outdoor luxury...

“We’re all going on a summer/autumn winter/spring holiday… no more working for a week/month/long weekend/overnight break or two…” (delete as appropriate)

Hooray for the staycation! (that’s holidaying at home you know – the UK is a lovely place to spend some down time)

So what nicer than a comfortable, new timber holiday lodge, situated in a lovely countryside location?

…we’re working on it right now (you can tell it’s going to be good).

...doesn't always come in white

We work with some really smart suppliers.

Admittedly, they won’t always be the cheapest, but we place some pretty big demands on them and they need to be able to stand up to our exacting requirements.

We love Swish because they have responded really well to the challenge that ‘less maintenance intensive’ materials can also be environmentally friendly.

Which means (in the world of the Code for Sustainable Homes points scoring) that architects and contractors who work with us will now have more points available to play with under CSH, than if they used other timber frame fabricators.

This is a real benefit because it allows a wider range of choice within a construction budget.

Really Swish!

Swish Building Products has obtained certification to the new Responsible Sourcing Standard, BES6001. Swish became one of the first materials companies outside the aggregates industry to pass the assessment for BES6001 and did so with a “Very Good” rating.

This means that Swish can now offer new build customers maximum points under the Materials section of the Code for Sustainable Homes for fascias, cladding and skirting boards (Mat 2&3). Until now this could only be achieved by using FSC timber.

However developers now have the option of specifying products that will gain them maximum CSH points as well as lasting the lifetime of the building without the need for maintenance.

but of course if you'd prefer...

The BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing Standard looks at the Environmental, Quality, Health and Safety and other control systems that a company has in place, which includes an assessment of the care it takes in selecting its supply chain partners for their commitment to the same ethical principles.  The achievement of this standard shows that Swish is serious about its responsibilities to its customers and to the wider construction industry to ensure that it sources it’s materials in a responsible and ethical manner.

we know what we're talking about...

We’re actively Passiv (no, not a spelling mistake). In fact, we are really pretty laid back about our Passivhaus status – and that’s because we can offer our clients real peace of mind knowing that our Passivhaus Guru is close at hand to advise.

Our man Alastair endured two weeks of the most intensive thermal alchemy possible (at The University of Strathclyde with the Passivhaus Institute) and now the cold sweats have been replaced by the warm glow of accreditation.

Which means that we now have a mighty fine understanding of the key design principles. Which, in turn, will allow you to specify with greater certainty.

So if you need ‘Passivpeaceofmind’ you know where to look…

warm and quiet and dry - lovely!

With our focus on taking extra care of our Extra Care clients, we have been working really hard to find a nice and easy underfloor heating solution that is simple to install, and doesn’t involve the use of joist clips or wet screeds for upper floors.

We are glad to report that we found what we were looking for, and we are pleased to announce that the perfect solution is a Norwegian product.

The great thing about this product is that it is made completely of recycled paper and wood pulp. It’s a doddle to install, sits on top of the temporary floor deck, comes pre-grooved (ready for fast and easy pipe laying) and has passed every single sound test to date with flying colours!

It couldn’t be more simple: first we lay the board, then we pop in an aluminium tray (as a heat deflector) the M&E guys come along and fit the pipe, and then we finish the job by laying the finished floor covering directly on top. EASY!

And as we import it directly from Norway, we would be happy to take orders from those of you who want to install or distribute this product yourself.

ok, alright, now you know what I look like...

Simon Bliss, the mover and shaker behind our Datum team is constantly in communication with our clients, but we managed to pin him down long enough to answer one simple question for us…

Simon, what is it about Datum that sets us apart from other timber frame manufacturers?

“I’ll answer that in my usual straightforward fashion (…you wouldn’t expect anything less)

Our clients want us to be more involved from the beginning in their projects, because they know that we are passionate about trying to resolve as much of the design and the design interface as possible; for all of the following reasons:

We consider ourselves (and are) part of the critical path of all of our builds. Because we are problem solvers our approach is non linear, which means we can make a real contribution when we are involved early doors as part of the whole team – we have the capability and expertise to add real value to any project.

Our comprehensive team possess a range of capabilities which is great because their skills elevate us to turnkey/constructor rather than just a subcontractor.

We are obsessed with process engineering and simplicity – that’s why we get involved – we like to get about it.

Our clients are very important to us (and we tell them so) and their projects often present some really interesting opportunities, which sometimes takes some very careful planning.  We’ll always consider the challenge – if the impossible is really not possible we’ll be honest…

The Datum team is great – the reason we are able to take this approach to problem solving is because our people have the expertise to handle individual issues. We keep ourselves small in order to be flexible. As a result, we have been invited to become involved in some very interesting projects and sectors to which others are not suited or would have the capability to address.

I’m bold enough to say we do take risks – which pay off – we go where and when others fear to tread! But if we need to say ‘however’ we’ll also be honest enough to say ‘we can’t’

Fundamentally, our decisions are always based on what is best for our customer, and because we like a challenge, we like it even more when it gets ‘interesting’

We are honest. If we wouldn’t tolerate something ourselves, then we wouldn’t try to fool anyone else into thinking it may work – just for the sake of taking on the work…”

Thanks Simon – better let you go, your phone’s ringing (again…)

HEY! don't shake the table...

Yes… yes we do have rules (not sure if they are followed to the letter though).

The lunchtime games of Foosball (that’s table football to you and me) are fast, furious and competitive (and a little bit serious)

Armed with a championship table and some mean competitive players we are trying to hit the big time lunch time league.

…fancy a game? drop in (…not allowed to spin though…)