National House Building Council Research Articles

The UK private housebuilding sector: social media perspectives

Purpose The UK private housebuilding sector is the key supplier of new-build homes for customers, constituting a fifth of the entire UK construction industry. Yet, despite the high average cost of houses, and official reports advocating improvement, the sector remains blighted by criticism and a negative image of its quality. However, social media now offers customers new sources of advice and information. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to analyse social media forum posts from new-build homebuyers to reveal perceptions of the industry and illustrate the value of such data for others. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents and thematically analyses 147 comment posts from nine online Facebook forums under the themes of safety; standards; quality; workmanship; customer service; finance and money; advice; National House Building Council; ombudsman; and page closures. Findings Customers express frustration, anger, feelings of neglect and of an abdication of responsibility by the sector. Fundamentally, change is suggested at a systemic level, and it is urged this occurs through powerful and independent bodies. Originality/value To date, social media data has not been analysed in the context of the housebuilding sector. Yet, such data is key not only for its open and wide-reaching nature but also because it can be incorporated into government reports. It is hoped such data will be used by the new home ombudsman the UK Government hopes to establish in 2020 and help rectify many of the performance issues experienced and protect homebuyers.

The UK housing developers’ five-star rating: fact or fiction?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how the data collected by the House Builders Federation (HBF)/National House Building Council (NHBC) surveys are used in practice to improve the service provided to the customers, the transition of any changes into practice and the overall management of the customer satisfaction process by the builder.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach to the research was adopted, and the findings from the interviews provide an indication of the views from a range of private/speculative house builders relating to the areas of customer satisfaction and the ratings provided through industry-based surveys.FindingsThis paper has uncovered the views and opinions of private house builders relating to customer satisfaction and five-star ratings. The findings provide evidence that the house building industry is not fully engaged with the HBF five-star-related concept and that they provide a differing level of service in relation to customer satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsThe research concluded that the customer can be manipulated by the builders in some cases causing a bias in the market; on the whole, the customer satisfaction surveys and star rating are simply seen as a marketing tool, used by the builders marketing department as a sign of quality and a way to promote the company.Practical implicationsThis paper is of interest to private house builders and the wider construction industry and will aid their understanding of not only generic customer satisfaction but also in particular customer satisfaction in new build housing and quality-related ratings/targets applied by industry bodies.Originality/valueThe paper provides an insight to house builders practices by examining the use of the HBF/NHBC survey results and how they are used to manage and improve the service provided to the customer, and the results therefore are of value to the end home buyer and the wider house building industry.

Reducing Defects through Organizational Learning within a Housing Association Environment

Housing Associations (HAs) contribute circa 20% of the UK’s housing supply. HAs are however under increasing pressure as a result of funding cuts and rent reductions. Due to the increased pressure, a number of processes are currently being reviewed by HAs, especially how they manage and learn from defects. Learning from defects is considered a useful approach to achieving defect reduction within the UK housebuilding industry. This paper contributes to our understanding of how HAs learn from defects by undertaking an initial round table discussion with key HA stakeholders as part of an ongoing collaborative research project with the National House Building Council (NHBC) to better understand how house builders and HAs learn from defects to reduce their prevalence. The initial discussion shows that defect information runs through a number of groups, both internal and external of a HA during both the defects management process and organizational learning (OL) process. Furthermore, HAs are reliant on capturing and recording defect data as the foundation for the OL process. During the OL process defect data analysis is the primary enabler to recognizing a need for a change to organizational routines. When a need for change has been recognized, new options are typically pursued to design out defects via updates to a HAs Employer’s Requirements. Proposed solutions are selected by a review board and committed to organizational routine. After implementing a change, both structured and unstructured feedback is sought to establish the change’s success. The findings from the HA discussion demonstrates that OL can achieve defect reduction within the house building sector in the UK. The paper concludes by outlining a potential ‘learning from defects model’ for the housebuilding industry as well as describing future work.

Managing the extent of tree removal from railway earthwork slopes

Trees cover the slopes of many earthworks (embankments and cuttings) supporting the UK's rail network. Trees provide ecological and slope stability benefits to earthwork slopes but they can also cause seasonal shrinking and swelling of the soil. Seasonal shrink–swell movement in earthworks can affect the level and alignment of the track, causing speed restrictions, associated delays for rail passengers and a substantial cost for infrastructure owners. Guidance is required to identify and manage the removal of problematic trees, while avoiding full tree clearance on earthworks slopes.A study was undertaken on behalf of London Underground Ltd (LUL) to assess whether the National House Building Council (NHBC) guidance, considering tree species and the ratio of the distance of the tree from the track, Dt, to the mature tree height Ht, might be applicable to trees located on railway earthwork slopes. Excessive seasonal track movement was shown to correlate with the presence of high water demand (HWD) tree species located within a certain Dt/Ht ratio of the track, but not other tree species.Soil heave was measured on the slope of an instrumented railway embankment following removal of trees from the embankment slope. The magnitude and rate of soil heave was also estimated from five years of pore water pressure data, using a one dimensional settlement/heave calculation based on a linear swelling index. It was found that while the removal of HWD trees reduced seasonal shrink–swell movement, soil heave and upward track movement continued for at least 4 years after tree felling.

National House-Building Council introduces online academy

National House-Building Council introduces online academy

Predicting natural cavities in chalk

Introduction Chalk is a soluble carbonate rock with extensive karst development. Natural cavity occurrence initially appears to be random. In an area where the degree of influence of all cavity formational factors is similar, but dissolution is focused on one set of joints rather than another, then solution feature occurrence is perhaps random. This might be termed the ‘microscale’ view, measured at a scale of metres. However, if the pattern of natural cavity occurrence is considered at a ‘macroscale’ level, say measured in hundreds of metres or kilometres, then spatial patterns emerge suggesting dissolution is not as random as it might first appear. Spatial characteristics of natural cavity occurrence on the Chalk In order to analyse the spatial characteristics of natural cavity occurrence it was first necessary to collect as many records of solution feature occurrence as possible from published and unpublished sources including local authorities, Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), Building Research Establishment (BRE), National House Building Council (NHBC), the Environment Agency, water companies, and site investigation reports. Particular emphasis was placed on fieldwork to record new features revealed in a wide range of engineering works, road and motorway construction, and on visits to large numbers of working/disused chalk quarries and aggregate workings. A database of 2226 natural cavities was compiled, composed mainly of solution pipes, sinkholes (dolines) and swallow holes. The spatially related database (each cavity location being recorded by National Grid Reference) was carefully scrutinized to determine

National House Building Council

National House Building Council

Some issues associated with the preparation of a review of foundation conditions in Great Britain

Abstract The Department of the Environment commissioned Wimpey Environmental Limited, with the National House-Building Council, to undertake research to establish whether planners should take greater account of foundation conditions in preparing development plans and in considering planning applications. Existing information on factors such as compressible ground, shrinkage and swelling, saturated and loose granular deposits, frost susceptibility, groundwater conditions, durability of construction materials, and gas emissions, was reviewed. It was concluded that some of these factors may be material planning considerations whilst others are likely to remain only a matter for site development and Building Control. Soil survey digital data were used as a basis for 1:250 000 and 1:625 000 scale maps showing the general geographical extent of selected potential foundation problems in Great Britain. These, together with reports, provide information on ground conditions to planners and developers which will help to increase awareness of the problems and of the purposes, procedures and benefits of thorough site investigation. The preparation of the maps was guided by a database of site investigation information which should be of use to those who are undertaking more detailed consideration of sites.

THE PREDICTION OF BUILDING FOUNDATION DAMAGE ARISING FROM THE WATER DEMAND OF TREES

Summary Guidance is given on assessing the risk of foundation damage due to water abstraction by trees causing shrinkage of clay soils. Modifications are proposed to the National House Building Council's current guidelines which allow the correct assessment of common species and of trees of various heights.

THE RELATIVE WATER DEMAND OF BROAD-LEAVED TREES—A NEW ANALYSIS OF THE KEW TREE ROOT SURVEY

Summary The Kew Tree Root Survey provides the most important data-base for damage to buildings by tree roots. It has been used to determine the relative danger different species of tree pose to building foundations on shrinkable clay soils; this can be expected to be related to the rate at which the tree uses water. Cutler and Richardson in “Tree Roots and Buildings” were properly cautious about the conclusions they drew, as there are so many factors involved. However, the author has found that general conclusions can be drawn for some of the most common species. Some of these conclusions are not consistent with recommendations given and assumptions made in the National House Building Council Standards, which have up to now been held to contain the most reliable information.

TREES AND FOUNDATIONS—A REASSESSMENT

Summary The abstraction of water from the soil by tree roots causes damage tofoundations by shrinking clay soils. The factors determining whether or not damage occurs are the water supply to the ground, the flow of water through the ground to the trees roots, the water demand of the tree, and the shrinkability of the clay. Crude investigation of the extent to which a sample of clay is dessicated is shown to be possible by using the Liquidity Index as a measure of suction; a better indication is possible by measuring suction in the filter paper test, but both methods suffer because of the uncertainty in the contribution that stress relief has made to the suction measured. The main information available at present on damage to foundations by shrinkage of clay due to the water demand of trees is published in the National House Building Council Standards Chapter 4.2 (originally Practice Note 3). The most important factor involved s the water demand of the tree; the information given in the practice note is in...

THE RELATIVE WATER DEMAND OF BROAD-LEAVED TREES—A NEW ANALYSIS OF THE KEW TREE ROOT SURVEY

Summary The Kew Tree Root Survey provides the most important data-base for damage to buildings by tree roots. It has been used to determine the relative danger different species of tree pose to building foundations on shrinkable clay soils; this can be expected to be related to the rate at which the tree uses water. Cutler and Richardson in “Tree Roots and Buildings” were properly cautious about the conclusions they drew, as there are so many factors involved. However, the author has found that general conclusions can be drawn for some of the most common species. Some of these conclusions are not consistent with recommendations given and assumptions made in the National House Building Council Standards, which have up to now been held to contain the most reliable information.

Ground treatment and foundations above discontinuous rock masses affected by mining subsidence : Bell, F G; Fox, R M Min EngrV148, N327, Dec 1988, P278–283

Discontinuities are characteristic features of the competent rock masses such as sandstone and limestones, which occur in the coal measures and the overlying Permian and Triassic systems. The longwall method used to extract coal subjects the strata above the seam to both tensile and compressive stresses which can cause discontinuities to open or widen significantly. Unfortunately, however, the degree to which discontinuities open or gape and the behaviour of discontinuous blocks, cannot be predicted. Some discontinuities opened by tension may close, at least in part, when undergoing compressive stress. Overlying soils may be washed into discontinuities which gape and this may produce depressions. These, together with gaping joints, may give rise to foundation problems. The paper reviews some methods of foundation treatment which can be used to overcome the problems outlined above, especially the use of compacted fill used on a site for a major housing development in North West England. It also gives a case history of a new method that was used. The latter method included the use of a strong geotextile composite and an impermeable polyethylene liner to divert groundwater. It obtained approval from the National House Building Council (NHBC) for use with ordinary domestic dwellings as well as gaining the approval of British Coal to the extent of not negating their statutory obligations for compensation consequent of mining subsidence damage. 8 refs., 5 figs.

Buildmark – NHBC's improved ten‐year scheme

On 1st April, 1988, the National House‐building Council (NHBC) introduced its new improved ten‐year scheme, the ‘Build‐mark’, which gives ten years protection for new homes. The scheme has been simplified in both language and presentation to make it more understandable for the home buyer and builder. A new procedure has been introduced to reduce the paper‐work for builders, purchasers and their respective solicitors or licensed conveyancers. Finally, the cover has been improved.

住宅保証制度の研究 : 英国の制度その2

住宅保証制度の研究 : 英国の制度その2

住宅保証制度の研究 : 英国の制度その1

The objective of the study reported herein is to examine the characteristics of the liability system and inspection one in the National House-Building Council scheme which is the most antipodal to the French system reported previously. The principal characteristics of the NHBC scheme are summarised as follows; 1) On the liability system, a) the guarantee of a vendor continues during the initial guarantee preiod (two years from the date of the Certificate)against defects of dwilling and during one year against defects of installations and machines. b) the guarantee of NHBC continues during eight years after the initial guarantee period against the major structural defects. c) the guarantee of NHBC covers also the vendor's liability in the case of the bankrupcy or liquidation, etc.. d) the benefit of the guarantee can be assigned to the subsequent purchaser. e) the purchaser's common law rights to defects is also preserved. 2) On the inspection system, a) the quality of dwellings is controled under the technical requirements for the design and construction which are compiled by the NHBC. b) the NHBC inspectors make the spot check in the process of construction of dwellings. c) the inspectors amount to a majority of the members of the NHBC.