BSI's Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2030:2012 Edition 2 Improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings – Specification for installation process, process management and service provision recommends best practice for installing, managing, and providing energy efficiency measures (EEMs) in existing buildings.

PAS 2030 Edition 2:

• provides a robust and common specification that allows you to demonstrate your compliance, as well as proving that the EEMs you install will meet customer expectations
• has been updated to reflect changes to the Green Deal Code of Practice and ensure that appropriate consideration has been given to commercial properties. The Green Deal is the Coalition Government's flagship policy for improving the energy efficiency of buildings in the UK. It is based on the principle that measures taken to improve energy efficiency can pay for themselves through savings on fuel bills
• adds a further 12 permissible EEMs, either in the form of new annexes or through amendment to existing annexes. This builds on the 26 existing measures, which cover heating, insulation, and glazing.

Note: You can order international Standards from www.standards.co.nz or call 0800 782 632 during business hours or email enquiries@standards.co.nz. Members of Standards New Zealand receive a 20% discount on all NZS and AS/NZS Standards, and a 10% discount on all international Standards. Visit our membership page for more information.

Two Transforma ladders do not fully comply with the mandatory safety Standard AS/NZS 1892.1:1996 Portable ladders – Part 1: Metal for ladders rated at 180kg. The ladders did not pass one of the tests included in the Standard and received inconsistent results for another.

The following products are affected:

• Transforma TRL35 ladder (35 different sized ladders in one)
  
  
• Transforma TRL24 ladder (24 different sized ladders in one)
  

→ The company that produces the ladders has re-rated these models and issued a revised instruction manual for safe use. If you intend to use your ladder for weights of more than 120 kg, call 0800 008 666 for more information.

Summarised from a Consumer media release, 22 April 2013.

Read about the updated requirements for masonry-veneer wall cladding published in the latest version of NZS 4229:2013 Concrete masonry buildings not requiring specific engineering design and the intended compliance route for concrete masonry buildings.

→ Read more in Building Controls Update 142 (http://www.dbh.govt.nz/bcupdate-142)

Summarised from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Building Controls Update, 26 April 2013.

Related article

• Revised Standard published for concrete masonry buildings – NZS 4229, Touchstone, April 2013

Tiled floors are susceptible to movement, so joist spacing should not exceed 400 mm.

To prevent deflection in the substrate between joists, BRANZ also recommends reducing the spans given in NZS 3604:2011 Timber‐framed buildings by 20%.

Maximum deflection for tiled floors is 1/360 of the span.

Where large tiles are used or the span is over 3 m, reduce the deflection to 1/480.

→ For more information on tiling, see Good Practice Guide: Tiling on the BRANZ website

Summarised from BRANZ Guideline April 2013.

Clauses 8.7.3.3 and 8.7.3.4 of NZS 3604:2011 Timber-framed buildings cover bracing connections to top plates, both inline and at right angles to external walls.

Inline joints require the following.

• For inline joints in top plates where the wall contains bracing elements up to 100 bracing units (BU) per metre, the top plate joint requires a minimum of a 3 kN fixing.
  
  
• For inline joints in top plates where the wall contains bracing elements that exceed 100 BU per metre, the top plate joint requires a minimum of a 6 kN fixing.
  
  
• Where the wall contains one or more bracing elements, use the value that is required for the top plate jointing that applies to the highest rating bracing element.
  

Walls that are at right angles to the external walls require jointing at top plates as follows.

• Walls that contain bracing elements of not more than 125 BU require at least one fixing of 6 kN capacity to an external wall.
  
  
• Walls that contain bracing elements that exceed 125 BU and up to 250 BU require a minimum of 6 kN connections to two external walls.
  
  
• Walls that contain bracing elements over 250 BU require a minimum of two connections to external walls, each connection to be a minimum of 2.4 kN per 100 BU contained in the wall.
  
  
• The fixings required for walls at right angles, as above, can be directly attached or through framing members in line with the wall, for example, a truss bottom cord or ceiling joist.
  

Summarised from BRANZ Guideline April 2013.

BRANZ has published Engineering Basis of NZS 3604. This publication is intended as a source document for those who need to know the basis for the engineering decisions underpinning NZS 3604:2011 Timber-framed buildings.

Engineering Basis of NZS 3604 is especially useful for those users of NZS 3604 whose projects, designs, or systems fall outside its scope.

Ambiguities and problem areas are also highlighted for attention by future Standards drafting committees.

→ Visit the BRANZ website (http://www.branz.co.nz/cms_display.php?sn=41&st=1) to download Engineering Basis of NZS 3604 for free

Summarised from BRANZ Guideline April 2013.

The BRANZ seminar 'Getting the best out of your building' – BRANZ science roadshow' will run from May to July 2013. The seminar will use the expertise of BRANZ scientists and their latest research to aid the future performance of well-designed and built homes and buildings. The target audience is architects, designers, builders, and building officials.

→ Read about the BRANZ seminars (http://www.branz.co.nz/cms_display.php?sn=19&st=1&pg=10385)

Summarised from the BRANZ website.

As of 1 April 2013, the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB) has been in existence for 100 years. As part of the PGDB's centenary celebrations, the PGDB has launched a centenary web page that will be updated monthly with historical information about the PGDB and the plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying trades.

→ Visit the PGDB's centenary page(http://www.pgdb.co.nz/centenary)

Summarised from the PGDB's info brief, April 2013.

The buildNZ trade fair for the building and construction industry will be held from 23 to 25 June 2013, in Auckland. BuildNZ brings industry professionals, construction industry innovators, and industry educators together to share ideas, showcase the latest products, and develop business relationships to work together on the opportunities and challenges presented by the current industry.

→ Read about buildnz(http://www.buildnz.com/)

Summarised from the buildnz website.

The Registered Master Builders 113th Annual Conference will be held from 11 to 13 July 2013, in Dunedin.

→ Read about the conference(http://www.masterbuilder.org.nz/about-us/conference.aspx)

Conditions of contract for building and civil engineering

Floor coverings - Resilient sheet and tiles - Installation practices

Project title: Structural design actions- Amendment

Project title: Concrete structures Standard – Amendment

Free to download from our website: www.standards.co.nz

DR AS/NZS 4233.1 High pressure water jetting systems - Part 1: Safe operation and maintenance (Revision of AS/NZS 4233.1:1999)

Provides requirements and guidance for the operation and maintenance of water jetting equipment. It describes methods for eliminating hazards or minimizing risks associated with high pressure water jetting.

Public comment on this draft Standard closes on 8 July 2013

DR AS/NZS 4233.2 High pressure water jetting systems - Part 2: Construction and performance (Revision of AS/NZS 4233.2:1999)

Applies to high pressure water jetting systems with an output capability greater than 800 bar litres per minute and less than 5600 bar litres per minute (identified as Class A) and systems with an output capability in excess of 5600 bar litres per minutes (identified as Class B). Safe operation and maintenance of high pressure water jetting systems is not covered by this Standard but is given in AS/NZS 4233.1.

• NZS 4251.1:1998 Solid plastering - Cement plasters for walls, ceilings and soffits
  Superseded by NZS 4251.1:2007, but remained Current until 15 April 2013