

do better and what these stats give to 

manufacturers – that’s you – are targets 

to aim at and beat. If a factory’s combined 

energy was 50% greater than the average 

shown above then someone should be 

asking why. 

It should be possible to target some 

reductions by the end of 2014, in 

particular :- 

kWhrs per tonne of product to sub 20 

through investment in energy 

monitoring and clearly set out and 

followed work systems 

Alternative cements as a % of all 

cements to 25% through 

experimentation and investment in 

silo capacity 

Secondary aggregates as a % of all 

aggregates to 25%, this is currently 

probably an upper limit due to limited 

availability 

Litres of mains water per tonne of 

product to 35, by stopping leakage, 

wastage and by rainwater harvesting 

If your company has yet to fully sign 

up to Raising The Bar, (and it is a BPCF 

requirement in 2013), then I would urge 

you to do so. Once your figures are 

calculated you can compare performance 

against the industry standard. If you 

do not have the information then your 

performance may be Good, Bad or even – 

Ugly. 

REAP 

KPI Description 

Energy and emissions 

Cement content 

Aggregate content 

Packaging 

Water 

Waste 

Electricity and fuels 

Through CBA I am participating in the 

catchily titled Resource Efficency Action 

Programme For Concrete Products And 

Clay Bricks. This WRAP funded initiative 

aims to cut waste and use resources such 

as energy, aggregates and packaging more 

effectively amongst other things. The stats 

above will be invaluable in progressing this 

programme. 

Units quoted 

Fabric First 

Concrete block 

manufacture 

kWhr/tonne of product 21.2 

Kgs CO 2 

/tonne of product 

using conversion factors 

Total tonnes all cements/ 

tonne of product 

Alternative cements as 

% of all cementitious 

materials 

Tonnes of all aggregates 

per tonne of product 

Secondary aggregate as % 

of all aggregates 

Kgs all packaging/tonne of 

product 

Litres mains water per 

tonne of product 

Total waste kgs/tonne of 

product 

Waste to landfill (%) of 

total waste 

Waste to landfill (kgs/tonne 

of product) 

Combined energy from 

all fuels and electricity all 

converted automatically via 

the input spreadsheet in to 

kWhrs/tonne of product 

6.0 

0.089 

19.3% 

0.884 

23.8% 

1.47 

39.4 

19.21 

0.56% 

0.11 

21.24 

I attended a conference organised by 

the timber frame and SIPs, (self insulated 

panels) industry recently. As always I was 

present to put the case for masonry across 

and was able to do that both via questions 

from the floor and by talking to delegates. 

In practice the conference was more about 

promoting energy efficient building fabric 

at the expense of so called “Ecobling”, 

solar panels, wind turbines, wind cowls, 

heat pumps, wood chip boilers and the 

like. It was clear that actually all makers of 

construction materials are facing similar 

challenges in pursuit of lower energy 

operating cost and lower carbon emitting 

buildings. 

Continued 

www.cba-blocks.org.uk 3

Continued from page 3 

A well respected leading architect in this 

field, Richard Partington summed up the 

challenges to improving a buildings energy 

efficiency via its fabric rather neatly as :- 

Improving elemental fabric U-values 

Reducing thermal by pass 

Reducing thermal bridging 

Improving air tightness 

It was encouraging to realise that CBA 

through Gerry Pettit and the technical 

committee and assisted by work from 

BPCF, Concrete Centre and the MMA 

technical committee have been working 

on these things a lot recently. 

We have for instance demonstrated that 

external walls of U-value 0.18 can be built 

in masonry with conventional 100mm 

and 150mm full fill cavities depending on 

the insulation used – two exemples of this 

were on show at ECOBUILD. 

In a similar vein thermal by pass was 

tackled in our work on separating walls 

and the production of new robust details 

which enabled blocks to continue to be 

used in this important application. 

Reducing thermal bridging will be 

comprehensively bottomed out as we 

publish a full set of accredited construction 

details for a variety of block densities 

on our website by the end of April and 

possibly on a Masonry portal as well. It 

is oft stated that 30% of heat loss in a 

Timber Frame Market Share in England 

30% 

25% 

20% 

15% 

10% 

5% 

20% 

19% 

17% 

14% 

modern well insulated dwelling is now 

through thermal bridging. 

On air tightness we have proved through 

carefully recorded trials that values as low 

as 3 to 5 m 3 /(hr/m 2 ) are regularly achieved 

using masonry construction, as good as 

off site solutions. The mandatory value is 

under 10. 

We should be happy to pursue “Fabric 

First” and I am sure the Timber frame and 

SIP manufacturers are happy to beat the 

drum for “Get Britain Building”. 

Timber frame continues 

to lose market share 

Following the mini love in with timber 

frame manufacturers above you will be 

13% 13% 

Q1 2010 Q2 2010 Q3 2010 Q4 2010 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2011 Q4 2011 

11% 

12% 

11% 

relieved to know that I remain delighted 

that their share of new home starts has 

fallen to a new low of 8% in England. Two 

to three years ago it was 20%. 

Whilst this figure will be unusual 

nevertheless this is vindication of all the 

efforts made by MMA/CBA/British Precast 

and Concrete Centre. It is excellent news 

and explains why block output has fallen 

significantly less than housing starts 

recently. 

Returning to the mini love in I could not 

help smile as one of the timber frame 

companies MD described his industry as 

“full of busy fools”– sound in the faintest 

bit familiar? 

All the best for 2013. 

10% 

Andy Littler, CBA Chairman 

11% 

8% 

Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 

Ecobuild 2013 a huge success 

By any standards the CBA stand at 

ECOBUILD this year was a minor 

triumph. Visitors engaged with 

over the three days totalled 331 

of which 66% were architects, 

surveyors, building control 

officers, builders, developers and 

self builders. Last year the figures 

were 155 and 52% respectively – 

that’s a visitor increase of 113%! 

The stand concentrated on 

promoting the message that 

external wall u-values of 0.18 

were achievable with standard 

masonry wall constructions. 

Central to the display were two 

cut away section real walls built 

from a range of concrete blocks, 

cast stone, insulation, mortar, 

wall ties and Hanson clay bricks. 

Undoubtedly it was this feature 

that was responsible for the surge 

in quantity and quality of visitors. 

A huge vote of thanks goes to 

Owen Gallagher of Plasmor who 

not only had the idea for the wall 

but then arranged for its design 

and build. 

Another idea implemented after 

the 2013 debrief, also Owen’s, 

was to give out USB sticks 

containing all the CBA technical 

data sheets and Part L advice. 

These were exceptionally well 

received. 

Synergies were achieved with the 

Concrete Centre running seminars 

on thermal mass and Part L nearby 

and with the adjacent Forticrete 

display of architectural masonry. 

My thanks also to Alan Peters of 

Hanson, Ben Olive of CEMEX and 

Mayuri Dhank of BPCF for doing a 

great job manning the stand. 


statistics 

GB Deliveries – CBA Stats and National Statistics for Construction from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). 

40,000,000 

35,000,000 

30,000,000 

25,000,000 

Square Metres 

20,000,000 

15,000,000 

10,000,000 

5,000,000 

0 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 

2006 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 

2007 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 

2008 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 

2009 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 

2010 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 

2011 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 

2012 

l BIS Deliveries MAT -Dense (m 2 ) 

l BIS Aircrete Block Deliveries MAT (m 2 ) 

l BIS Deliveries MAT Lightweight (m 2 ) 

l CBA Deliveries MAT-Dense (m 2 ) 

l CBA Deliveries MAT-Lightweight (m 2 ) 

CBA figures based on 13 reporting members 

Table on Construction output by sector 

Construction out put by sector - £ billion @ 2005 constant prices 

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 

All New Housing 20.6 21.1 20.7 18.6 13.8 17.2 18.3 17.9 

Private Commercial and Industrial 31.8 34.4 37.3 36.5 27.1 26.9 27.4 24.7 

Number of Housebuilding starts in GB 209000 209000 216000 104000 85000 112000 98000 90000 


modern masonry alliance 

Made in Britain 

92 pence in every £1 spent on construction 

stays in the UK and that’s because we 

make it here! This is the first and most 

important point I make to all national and 

local politician’s every time I meet them 

and I would encourage you to do the 

same. 

Add to this the fact that the construction 

of 100,000 new homes adds 1% to GDP 

and you will see that no other industry can 

claim such a return on investment for UK 

PLC, furthermore no other industry can 

respond as quickly to deliver the jobs and 

growth that our economy so badly needs. 

So what about the short term? With a 

“Triple Dip Recession” a distinct possibility 

and a decline in the overall housing market 

in the last quarter of 2012 you could be 

forgiven for being a little depressed. My 

belief, however, is a little more upbeat. The 

68% cut in capital grant to social housing 

hit hard in 2012, with many programs 

coming to an end and new ones shelved. 

I am confident that we will see something 

of a bounce-back in this sector with new 

methods of funding secured, particularly 

from the Bond market, which will result 

in more social homes built in 2013 than 

in 2012. We are also working closely 

with local authorities who will enter the 

affordable rent and homes for sale market 

in 2013, making use of land they own and 

accessing the very low interest rates that 

are available to the more secure public 

sector borrowers. 

In the private sector we will continue 

to see the top seven house builders 

dominate the market, although the 

“Funding for Lending” scheme and the 

“Loan Guarantees Scheme” may see 

some smaller house builders return to the 

market. Either way, I expect the bigger 

house builders to build more than last year, 

so in total I see the market being at least 

10% better than last year. Add to this the 

real possibility that the Budget takes place 

on the same day as the CBA AGM; it will 

further stimulate the housing market as 

the Government desperately seeks ways 

to drive jobs and growth ahead of a 2015 

General Election. 

One thing is for sure, “Local” is back in 

fashion and CBA members are in a great 

place to ensure that any projects that do 

go ahead are sourced locally, and that 

the local politicians really begin to get 

the fact that local goods and local skilled 

labour make for a successful economy. I 

would implore each of you to invite not 

just your local MP, but the leader of your 

Council to come and see what you do 

and understand that it is critical that it is 

“Made in Britain”. 

Demand is improving but not quickly 

enough. The decision by Moody’s to 

remove our AAA credit rating is the final 

warning our Chancellor will get. We are 

repeating our call for the funding for 

25000 additional public rented homes to 

be built in 2013/14. Our industry stands 

ready to build these homes and in doing so 

create demand for our bricks and blocks, 

and create much needed jobs. A history 

lesson in economic recovery from previous 

recessions will confirm the building new 

homes delivers jobs and growth. 

www.jobsandgrowth.co.uk 

MMA fights on for Masonry 

The Modern Masonry Alliance (MMA) 

has led and won many fights to ensure 

the future success of our sector winning 

market share and completely reversing 

10 years of growth in the use of timber 

frame. Our achievements include: 

The highest market share for many 

years – The masonry share of the English 

new homes market now stands at 92% 

and in the UK at 88%. 

Modern Methods of Construction 

Scrapped – The MMA successfully 

negotiated the removal of this 

requirement, which resulted in the timber 

frame share of the social housing market 

growing to 60%. 

Timber Frame Fire – The MMA has 

put the use of timber frame fires on the 

agenda of Local and National Government 

and other decision influencers, which 

has resulted in many more masonry 

specifications. 

Timber frame fire at Neilston Road, Paisley, 22nd 

February 2013. The BBC Scotland report stated 

that, “...part of a row of terraced houses, had 

yet to have their brickwork applied”. 

Wood First – The MMA successfully 

reversed Hackney’s decision to put Wood 

First on all developments and remain 

ready to do the same wherever this threat 

surfaces in the future. 

Accredited Details (ACD) – The MMA 

Led the fight with Government to stop a 

compulsory ACD Scheme being introduced 

that would have cost CBA members 

around £1,000 per construction detail. 

Consequential Improvements – The 

MMA stood up against Government and 

other building industry trade bodies to 

fight this proposal which would have 

seriously damaged our home extension 

market. This policy is now consigned to 

room 101! 

Get Britain Building – The MMA 

launched and drives this campaign which 

has put housing at the centre of all three 

political parties recovery program. There 

is now a 550 million pound “Get Britain 

Building Fund” and a range of schemes 

including “New Buy” which will deliver 

more homes in 2013 than we experienced 

in 2012. 


modern masonry alliance 

The fight of course continues - we still 

have lots to do if we are to win hearts 

and minds on the sustainability agenda. 

Our “ Built to last 150 Years” message is 

beginning to be understood by the myriad 

of design influencers who believed that 

shipping timber half way across the world 

and building homes that perform badly 

and last 60 years was the only answer to 

sustainability. 

As we continue to erode the market share 

of timber frame construction across the 

UK, we must expect the timber industry to 

fight back as they have a lot at stake. The 

Pan-European “Wood First” Campaign 

comes 4 years after we launched our 

brand “Masonry First”. The wood industry 

is a global one with funding coming 

from Canada, Austria, Scandinavia and 

Russia, all of which have a lot to gain 

from dumping timber into the UK market 

as a substitute for blocks and bricks 

manufactured in the UK. 

With the UKGBC and BRE lending their 

support to the increased use of timber we 

must redouble our efforts to ensure they 

do not succeed. 

Everybody needs to understand that the 

loss of the brick and block manufacturing 

sector would be permanent and this 

would seriously damage the economic 

prospects UK Plc. It will result in adverse 

balance of payments, lost employment 

opportunities and inferior housing for 

future generations. 

Thank you for your continued support, it 

is imperative that we all stand together 

and consolidate on the market share wins 

that we have achieved. We will never 

have a better opportunity to settle the 

sustainability debate, once and for all, in 

our favour of masonry construction and 

the Resource Efficiency Action Plan ( REAP) 

will prove invaluable in achieving this. 

If you have not already done so please 

don’t forget to sign up to free news alerts 

at www.masonryfirst.co.uk 

A Guide to Government Housing Incentives 

92 pence in every £1 spent on construction 

stays in the UK and that’s because we 

make it here! This is the first and most 

important point I make to all national and 

local politician’s every time I meet them 

and I would encourage you to do the 

same. 

Add to this the fact that the construction 

of 100,000 new homes adds 1% to GDP 

and you will see that no other industry can 

claim such a return on investment for UK 

PLC, furthermore no other industry can 

respond as quickly to deliver the jobs and 

growth that our economy so badly needs. 

So what about the short term? With a 

“Triple Dip Recession” a distinct possibility 

and a decline in the overall housing market 

in the last quarter of 2012 you could be 

forgiven for being a little depressed. My 

belief, however, is a little more upbeat. The 

68% cut in capital grant to social housing 

hit hard in 2012, with many programs 

coming to an end and new ones shelved. 

I am confident that we will see something 

of a bounce-back in this sector with new 

methods of funding secured, particularly 

from the Bond market, which will result 

in more social homes built in 2013 than 

in 2012. We are also working closely 

with local authorities who will enter the 

affordable rent and homes for sale market 

in 2013, making use of land they own and 

accessing the very low interest rates that 

are available to the more secure public 

sector borrowers. 

In the private sector we will continue 

to see the top seven house builders 

dominate the market, although the 

“Funding for Lending” scheme and the 

“Loan Guarantees Scheme” may see 

some smaller house builders return to the 

market. Either way, I expect the bigger 

house builders to build more than last year, 

so in total I see the market being at least 

10% better than last year. Add to this the 

real possibility that the Budget takes place 

on the same day as the CBA AGM; it will 

further stimulate the housing market as 

the Government desperately seeks ways 

to drive jobs and growth ahead of a 2015 

General Election. 

One thing is for sure, “Local” is back in 

fashion and CBA members are in a great 

place to ensure that any projects that do 

go ahead are sourced locally, and that 

the local politicians really begin to get 

the fact that local goods and local skilled 

labour make for a successful economy. I 

would implore each of you to invite not 

just your local MP, but the leader of your 

Council to come and see what you do 

and understand that it is critical that it is 

“Made in Britain”. 

Demand is improving but not quickly 

enough. The decision by Moody’s to 

remove our AAA credit rating is the final 

warning our Chancellor will get. We are 

repeating our call for the funding for 

25000 additional public rented homes to 

be built in 2013/14. Our industry stands 

ready to build these homes and in doing so 

create demand for our bricks and blocks, 

and create much needed jobs. A history 

lesson in economic recovery from previous 

recessions will confirm the building new 

homes delivers jobs and growth. www. 

jobsandgrowth.co.uk 

Alarm Bells continue to sound 

The simple fact that timber burns very 

aggressively means that there is a high 

probability of a total building loss and risk 

to life as a result of a major fire. 

Recently a new £4.5 million Environmental 

Centre in Bradford under construction 

using cross-laminated timber burnt 

down, proving that this was far from 

being “Britain’s most Sustainable building 

“which is how the owners described it. In 

Wolverhampton a large block of owneroccupied 

flats built using SIP’s panels burnt 

to the ground for the second time in 5 

years. 

We continue to work hard with Senor Fire 

Fighters, the Fire Brigade Union, Insurance 

Companies and Government to prevent 

the use of timber frame, particularly in 

high rise buildings and care homes. 

We are also producing a design guide to 

fire detailing in masonry structures as part 

of our strategy to prevent loss of life and 

ensure our buildings are constructed from 

non-combustible masonry built to last 150 

years. 


selling our product 

Reasons to be cheerful Part L - concrete blocks 

Set out below is a checklist of reasons 

for promoting concrete blocks as an ideal 

building material. I would ask all members 

to convey these consistent selling points to 

specifiers, architects, builders, developers 

and merchants. Even if the order is not 

won on that occasion, it could benefit 

another member and maybe you the next 

time around. 

Tried and tested 

building method 

In use for over 100 years with 

almost no reported failures A masonry 

constructed home will last 150 years 

plus. Consider this against an NHBC 

60 year guarantee based on concerns 

on timber life 

Allows huge flexibility in design 

Forgiving of structural alterations 

Available off the shelf 

Stocked by 4000 builders merchants 

for next day delivery 

Industry standard sizes, strengths and 

densities 

Thermal and acoustic characteristics 

well documented 

Made in the UK 

90 plants operated by 30 competing 

companies. Two thirds of blocks 

are delivered less than 50 miles. Local 

production of this high bulk, low value 

material makes sense and provides year 

round quality manufacturing 

employment 

Meets 2010 Part L Regs 

Inherent thermal mass 

repays embodied carbon 

within 11 years 

High recycled content 

Lightweight blocks regularly contain 

70% plus recycled furnace bottom ash 

(by product of coal fired power 

generation) 

Dense blocks typically contain 10% 

of fly ash (by product of coal fired 

power generation) crushed glass and 

china clay waste also used 

Unsaleable by-product crushed rock 

fines are a major dense block raw 

material 

All block waste from manufacturing is 

re-used 

Easy to recycle as C & D material at end 

of life 

Completely fireproof 

Timber frame structures are particularly 

susceptible to fires during construction 

and have caught light as a result of 

later plumbing and electrical repairs 

Flood resistant 

Flood damage if far more serious in 

timber framed buildings compared to 

masonry 

Capable of meeting 

all levels in Code for 

Sustainable Homes 

Compliant with 

all Social Housing 

Requirements 

Low embodied carbon 

According to an NHBC foundation 

Nov 2011 report there is no significant 

difference masonry vs timber frame 

Technical information 

available on the CBA 

website 

Comprehensive set of technical data 

sheets on applications, Part L 2010 

guide, U-value calculator and 

Accredited Construction Details on 

thermal bridging all available at http:// 

www.cba-blocks.org.uk/ No 

registration necessary. 

18 wall fabric designs giving U values 

from 0.20 to 0.28 W/m 2 K listed in the 

CBA guide “Aggregate Block 

Solutions” 

10 approved designs for separating 

wall thermal by pass also shown. U 

value of 0.00 W/m 2 K can be used in 

SAP 2009 

Ideal background for 

dry lining, wet finishes 

and fixings 

‘93% of people would prefer to 

live in a masonry home.’ (Oct 2009 ICM poll) 


aw materials 

Carbon negative lightweight aggregates 

The 30,000 tonne per year processing facility at Brandon, Suffolk. 

Carbon Negative Aggregate 

Carbon8 Aggregates have pioneered 

production of the world’s first carbon 

negative aggregate using Accelerated 

Carbonation Technology. The company is 

currently operating a 30,000 tonne per 

year facility at Brandon in Suffolk, and is in 

the process of establishing both a second 

and third site in the UK. The patented 

manufacturing process permanently 

captures carbon dioxide as the medium 

for treating and binding materials to form 

a pelletised aggregate product known as 

C8Agg. 

Accelerated Carbonation Technology 

Accelerated Carbonation Technology was 

developed at the University of Greenwich 

for the treatment of industrial wastes 

and contaminated soils. Many thermal 

wastes exhibit a natural reaction with 

carbon dioxide, resulting in the formation 

of artificial limestone (carbonate). Under 

controlled conditions, this natural process 

can be significantly accelerated and used 

to cement neighbouring grains together to 

form a dense hardened mass. This process 

has the effect of chemically stabilising and 

physically encapsulating any contaminants 

in the waste. 

Carbon Footprint 

Natural aggregate, of which there is 

an increasing shortage particularly in 

the South-East, has a carbon footprint 

of approximately 1.73kg CO 2 

/tonne at 

the quarry gate. Recycled or secondary 

aggregate is slightly higher at 1.91kg 

CO 2 

/tonne. Transport of the aggregate 

adds considerably to the footprint, so 

that finding a local aggregate supply is 

one of the principal aims of reducing the 

embodied carbon of construction projects. 

The use of accelerated carbonation in the 

manufacture of a secondary aggregate, 

where carbon dioxide is permanently 

captured in the aggregate, results in a 

carbon footprint which is substantially 

negative (up to –44kgCO 2 

/tonne). 

Properties of C8Agg 

Oven dried 

Kg/m 3 

Water 

absorption 

% 

C8Agg is commercially competitive to 

locally sourced natural aggregate. It has 

a density of less than 1200kg/m 3 and is 

therefore classified as a lightweight and 

tested to BS EN 13055 accordingly. 

C8Agg has been approved as a product 

by the Environment Agency through their 

Modernising Waste Panel ‘End of Waste’ 

process. In a written statement, the panel 

highlighted that C8Agg blocks “…show 

no worse detriment to the environment 

Mean 

crushing 

resistance 

MPa 

than blocks manufactured with virgin 

aggregate”. 

The aggregate is currently being used 

by one of the UK’s largest independent 

block manufacturer, Lignacite Ltd, in the 

manufacture of dense and medium dense 

concrete blocks. It can also be used in 

lean-mix concrete, precast, and other 

bound applications. 

When C8Agg is used as a natural 

aggregate replacement in Lignacite’s 

blocks, the blocks perform as well as 

those without the Carbon8 aggregate 

in BS EN 771-3 tests. The blocks can 

also be demonstrated to be carbon 

negative, ranging from –5 to –14 kg/tonne 

depending upon the proportion used. 

Giles De Lotbiniere, Owner of Lignacite 

says; “We have evolved our original 

Lignacite mix to include C8Agg material 

which, without any structural compromise, 

produces a sustainable and genuinely 

carbon negative block”. 

www.c8s.co.uk 

Water 

soluble 

chloride % 

Acid soluble 

sulfate % 

C8Agg 1020 18.4 >11.05 5.3 0.24 

Lytag 750 27.1 6.5 0.1 0.4 

Leca 350 30 1.1

TECHNICAL REPORT 

Construction Products Regulation (CPR) 

The CPR comes into effect on 

1 July 2013 and after that date 

all construction products which 

have harmonised European 

Standards need to: 

Have a Declaration of Performance 

(DoP) 

Be CE marked 

Masonry units are covered by the EN 771 

series of harmonised standards so every 

product manufactured to it needs to have 

a DoP and be CE marked from that date. 

as possible as you are not supposed to 

give information on the listed essential 

characteristics elsewhere if you do not give 

it in the DoP. For essential characteristics 

not required either for the intended 

application or for use in the UK you can 

state NPD (No Performance Determined). 

You can, of course, give additional product 

information demanded by the market in 

your technical literature but not in the 

DoP. The DoP refers just to your legal 

obligations under the CPR. 

The list of Essential Characteristics was 

drawn up based on whether there was a 

regulatory requirement to provide a value 

in at least one EU member state. With so 

many EU member states it is therefore a 

long list and covers properties which are 

not required by UK regulations but are 

often supplied to meet market demands. 

DECLARATION OF PERFORMANCE (Example) 

No. (your product code) 

Although strictly not yet possible under 

the terms of the CPR, it is generally agreed 

that, in the UK your DoPs can be on a 

website (but a customer can ask for a 

paper copy). 

The EN 771 series of standards are in the 

process of being amended to: 

Make them CPR compliant 

Give examples of DoPs and CE marks 

Allow abbreviated DoPs and CE 

marking to be used 

Both BPCF and The Construction Products 

Association (CPA) are in the process 

of separately negotiating with Trading 

Standards to obtain agreements for 

their members to provide CE marking 

electronically. Any agreement reached 

would only be applicable to supply in 

the UK and Trading Standards will only 

accept electronic CE marking of products 

supplied by members of BPCF or CPA as 

appropriate. 

These arrangements have not yet been 

finalised. If you would prefer to provide 

CE marking electronically that leaves the 

final preparation of your CE marking 

arrangements in limbo until an agreement 

is reached. However, there are no major 

issues with DoPs so these should now be 

prepared. 

The following example is based on the 

simplified example in the draft amended 

Annex ZA to EN 771-3. 

1. Product type: (your product code) 

2. Identification: (your product code) 

3. Intended use: in walls, columns and partitions 

4. Manufacturer: 

AnyCo SA, Any Street 1 

B-1050 Brussels, Belgium 

Email: anyco.sa@provider.be 

5. Authorised Representative: Not applicable 

6. AVCP System 4 

7. Harmonized standard: EN 771-3 

8. ETA: Not relevant 

9. Declared performance 

Essential characteristics 

Dimensions (1) 

Configuration (1) 

Compressive 

strength(1) 

Dimensional stability (1) 

Length 

Width 

Height 

Tolerance category 

Shape and features 

Group according to 

EN 1996-1-1 (EC6) 

Mean compressive 

strength 

Direction of load 

Unit category 

Performance 

440 mm 

100 mm 

215 mm 

D1 

NPD 

Group 1 

7.3 N/mm² 

Perpendicular to bed faces 

Category II 

0.5mm/m (measured value) 

Bond strength (1) Shear bond strength 0.15N/mm 2 (tabulated value) 

Reaction to fire (2) 

Water absorption (3) 

Water vapour permeability (4) 

Flexural bond strength 

NPD 

A1 (Commission Decision 

2000/605/EC) 

< 3 g/m² (measured value) 

5/15 (tabulated value) 

Harmonized 

technical 

specification 

EN 771-3: 

2013 

You have to assign a number to each 

DoP and there should be a DoP for each 

product but you could, for example, 

group all widths of a given strength of 

a product range under one DoP. It is 

recommended that you use your existing 

product code as your DoP number. 

The example and your copy of BS EN 

771-3 should be sufficient to enable you to 

complete your DoPs but some explanatory 

notes are given. 

The DoP is essentially a formatted data 

sheet. You should complete it as fully 

Direct airborne sound 

insulation (5)(in end 

conditions)/ [Density 

and configuration] 

Gross density 1900 kg/m 3 

Configuration; dimensions 

and tolerances 

Thermal resistance/ or density and configuration (6) 

Durability against freeze/thaw 

Dangerous substances 

See configuration 

0.90 λ 10, dry, unit 

(tabulated value) 

(1) for units intended to be used in elements subject to structural requirements 

(2) for units intended to be used in elements subject to fire requirements 

(3) for units intended to be used in damp proof courses or in external elements with an exposed face 

(4) for units intended to be used in external elements 

(5) for units to be used in elements subject to acoustic requirements 

(6) for units intended to be used in elements subject to thermal insulation requirements 

Pass 

NPD 



10. The performance of the product identified in 1 and 2 is 

in conformity with the declared performance in 9. 

This declaration of performance is issued under the 

sole responsibility of the manufacturer identified in 4. 

Signed on behalf of the manufacturer: 

Quality manager 

(name and function) 

Concretetown, 30.06.2013 

(Place and date of issue) 

........... (Signature) 

Notes 

Configuration You have the choice of 

giving details of the volume of voids, shell 

and web thicknesses as specified in BS EN 

771-3 or just stating the Group of unit. 

Group 1 units are those with up to and 

including 25% voids. 

Group 2 units are those with more than 

25% voids. 

Units cast on end and also containing 

voids (ie horizontally perforated) will be 

group 4 units. (Perforations I group 1 & 2 

units are vertical). 

It is recommended that you give NPD 

against the ‘shape and features’ box and 

state the group. 

Compressive strength/ unit category You 

have to state category I or Category II. 

Category I applies if you have third party 

surveillance of your factory production 

control. 

Dimensional stability This is moisture 

movement and you should have had 

this property measured for each product 

(ie each strength of each product) you 

manufacture. However, do not give the 

measured value but one you are confident 

of achieving. 

Bond strength The shear bond strength is 

a tabulated value so give the value shown 

in the example. 

Flexural bond strength is only required in 

Finland so put NPD. 

Reaction to fire Complete as indicated 

unless your product contains more than 

1% combustible material by mass or 

volume. 

Water absorption You only need to give a 

value if your product is for use externally 

without render (normally a facing unit). 

Again if you need to measure it is best 

to give a safe value rather than the 

measurement result. 

Water vapour permeability This is used 

in condensation risk calculations and the 

tabulated value given can be used unless 

you make dense aggregate blocks with 

a gross density of 2200kg/m 3 when you 

should give a value of 30/100 or 50/150 

for a density of 2300kg/m 3 or greater 

Thermal resistance BS EN 771-3 allows you 

to give the λ 10,dry 

, unit value or density and 

configuration. Tables of λ 10,dry 

, unit values 

are given below. These are values which 

have not been corrected for equilibrium 

moisture content so are only to meet the 

legal requirements of giving a value in 

the DoP. For trade within Europe where 

products cross borders and countries have 

different assumed equilibrium moisture 

contents for masonry units it is convenient 

way of supplying a value. For units with 

voids an equivalent or apparent λ-value 

would need to be given. This will need 

to be calculated in accordance with BS 

EN ISO 6946. The λ 10,dry 

value is not to be 

confused with a design value. For voided 

units the choice of providing density and 

configuration details may therefore be 

more convenient. 

Durability against freeze/thaw The UK 

guidance on this used to be in BS 5628-3 

but is now in PD 6697. 

You will need to state ‘not to be used 

exposed’ for units which are not one of 

the following: 

Dense blocks or Lightweight aggregate 

blocks of at least 1500kg/m 3 density or 

Lightweight aggregate blocks of at least 

7.3N/mm 2 strength. 

Otherwise state ‘pass’. 

Dangerous substances State NPD as there 

is no requirement to address this property 

in the masonry standards as yet. 

The following λ10,dry, unit values should 

be used for solid units (interpolate for 

intermediate densities). 

Density 

λ 10,dry,unit 

1800 0.82 

1900 0.90 

2000 1.00 

2100 1.11 

2200 1.24 

2300 1.37 

Values for dense and manufactured 

stone units 

Density 

800 0.19 

900 0.22 

1000 0.26 

1100 0.30 

1200 0.34 

Values for pumice units 


Density 


600 0.16 

700 0.19 

800 0.22 

900 0.26 

1000 0.30 

1100 0.34 

1200 0.39 

Values for expanded clay units 

Density 

The simplest form of CE marking given as 

an example in the draft amendment to 

Annex ZA of EN 771-3 is: 

AnyCo SA 

Any Street 1 

B-1050 BRUSSELS 

Where: 

13 


1200 0.33 

1300 0.35 

1400 0.37 

1500 0.39 

Values for FBA units 

Density 


1200 0.52 

1300 0.58 

1400 0.66 

1500 0.74 

1600 0.83 

Values for other lightweight aggregates 

(eg blends) 

(your product code) 

EN 771-3 

DoP: (your product code) 

NB: None 

Product information: www.anyco.be/(your product code) 

The number 13 is the year in which the 

CE mark was first affixed 

NB refers to the Notified Body (the 

body responsible for the surveillance of 

your FPC – if any) 

The final line is the link to your DoP for 

the product 

Unless there is agreement with UK 

Trading Standards to supply the CE 

mark electronically this is the minimum 

information you will be able to supply with 

every delivery/collection. 

The requirements are that the CE mark is 

given on the product or on the packaging 

or on/with delivery documentation. This 

will mean that it is supplied on/with 

delivery documentation by most members. 

As merchants will need to pass on your CE 

mark when they sell from yard stock it will 

be advantageous to keep CE marking as 

simple as possible. Having a link to your 

website and the DoP, which the merchant 

can quote on his delivery documentation, 

will probably be the best option to achieve 

simplicity. 

Continued 



Continued from page 11 

Eurocode 6 

(BS EN 1996-1-1) 

Shortly after the introduction of Eurocode 

6 and the UK National Application 

Document (NAD) giving values to use 

in the UK for designs to Eurocode 6, it 

became known that designs to this code 

and the UK NAD were significantly more 

conservative than designs to BS 5628. 

Twelve years after a paper, anticipating 

Eurocode 6, with me as one of the joint 

authors, was published in the Structural 

Engineer making the case for a K factor of 

0.7 in the equation: 

f k 

= K f m 

0.3 

. f b 

0.7 

[the equation to calculate characteristic 

strength (f k 

) when designing to Eurocode 

6] the BSI mirror committee for the 

masonry Eurocode, has finally agreed to 

adjust the factor of K from 0.55 (their 

original choice) to 0.75 for Group 1 

concrete units and from 0.45 to 0.75 

for manufactured stone units. 

This agreement has taken an inordinate 

amount of effort analysing and 

re-analysing test data and putting 

forward numerous proposals to amend 

the K factors and unit shape factor 

corrections to try and get a straight line 

relationship between the fk values in BS 

5628-1 and those calculated according to 

the Eurocode 6 equation. 

designs are carried out to BS EN 1996- 

1-1 instead of advocating the use of the 

withdrawn BS 5628. 

The new UK NAD will also contain some 

key guidance on calculating fk values for 

collar-jointed walls and walls with blocks 

laid flat which the existing UK NAD does 

not provide. 

Flooring blocks 

Following a CBA initiative, it has been 

agreed that a national foreword can be 

added to BS EN 15037-2 ‘Precast concrete 

products. Beam and block floor systems. 

Part 2 Concrete blocks’ which states that 

blocks to BS EN 771-3 can be either 

7.3N/mm 2 strength with no need to test 

for transverse strength or alternatively 

they need to be tested for transverse 

strength according to that standard. The 

test method is identical to that used in the 

UK since blocks were first supplied for this 

application. This will mean that you will 

not have to claim compliance with BS EN 

15037-2 when supplying blocks for beam 

and block flooring and have to CE mark to 

2 standards. 

Thermal bridging 

details 

We are in the process of putting together 

some generic thermal bridging details for 

use by CBA members. There are some 

general details (Accredited Construction 

Details known as ACDs) available for 

downloading from a Government website 

but these give conservative values and we 

need to have dedicated thermal bridging 

details appropriate for constructions 

involving generic aggregate blocks 

available as these are needed for SAP 

calculations. This is specialist work and we 

are going outside for this modelling work. 

A typical detail for a floor/wall junction is 

shown left. 

It will be appreciated that the permutations 

of junction type, block type, other product 

type in the junction, insulation type and 

thickness together with the combination 

of positions where the insulation can be 

placed leads to a vast number of possible 

thermal bridging details. Initially we will 

be modelling the 17 most frequently 

found junctions and add to them as 

demand dictates. 

(Below) Once modelled the details will give ψ-values and f-factors for each detail modelled 

and models will cover λ-values for ultralightweight, lightweight and dense blocks. 

A revised UK NAD to BS EN 1996-1-1 

where the new K factors are to be found 

has now been accepted and is expected to 

be published before the summer. We will 

thus be able to recommend that masonry 

CBA Website a hit 

Our website continues to receive 4000 

- 5000 visits a month with the average 

visitor looking at 3 pages. The most 

sought after pages continue to be 

the 20 technical data sheets, u-value 

calculator and Part L 2010 Regs guide. 

With this in mind many of the technical 

data sheets have been updated over the 

last 12 months, for instance the one on 

sustainability has been comprehensively 

upgraded and contains more factual 

detail. A members only area is now up 

and running which contains all the Spring 

Update and Monthly Newsround back 

issues along with the Technical Commitee 

minutes. A facility to trade plant and 

equipment member to member has also 

been set up. Make sure that your staff 

and customers are aware of the ease of 

access to information on concrete blocks 

via our website. Remember that if you 

print the CBA QR tag ob your literature it 

will give smartphone users instant access 

to the site. 

www.cba-blocks.org.uk 


thermal mass 

Thermal mass in concrete 

In an age of growing environmental 

awareness, the use of concrete in 

buildings can lead to questions regarding 

its embodied CO 2 

. Often it is perceived 

as higher than that of many alternative 

construction materials. In the case of 

timber frame housing, the difference 

compared to masonry construction is 

actually quite small at around 4-6% for 

the average house. This is because with 

the exception of the blockwork and timber 

frame, all the other construction materials 

used are common to both house types 

and account for most of the embodied 

impacts, for example, UPVC windows, 

brick facade, roof structure, carpets etc. 

Over the life of a masonry home, this 

difference becomes even less significant 

since the CO 2 

emissions resulting from 

heating, lighting and hot water will be 

many times greater. 

So, this puts the embodied CO 2 

issue into 

context, but there is another important 

factor to take account of, which is the 

affect of the thermal mass provided by the 

blockwork. Over the life of the building, 

this has the potential to tip the overall CO 2 

balance in favour of masonry construction. 

Blocks and other heavyweight materials 

can enhance fabric energy efficiency in 

well insulated homes by capturing and 

later releasing free heat from the sun and 

internal sources such as cookers, electrical 

appliances and people. This in turn can 

reduce the load on the boiler and, over 

time, offset the slightly higher embodied 

CO 2 

in a masonry home. Put another way, 

these savings can be viewed as payback for 

the investment in the embodied CO 2 

of a 

block inner leaf. 

This sounds good in theory, but to 

establish the credibility of this argument 

The Concrete Centre commissioned Arup 

to compare the embodied and operational 

CO 2 

emissions of a masonry home with 

an equivalent timber frame home, taking 

into account the likely impact of climate 

change on their thermal performance over 

the 21st century. The reason for factoring 

this in was to include the affects of our 

warming climate and the ability of thermal 

mass to avoid or reduce the future need 

for domestic air-conditioning; another 

likely source of domestic CO 2 

emissions in 

the coming years. 

The research showed that the additional 

embodied CO 2 

in an average semidetached 

masonry home can be offset in 

as little as 11 years if the design seeks to 

include the following: 

High levels of insulation and 

airtightness 

Some south facing windows to 

maximise solar gain in winter 

Continuous background heating 

(young family, retired occupants, 

underfloor heating). 

The research also showed that increasing 

the thermal mass further by, for example, 

including a concrete upper floor will 

increase the offset period due to the 

higher level of embodied CO 2 

, but further 

reduces annual emissions, ultimately 

leading to the lowest whole life CO 2 

footprint of all the options considered 

in the study. To put these findings into 

context, the overall CO 2 

saved (embodied 

and in-use) over the 21st 

century when compared to the lightweight 

home was around 7-10% for a typical 

masonry home with a timber upper floor, 

and 10-15% when a concrete upper floor 

is added. Whilst this study was completed 

back in 2006, a recent check using the 

latest embodied CO 2 

data for construction 

materials confirmed the research remains 

valid. 

For more information, a technical paper 

on this research can be downloaded from 

the Concrete Centre: www.concretecentre. 

com/Embodied_and_operational_carbon_ 

dioxide_emissions_from_housing 

Conclusions 

The thermal mass in concrete blocks has 

an important role to play in the 21st 

century by helping to both mitigate and 

adapt to climate change. The potential 

whole life CO 2 

savings provided by blocks 

can outweigh any additional embodied 

impacts when compared to timber frame 

construction. Whilst it may not always be 

possible to realise these savings, thermal 

mass is nevertheless playing an increasingly 

important role in fabric energy efficiency 

and recent changes to construction 

regulations and standards are beginning to 

reflect this. 

Figure 1 – (Reference: “Embodied and operational carbon dioxide emissions from 

housing: A case study on the effects of thermal mass and climate change”; Energy and 

Buildings 40/3, 2008) 

Tom De Saulles 

MPA – the Concrete Centre 


environment & sustainability 

Is timber the most sustainable 

form of construction? 

This article is based on a briefing paper 

from our colleaguues at MPA Concrete 

Centre. It is full of facts and qualified 

references to give you the members, 

the ammunition to combatany misleading 

claims made for the sustainability of timber 

framed buildings. 

Timber is not the most sustainable form 

of construction. No material can claim 

to provide the most sustainable form of 

construction as it depends on a range of 

project specific factors and requirements, 

and against what criteria you are judging. 

The issues are complex and need to 

be addressed on a case-by-case basis 

considering the whole life cycle of the 

building. 

Sustainability benefits 

The two main sustainability claims made 

for timber are low ECO2 and that it is a 

renewable resource. All other sustainability 

benefits are at least matched or exceeded 

by concrete and masonry solutions (e.g. 

low waste, energy efficiency; long life; 

recyclable; responsibly sourced; whole 

life performance, thermal performance). 

Rob Pannell, the head of Zero Carbon 

Hub has recently stated that he has no 

views either way on embodied carbon 

timber vs masonry. 

1. Concrete has low ECO 2 

Masonry and concrete buildings have a 

similar level of ECO 2 

(emodied CO 2 

) to 

timber buildings and in terms of kg CO 2 

/t, 

concrete is lower i.e. the timber used in 

housing is around 690 kg CO 2 

/t (TRADA 

data), whilst ready-mix concrete is about 

103 -162 kg CO 2 

/t, precast concrete 

around 180 kg CO 2 

/t and concrete blocks 

are about 75-240 kg CO 2 

/t. 

The above is verified by independent 

reports: e.g. NHBC report on housing 

stated there was no significant difference 

between timber frame and masonry. Ref: 

Operational and embodied-carbon in 

new build housing. A reappraisal - NHBC 

Foundation Nov 2011: 

a. Some timber has higher (by up to x10 

times) ECO 2 

than some concrete e.g. CLT, 

Glulam 

b. Using recognised public data published 

by the timber industry their claims for 

negative carbon appear incorrect. This 

discrepancy comes from the use of 

selective choice of life cycle stages by the 

timber Industry which ignores end of life 

scenarios. 

c. The notion of sequestered carbon is not 

widely recognised by LCA criteria as the 

phenomenon is only temporary and the 

footprint is dependent upon the end of 

life scenario (methane from decomposition 

or CO 2 

from combustion). Refer to the 

EEB Guide (Energy Efficient Buildings 

http://www.eebguide.eu/) “Operational 

Guidance for LCA Studies of the Energy 

Efficient Buildings Initiative” 

2. Plentiful local resource 

A focus on renewable resources which can 

only be met by bio-products is flawed as 

a basis for the UK economy due to land 

availability and other issues. 

a. Construction grade timber is not 

generally available in the UK and is 

therefore imported from Europe and North 

America 

b. But the UK has plentiful natural resource 

for concrete (1000s of years potentially) 

c. Reliance on grown product is many 

years away and could have a significant, 

detrimental impact on UK environment 


environment & sustainability 

and biodiversity (e.g. single species 

woodland) not to mention increased risk, 

from climate change (disease and pest 

attack). 

3. Fire, flood and climate change 

resilience 

It is widely recognised that timber is not 

the most environmentally sustainable 

solution with regards to flood, fire and 

pest resilience and it has minimal thermal 

mass properties to provide the potential 

for low energy cooling and comfort (all are 

predicted criteria to meet future climate 

change scenarios). 

4. Construction benefits 

ALL of the arguments put forward by the 

timber industry for benefits in construction 

can also be met by concrete and masonry 

construction (e.g. off-site solutions/ 

airtightness/energy efficiency). 

5. Energy efficiency 

The perception that timber provides more 

energy efficient construction does not 

match the reality. The vast majority of all 

existing building stock was built to lower 

energy efficiency standards than required 

today. Since most of this is concrete and 

masonry this skews the perception but 

can also present a potential for improved 

summertime performance especially in 

combatting overheating if the correct 

methods of insulation are adopted as part 

of the Green Deal. 

6. Responsible sourcing 

Concrete can perform higher than timber 

in responsible sourcing schemes assessed 

in BREEAM 2011. Unlike timber, concrete 

can contribute to the energy efficiency of a 

building through the use of thermal mass. 

Amongst the communication tools available to us, a stand at industry shows remains 

effective. 

efficiency/thermal mass, and housebuilders 

prefer it because of its cost 

effectiveness. Indeed an ICM telephone 

survey, (Oct 2009, 1002 respondents) 

found that 93% of people would prefer a 

house thats structure was block and brick 

over a house thats structure was timber 

and plywood. 

9. Most efficient 

Timber frame building has become less 

commercially attractive due to reduced 

site density and other fire protection costs 

since the publication of recent guidance 

on how to address fire risks during the 

construction phase. For further details refer 

to UKTFA, Timber Industry Guidance 

for Fire Separation Dec 2012. 

In seeting out this article I suggest that you 

box highlight a couple of sections, section 

1 Concrete has low ECO2 and section 10 

Fire risk. 

10. Fire risk 

The report ‘Fire performance of new 

residential buildings’1 by the NHBC 

Foundation (housing research in 

partnership with BRE Trust) states on p14 

final paragraph: 

The data led the DCLG to the general 

conclusion: 

‘The appropriate statistical test (Pearson’s 

chi-squared test) indicates that fires in timberframed 

dwellings do tend to have a greater area 

7. Highest standard 

Concrete and masonry remains the most 

common form of construction for houses 

in the UK (currently over 88%, see latest 

NHBC figures) and is capable of being 

constructed to the highest standards of 

energy efficiency as measured by the code 

for sustainable homes/PassivHaus etc. 

8. Market leader 

The reasons underpinning the market 

share relate to the fact that householders 

prefer masonry, designers prefer it for 

its technical benefits durability, energy 


and finally... 

Dates for your diary 

Who’s who 


20th March 

2013 

CBA AGM Derbyshire 

Andy Littler 

CBA Chairman 

07785 520 674 

littler.andy@yahoo.co.uk 

ICT 

21st March 

2013 

41st Annual 

Convention 

Symposium; 

Concrete: Grey to 

Green 

Warwickshire 

Gerry Petit 

CBA Technical Consultant 

0780 272 2972 

gjlp@gpettit.gotadsl.co.uk 

Greenbuild 

CBA Council 

BPCF 

8th to 9th May 

2013 

22nd May 

2013 

23rd May 

2013 

Greenbuild EXPO 


PRECAST2013 

Manchester 

Hanson Brickworks, 

Measham 

Leicester 

Martin Clarke 

Chief Executive BPCF 

0116 253 6161 

martin.clarke@britishprecast.org 

Mayuri Dhanak 

CBA Secretary 

0116 253 6161 

mayuri.dhanak@britishprecast.org 


MMA 

25th May 

2013 

17th October 

2013 


Housing Summit 

Venue tba 

Solihull 

Maria Lesta 

BPCF and CBA Admin 

0116 253 6161 

maria.lesta@britishprecast.org 

Mike Leonard 

Modern Masonry Alliance 

0777 884 2831 

mike.leonard@modernmasonry.co.uk 

www.modernmasonry.co.uk 

CBA technical helpline 

CBA Technical Helpline is staffed on a rota 

basis by volunteers from the Technical 

Committee. Its function is to promote 

the use of aggregate blocks and raise the 

profile of CBA and its members. This is 

achieved through the provision of free 

technical advice on the selection and 

correct application of aggregate concrete 

blocks. 

Technical Helpline 

0116 222 1507 

www.cba-blocks.org.uk 

Andrew Minson 

CEO, Concrete Centre 

0207 963 8000 

aminson@concretecentre.com 

By accessing www.cba-blocks.org.uk, 

enquirers have the option of sending 

their enquiry by email or by telephone. 

Those seeking advice include members 

of the general public, builders, architects, 

engineers and members of CBA. 

Most questions posed are relatively 

straightforward but by no means could all 

of them be so described. 

CBA Technical Helpline: 0116 222 1507 

The Concrete Block Association 2012 

Although The Concrete Block Association does its best to 

ensure that any advice, recommendation or information it 

may give is accurate, no liability or responsibility of any kind 

(including liability for negligence) is accepted in this respect by 

the Association, its servants or agents

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