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Peter Apps

@PeteApps

18 Nov

It is basically impossible to have watched the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and not feel that the construction industry is rotten from top to bottom: architects, contractors, product manufacturers, certifiers. The entire industry has come across as venal, careless and negligent.

I base this on not just the acts but the way they were treated by most of those involved as normal behaviour. An industry desperately in need of tough, independent regulation and an entirely new culture. Grenfell was the inevitable consequence of years of bad practice.

I'd add as well, the groups who have been talked about this week - LABC, NHBC, BRE - are unheard of to most people but are major industry bodies in the sector. These are groups with real influence. All had roles to play in the post Grenfell Hackitt review

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Peter Apps

@PeteApps

18 Nov

Here's the story: in 2014/15 Celotex could not get its insulation past NHBC inspectors for use on high rise buildings. In September 2014, the body said Celotex had "no relevant testing information" for the product

In January 2015, a contractor emailed Celotex to say NHBC had rejected its insulation from a high rise it was working on.

“They [NHBC] are claiming that it does burn, as does the Kingspan K15 product and they are very nervous of it being used in high rise buildings,” email said

It got worse a couple of months later when Ardmore, another developer, was ordered to remove Celotex from a job in progress at great cost because it was not compliant with the regs.

Read 13 tweets

Peter Apps

@PeteApps

18 Nov

Lunchtime update from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry:

Former head of marketing at Celotex denies any responsibility for "thoroughly dishonest" marketing of product used on Grenfell

So let's go through some of the things that were put to Mr Evans and what he said. Another Celotex employee, Jamie Hayes, says Paul Evans agreed to putting the additional fire barriers into the test, and had sign off

Mr Evans says: "I can't remember having any discussion about that with these three people... On the basis of what I can remember I would have to say this discussion didn't happen."

Read 14 tweets

Peter Apps

@PeteApps

17 Nov

Update from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry:

LABC issued a certificate for the insulation used on Grenfell Tower which simply copy and pasted Celotex's 'intentional, dishonest and deliberate' description of it as suitable for high rises

So who are LABC? It stands for 'Local Authority Building Control' and they are a representative group for council building control officers. But they are also a commercial entity that offer product certification for a fee.

After manipulating a large scale test to get a pass (see tweets yesterday), Celotex wanted an LABC certificate to convince building control officers that the testing was all correct and the product could be used on high rises (their big rivals Kingspan also had one of these certs

Read 11 tweets

Peter Apps

@PeteApps

16 Nov

Lunchtime update from the inquiry:

- Former product manager at Grenfell insulation manufacturer Celotex calls company's actions 'unethical' and 'dishonest'
- Company secured fire test pass by adding fire resistant board
- Jon Roper told to remove references to these alterations

So inquiry this morning has been discussing Celotex's test at the Building Research Establishment in May 2014. This was crucial in persuading the market that its product could be used on buildings above 18m. We already knew it used additional magnesium oxide (fire resisting)...

... boards in key locations near temperature monitors. Today Jon Roper - who was leading this project - said the whole senior management team knew of this strategy. Aged only 23, he was very uncomfortable with it, but says he felt he had to go along with what he was told.

Read 18 tweets

Peter Apps

@PeteApps

11 Nov

Here is Jonathan Roome, the former specification manager at Celotex, admitting the firm's marketing of the insulation product used on Grenfell was 'misleading' when it said it was 'suitable for use' on tall buildings

A little breakdown:

- RS5000 (used on Grenfell) passed a large-scale test as part of a wall made from cement fibre panels in 2014.
- This meant it was acceptable 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 for walls of tall buildings made in exactly the same way (cement fibre panels)

- But Celotex then went ahead and marketed it as "therefore suitable for use on buildings above 18m", no cavaet. It was used in many combinations, including the combustible ACM panels on Grenfell Tower

Read 5 tweets

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