The Live Wire

FAQs

Who is the THB?
The THB is a lobbying group promoting modern masonry construction. Its membership manufacturers building products for 85% of the UK’s housing. As a body it campaigns to the householder, housebuilder, specifier and to Government.

Isn’t there a shortage of skilled labour for masonry construction?
The labour force in the building industry is often transitory. Workers travel for employment and, often being multiskilled, are often absorbed into different areas of the industry when work is scarce. However, masonry construction is a well known build method with which workers are familiar and understand with out the need for additional training.

Aren’t other build methods quicker?
No, this is a common misperception. It takes approximately the same time to construct a house using modern masonry construction techniques as it does to construct a house from lightweight prefabricated methods. The only difference is that masonry construction takes place on site and the prefabrication process to construct a frame or panels takes place in a factory before being assembled on site.

How are the majority of houses built?
Over 80% of the UKs housing is still constructed using masonry, which is supported by recent MORI findings which confirmed that over 90% of the UKs population still have a preference for brick and block built homes perceiving them to be more solid and durable than other forms of construction.

Why is the Government pushing prefabrication over other building methods?
The current shortage of housing has led the Government to radically rethink its housing policy in order to ‘catch up’ with the demand for, in particular, housing for low income families. This has led to quick fix solutions and the assumption that the shortage is due to construction methods and build times rather than planning or pricing issues.

Doesn’t prefabrication offer a cheaper solution for the public sector?
No, the Barker interim report has proven prefabricated building methods to be approximately 10% more expensive than modern masonry construction.

» For more information please visit the THB website «

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