BigREc launch 4 December, finally!

London UK - THE results of the BigREc Survey, undertaken by Salvo in 2007, will officially be launched on the afternoon of 4th December 2008 in London followed by a drinks reception. AEAT managed the survey with BRE through CRWP (Construction Resources & Waste Platform) and funded by the UK government department Defra.

CRWP's press release states:
The BigREc survey, which was carried out in 2007, shows the state of the reclamation industry in the UK compared to the previous survey of 1998. The survey looked at reclaimed building materials from the very old antique and expensive, to the broad range of stock found in a typical UK salvage yard, through to the more modern and practically free salvage. The survey was carried out by Salvo LLP, and commissioned by CRWP. The findings indicate that there has been downward trend in reclamation for most of the key material groups, with the exception of ceramics (mainly bricks).

Programme:
Construction Resources and Waste Platform Event
Thursday 4th December 2008
Wallacespace St Pancras, 22 Dukes Road, London WC1H 9PN

BigREc Survey - A Survey of the UK Reclamation and Salvage Trade

15.15 Registration
15.45 Welcome - Andy Gregory, Defra or Steve Millward, Saint-Gobain
15.55 An introduction to CRWP - Katherine Adams, BRE
16.15 BigREc 2 - The figures - Gilli Hobbs, BRE
16.30 BigREc 2 - The story behind the figures - Thornton Kay, Salvo LLP
16.50 An industry perspective - Steve Tomlin, MASCO
17.15 Meeting close and Drinks Reception
18.00 Close

Register online here for the event

A pdf of the report will be linked here soon.

Architectural Heritage at Olympia Antiques Fair

Above and below: Architectural Heritage stand at Winter Fine Art and Antiques Fair, Olympia London 10-16 November 2009






Architectural Heritage

Fine Art and Antiques Fair

Build your own Bespoke Cast Iron Radiators

Above: UK Cast Iron Radiators website


Above: Viv of UK Cast Iron Radiators with a selection of bespoke radiators


UK Architectural Antiques, Cannock Wood Staffs

UK Architectural Antiques are offering a bespoke radiator service.

The traditional Victorian radiator was first produced in America in the 1880’s. Today, this simple design gives a contemporary feel, especially when fully polished. The Victorian is often called ‘The 4 column radiator or The 9 column radiator’.

The Victorian Cast Iron Radiator is available in 810, 760, 660,460 and 340mm Tall x depths varying from 340mm down to 120mm x your bespoke length.

Depending upon the height you choose, the victorian, gives a heat output varying from 358 btu’s to 187 btu’s per section.

The styles include Cherub, Daisy, Windsor, Orleans, Deco and it is also possible to choose your type of finish. UK Cast Iron Radiators also supply the associated Radiator Valves in Brass and Chrome as well as two types of Wall Stays.

The site is fully functional and is the only one in the UK that allows you to build your own cast iron radiator all the prices and sizes change automatically as you alter the size, style and finish.

The radiators on UK Cast Iron Radiators are all new but Salvo would like to point out that there are a number of sites on Salvo which sell reclaimed and salvaged radiators.

UK Cast Iron Radiator

Salvage company adds warehouse

MASON BROTHERS Architecturals & Antiques, 11 Maple Street, Five Corners, Essex Jct, Vermont 05452 USA

David Knox, owner of Mason Brothers Architectural Salvage in Essex Junction, has added Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Burlington to his recycling business.

Knox purchased the warehouse from Jonathan Farrell, thus eliminating a “friendly” competitor, and is in the process of moving the stock to the Essex location.

The company salvages all kinds of reusable building material and hardware for use in new construction or restoration. They carry hardwood and softwood flooring, doors, stained glass, vintage plumbing and Loose electrical fixtures, door knobs, cabinets and more. Knox said the additional inventory will help to lower prices.


Architectural Salvage Warehouse

Crisis For Christmas 'STOP! YOUR WASTE COULD BE OUR TREASURE'

Nottinghill, London UK

You've probably heard the quote 'One man's waste is another man's treasure', well our feeling is just that...

Do you have 'useable' commercial waste? It could be just what we're looking for to transform 6 disused buildings across London into welcoming centres for the Crisis Christmas (CC) programme which opens for one week over the Christmas period. Crisis Christmas is a collaboration of the work of Crisis - a national charity dedicated to helping homeless people, and Architecture for Humanity UK (AfHUK), part of the worldwide charitable organisation that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian problems. AfHUK uses innovative architecture and good design to create warm, aspirational, functioning spaces with the intention of providing homeless people a more comfortable and enjoyable Christmas.

We have several teams of volunteers lined up to design and create spaces where homeless people can eat, bathe, read and relax, but with a £0 budget - which is why we are asking for your waste donations! If you have anything you think we could utilise, please let us know. Good examples are fabric offcuts, cable drums, wooden crates, offcuts of building material, and even surplus tins of paint. Likewise, if you are or know of a company who can donate any new materials that you produce or use, such as polycarbonate sheet, MDF or even paint brushes and other tools, we would also love to hear from you.

Remember; what you think may be rubbish could make someones Christmas with a bit of help from the volunteers of Crisis Christmas.

Please contact Lou; info@michaelisboyd.com (or) 00 44 207 221 1237


Crisis Christmas

Architecture for Humanity UK

Michaelis Boyd Associates

Victorian Christmas Fair

Fern Avenue Antiques Village, Jesmond UK
Saturday 6th December 10am - 4pm

Shinners of Jesmond invite you to come and enjoy a traditional Christmas celebration at Fern Avenue Antiques Village. Which will include carol singers, chestnuts roasting, mince pies, barrel organ entertainment and a wide variety of Christmas gift opportunities and inspiration. Antique silver and jewllery, handbags, french antiques, linen, lighting, antique furniture.

Email: info@fernavenueantiquesvillage.co.uk or Phone: (0191) 2094321
Fern Avenue Antiques Village, Fern Avenue (Signposted off Osborne Road) Jesmond, NE2 2RA

Minchinhampton Architectural Salvage Company invites you to an Open

Cirencester Road, Gloucestershire UK






Day on Friday, 28th November, 11am – 4pm
To celebrate the opening of our new buildings we are having an open day. This will be an opportunity for experts in conservation and those fascinated by heritage and architecture to meet and discuss all aspects of materials re-use and restoration.
Running order:

11am–12pm: Eve Guinan – a top glass conservator & author, will be interviewing Leigh Chapman, a local business entrepreneur & product developer. Leigh is developing a glazing system that can be applied to the existing heritage window components to reduce heat loss & maintain conservation ethics.
Lunch

1-1.30: Steve Tomlin – MASCo’s M.D. and reclamation supremo, will talk about aspects of renovation, identification and repair of stone & wood, referencing fireplaces and decorative pieces.

3.00pm Alan McEwen will be launching his new book ‘ Fred Dibnah’s Chimney Drops’ and will sign copies. Fred was a great friend of Alan’s and they had many adventures together, Alan chronicles in detail, Fred’s major chimney demolitions in this wonderful book.

Throughout the day there will be demonstrations of wood treatment, stone & marble repairs and a representative of Bio-Regional will be present to advise on bio-sustainability.

Space for the talks is limited so please ring/e-mail to confirm your place and for more information.

Masco

A story with a happy ending

Above: The bollard installed at Mr Fotsch's home in France



IBS Reclaim, Buckinghamshire UK

SalvoNEWS subscribers might remember an article in a past edition of the magazine, about interesting things for sale on SalvoWEB. One of the highlights was a cast iron London street bollard, a genuine novel item with the crest and date plate visible.

IBS Reclaim have recently informed us that as a result of the Salvo ad the bollard has sold for its asking price of £250+vat. On Tuesday 11th November the bollard was sold to a Mr Fotsch, IBS were surprised that a couple of days later on the 13th November they received photos of the bollard insitu at the customers second home in South West France where it had successfully arrived on the back of a Land Rover.

David Marlow from IBS said, "Mr Fotch is of German origin and worked in the financial sector within the city of London, thus his fondness for the bollard, he also purchased a replia post for the same property in an attempt to confuse and amuse his French friends and neighbours."

IBS Reclaim

The Recession and fairs

David Moss from ATG
Reports on the recession and past fairs

Now we are openly talking about recession, even deep recession, the effect on all levels of business is bound to be profound. Obviously antique dealers, who basically are purveyors of luxury goods, cannot escape the enforce belt-tightening.

There is slowing down of the trade. But it is often said that bad times also produce opportunities, and this factor, combined with the unpredictability of the antiques scene, makes for interesting times.

Take the Antiques For Everyone at Birmingham's NEC from October 30 to November 2. n my preview I said that, as a middle-to-lower range fixture, this fair was especially vulnerable. If I feared the worst, just think what the 300 plus exhibitors felt. But first-hand reports suggest far from the worst happened. In fact, business proved good for many, with an unexpected return of American trade and new private clients.


Site

A cold reception for the contemporary

Summers Place Auction, October 21 2008

Summers Place Auction house hold two sales a year at their grounds in Billingshurst, Rupert van der Werff have opted to split the sale into two halves. A live auction for 150 higher-value items was followed by a sealed-bid sale of 323 lower-value pieces.

While the live auction almost matched May's selling rate (63 per cent achieved a hammer total of £842,100 compared to 71 per cent to a total of $1.33m earlier in the year) the same could not be said for the sealed bid auction where, only about 35 per cent sold, compared to 66 per cent in May. On the other hand, the sealed-bid material appears to have been of better quality in October for the sale's total at £320,071 achieved by the 326 lots offered in May.

The fortunes of the garden statuary market, are of course particularly affected by the housing market. Mr Rylands speculated that would-be bidders at the low end of the spectrum, probably with mortgages to worry about, would consider a decorative piece for their garden an unnecessary extravagance in the current climate.


Summers Place Auction

Appeal over stolen items

stolen from; Kingston upon Thames, on October 10th

Two fine early 19th century clocks were among more than 100 mostly antique items stolen in Kingston upon Thames on October 10.

Both clocks were in the owners family for more than a century and had recently been professionally overhauled by reputable horologist and were in excellent condition. They are ebonised brass inlaid bracket clock c. 1810 with a convex painted dial signed c. 1810 with a convex painted dial signed G&R Cathro, London, above and a mahogany longcase c. 1820 with a square painted dial signed James Gorham, Kensington. Silver, jewellery, porcelain and eight oil paintings including family portraits were also stolen.

If anyone has any information they should contact; Kingston upon Thames CID on 020 8247 4946 quoting the crime reference number 0410878/08.

The crunch begins to bite a the top end

Following the sometimes painful results of last week's Impressionist and Modern art sales in New York, there can now be little doubt that the worldwide financial distress is undermining demand for trophy paintings and sculpture. All sales missed their low estimates by some margin.

Just 64 per cent of the 70 lots found buyers at Sothebys evening sale of November 3 (the lowest for one of these sales at Sotheby's for seven years) for a $197m (120m) total that was well below the $338-475m overall estimate. Auctioneer Tobias Meyer cited a "changed financial environment" for what he referred to as a "new market" for art.

Attempts to downgrade reserves set in the summer starved off any 'meltdown', and it was clear that the auction houses were keener to sell and lose money on guaranteed works than hold onto them. Ten days prior to this sale, Sotheby's had reported a loss of $15m in guarantees from recent auctions in Hong Kong and London. Sotheby's have also announced a $0.15 dividend for the fourth quarter of 2008. The announcement comes as New York adjusts to falls in the Impressionist, modern and contemporary art markets.

Christie's held back-to-back evening sales. The Modern Age, a hardback catalogue combining art from the estates of New York society figures Rita K Hillman and Alice Lawrence, met a lukewarm response on November 5. "The estimates were from an earlier time, and the market has changed now," conceded Christopher Burge, the evening's auctioneer. The two collections of good but not stellar materials brought a total of $43m (26.3m) against it $104m low estimate. Of the 58 lots, 17 failed to sell. Americans represented 61 per cent of the buyers, with Europeans (including Russians) trailing at 26 per cent. Middle Eastern collections accounted for only two per cent of buyers.


Sotheby's

Christie's

Antique Trade Gazette

Bonhams to sell collection belonging to pioneer of Regency style - Thomas Hope

Above: An Empire mahogany and gilt bronze mounted breakfront Library Bookcase in the manner of Jacob-Desmalter. Property from the family of Thomas Hope. 401cm wide, 45cm deep, 260cm high (157.5" wide, 17.5" deep, 102" high). Estimate: £12,000 - 18,000


Bonhams Auction, New Bond Street 26 November 2008 at 2pm

A collection of items relating to the celebrated Regency designer Thomas Hope (1769-1831) will be sold at Bonhams – directly from the Hope family. The collection of heirlooms will be sold on Wednesday 26 November 2008 in the Fine English Furniture and Works of Art sale at Bonhams New Bond Street salerooms.

The collection comprises letters, sculpture, silver and jewellery, which belonged to Thomas Hope as well as his son, Adrian John Hope (1811-1863) and grandson Adrian Elias Hope (1845-1919).

One of the most interesting items in the collection is a group of letters between Thomas Hope and the English sculptor and draughtsman, John Flaxman, estimated at £800-1,200. Other items include a William IV silver table service of flatware, estimated at £15,000-20,000, an Empire mahogany breakfront library bookcase, estimated at £12,000-18,000 and a marble bust of Adrian John Hope by John Henry Foley (Irish 1818-1874), estimated at £5,000-7,000.

Thomas Hope was an innovative designer and major figure in the history of British design. His contributions in the fields of interior design, architecture and the decorative arts helped to define the Regency style, a mode of design which continues to be influential.

Of Scottish decent, Thomas Hope was born in Amsterdam into one of the wealthiest banking families in Europe. Aged 18 he embarked on the Grand Tour which was to last ten years. He moved to London in 1794 and bought a house on Duchess Street which quickly became the epitome of sophistication and good taste. Through opening his house to the public, Hope became the forefather of interior design as we know it today, writing his book Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, 1808.


Bonhams Catalogue

Books for Christmas

Interesting books on Amazon

Stuck for gift ideas for Christmas or haven't started planing yet. . . What would be better than an interesting book? We have added a selection to the book section of SalvoWEB including London Bridges, Art Nouveau Tiles, Church Clocks and The Victorian Cemetery.

Books

Could you be the next Trashionista?

Gateshead, Newcastle UK

Residents of Gateshead have recently put on a catwalk show dedicated to rubbish and recycling, known as 'trashion'. Trashion is a term for art, jewelry, fashion and objects for the home from used, thrown-out, found & repurposed elements. Devised by members of Gateshead Youth Assembly (GYA), the event invited everyday primary school, secondary school and youth group in Gateshead to create an environmentally friendly costume.

Councillor Michael McNestry, cabinet member for sustainable communities at Gateshead Council, said, "This is a way of bringing the recycling message home to people all across Gateshead, and allowing the borough's young people to work together, be creative and use there imagination, learn about their own impact on the environment."


Gateshead trash fashion

Real life restorer

St Augustines, New Orleans USA

A 1800's statue of Jesus was removed from a New Orleans Church, with the intention of restoring the piece and then putting it back into the church in all of its glory. However, after a string of unfinished jobs and unpaid employees Peter Rubens a specialist in old master paintings ended up in prison.




Peter Rubens

New ICE demolition protocol shifts towards reuse

London UK - THE new 2008 Demolition Protocol was launched at the Institute of Civil Engineers in Westminster on 30 October by author Brian Menzies of the Enscape consultancy. This follows the 2003 version and shifts the emphasis away from recycling - crushing bricks and chipping wood - towards reclamation and reuse which saves embodied energy and carbon emissions.

The 2003 demolition protocol was a recycler's charter. But the new protocol recognises the EU Waste Framework Directive which now states that reuse must be considered as a priority order over recycling. Rather than simply commending reuse, the new directive requires reuse and a failure to reuse will need to be justified on environmental grounds.

At the launch the demolition sector was described as one of the UK's most innovative, a tribute which Terry Quarmby, president of the Institute of Demolition Engineers, warmly welcomed.

There was a brief discussion after the launch presentation during which the most common theme was how important it was for the client to be on board if reuse was to be achieved.

Some points by Thornton Kay of Salvo who was at the launch:

1. Consumer and SME participation in the demolition protocol - 90 per cent of current reclaimed materials reuse is outside mainstream construction by private homeowners and small commercial reusers.

2. Big contractors are responsible for the supply of most reclaimed materials, but small businesses and private individuals are responsible for reuse. This mismatch results in mainstream construction frequently destroying materials while claiming there is no demand for them, even though they can be highly sought after outside the mainstream construction sector.

3. Supply lines are increasing in length and the quantities of materials are decreasing in volume. This finding from the BigREc Survey is due to be published in December 2008. This resulted in shrinking reclaimed supplies into a buoyant salvage sector, which in turn has now shrunk the sector. It has also resulted in reclaimed materials being sought in other countries, or new materials being substituted for old in salvage yards during the past ten years.

4. No mention was made at the launch or in the protocol of some of the regulatory obstructions to reuse, such as the EU Construction Products Directive and issues of quality and liability.

5. We concur fully with the need for reuse to be client-led especially within mainstream construction. If the client is keen on saving materials from demolition then contractors will comply. Equally if materials are to be reused within newbuild or refurbishment projects it is the client who must positively instigate this, and then the professional and contracting teams will fall into line and reuse will be a certainty. Without client support reuse is usually a step too far in an increasingly complex and highly-regulated construction world.

ICE explanatory leaflet
ICE Demolition Protocol 2008


ICE: Press statement
------------
Mr Nigel Mattravers, Chairman of the ICE Waste and Resources Management Board, said: "Issues of cost and environmental sustainability can make managing buildings and structures at the end of their lives a complex job. The best decisions are made pro-actively, and the updated Protocol will enable policy-makers, clients, and agencies to better assess how they might re-use buildings, structures, elements, and products prior to demolition and recycling. The Protocol prioritises the need to re-use, then recycle, with landfill always as a last resort."

The Protocol has been widely adopted, since its launch in 2003, by a range of public and private sector projects, and is supported by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) through its inclusion in WRAP's step-by-step guide for the efficient use of materials in regeneration projects. It is now a common requirement within planning policy, tenders, contracts and voluntary agreements. It can also contribute to the provision of Site Waste Management Plans.

Dr Mervyn Jones, Construction Programme Manager at WRAP, said: "We are delighted to be supporting the ICE Demolition Protocol 2008. The last five years have seen an industry shift towards considering materials and resource efficiency from the outset. The updated Protocol communicates good practice in a clear and user friendly format and will go a long way towards enabling its users to make the most cost-effective and environmentally sound decisions from day one."

The 2008 protocol
- Explains the role of policy-makers and the client team in delivering cost benefits, by adopting the Protocol
- Ensures that the principles of the waste hierarchy are adopted in the decision-making process for evaluating buildings, the fit out materials and structures
- Offers a process-driven approach to setting targets for deconstruction, reclamation and reuse
- Provides a Deconstruction/Demolition Recovery Index (DRI) - this is the percentage of building elements, products or materials to be reused or recycled
- Estimates bulk quantities through a pre-demolition audit, summarised in a Demolition Bill of Quantities (D-BOQ)
- Provides a new build recovery index (NBRI) - describing the percentage of building elements, products or materials recovered for use in the new build
- Demonstrates compliance with Site Waste Management Plan requirements
- Describes how carbon benefits, through avoided haulage movements, can be realised and estimated easily
- Provides data for in-house and local authority monitoring of annual construction and demolition waste arisings

What has Olympia got in store?

National Hall, west London exhibition complex, UK

Now in its sixteenth year, the Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair is one of the UK's top winter antique events. Bearing in mind the credit crunch we question what will this year hold for the Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair, which will be staged in the National Hall of the west London exhibition complex from November 10th to 16th?

In its favour, one can say that a fair of this age has seen it all before. The Winter Olympia has endured tough times, not perhaps a full-blown recession but 9/11 proved as bad a turning point for the European trade as anyone can remember. Some 200 dealers will participate, around 35 down on last year.

Olympia

Cheaper Stalls at Bermondsey

Bermondsey, London UK -

Stall and hire rates have been cut in a move to attract more dealers to London's Friday Bermondsey Market, now back in Bermondsey Square. Southwark Council reduced the cost of a 9 x 3ft stall to a half price £25 from November 1st and the offer will last until the end of January.

Joan Bygrave, chairman of the Bermondsey Antiques Market Traders Association, said. "At present we have between 60 and 70 dealers with a maximum capacity of 200 in the square, with the numbers gradually building up week by week.

Bermondsey Square Market

Blue John

Chatsworth, Derbyshire UK


Above: A Blue John Vase in the state bedroom at Chatsworth House

Blue John Stone is a rare, semiprecious mineral found at only one location in the world - a hillside near Mam Tor, just outside Castleton. The name Blue John derives from the French Bleu Jaune meaning Blue Yellow, it is a form of fluorite and was discovered as miners were exploring the cave systems of Castleton for lead.

Blue John fluorite has been worked into ornaments since 1750. Within ten years there were sixteen mines working the area to supply thirty-odd local firms who fashioned it into inlays for fireplace and other ornaments for the stately homes of England. Old craftsman dried the Blue John stone and noticed that it changed colour to pink and red. It is not clear if this was discovered by accident as a result of a mistake in drying the stone. At 230°C the Blue John stone changes colour but at these temperatures, gases are produced which can sometimes explode and destroy the piece.

Nowadays, the caves of Castleton are magnificent show caves and are some of the most popular tourist attractions in Derbyshire. Of the four show caves only Treak Cliff and, to a lesser extent, Blue John have veins of Blue John Stone. Treak Cliff Cavern still mines about 500 kilograms of Blue John Stone each year. The veins of Blue John Stone are easy to see and many of the formations are well lit. Blue John Stone is a semiprecious stone and gives Castleton its nickname of 'Gem of the Peaks'.

Ashford Marble

Chatsworth, Derbyshire UK


Above: The black marble mines of Ashford-in-the-Water Derbyshire [map from Peak Heritage]



Above: Ashford marble columns in the chapel at Chatsworth



Above: A large Ashford marble vase with hard stone inlay



Above: Ashford marble steps and columns



Above: Black Ashford marble columns


The Chatsworth house collection comprises some of Europe's finest private art collections, representing 400 years of European culture and craftsmanship.

Among the interesting features are two examples of Ashford Marble. The Ashford marble mill was founded by Henry Watson on the River Wye in 1748, the main source was from Arrock Quarry beside the road to Sheldon, close to Chatsworth house.

The marble existed in prehistoric times, a dressed slab was found in a tumulus on fin cop above Monsal Dale. Strictly speaking Ashford marble is not a marble but an impure form of limestone naturally impregnated with a bitumen, Because it changes from a grey to a glossy black when polished.

At Chatsworth Bess of Hardwick commissioned a black marble chimney piece in 1580. About 1700 the great Grandson, of Bess of Hardwick, the 4th Earl of Devonshire, used the marble for interior building work during his major rebuilding off Chatsworth. In the 1830's the 6th Duke had a massive marble doorway executed at Ashford for his new wing at Chatsworth, as well as ornamental gritstone balustrades for the stairs and external battlements.

The work produced was very much in tune with the tastes of Victorian English society and was in such demand that the whole village was taken over by its manufacture. Ashford marble found popularity as a decorative material when polished the black marble provided a perfect background for mosaic and inlaid patterns. Local workers made tourist souvenirs of inlaid ornaments. In 1835 William Adam began working floral inlay designs, some believe the 6th Duke of Devonshre encouraged this after he had been to Italy and seen the inlay there. The work produced was reputed to be equal to the finest produced in Florence and examples from several craftsmen were shown at the great exhibition in 1851.

Most prized was the rare Duke's red, found in limited supply in the Ashford locality. The entire supply was stored at Chatsworth on the orders of the 7th Duke of Devonshire, in 1970's Duke's red marble was incorporated in the Cavendish crest, a serpent laid near Chatsworth house.

The very popularity of Ashford black marble was also its nemesis as cheap substitutes of painted designs on treated slate were frequently being created. Ashford marble remained popular throughout the reign of Queen Victoria, but towards the end of the century tastes were changing. The quarry closed in 1905 though inlay work continued for a few years until the marble reserves were used up. The site of the marble works was partly lost in the construction of the A6.

There are still two examples of Ashford marble at Chatsworth. The chapel features black marble columns and steps and there is also a fine example of a large Asford marble inlaid vase.

Chatsworth