Happy Birthday BCL!
We are celebrating our 50th birthday this year!
Established in 1959, by the five Blunt Brothers, we worked mainly in the domestic market in the Meon Valley area, before father and son team Brian and Kevin Blunt took over in 1976. Since then we’ve focused on the industrial market and established a loyal client base that we continue to serve today.
You can read all about our history by clicking here, or visit our offices at The Old Firestation, Twyford (see a map by clicking here).
Thank you to all our clients, suppliers and friends who have helped us to build on our success - we look forward to working with you during the next 50 years!
Making It Easy To Walk On Water
BCL - Official Suppliers of easyLay
Tough new regulations stipulate that unless you specify a permeable paving product or one that takes ground water away from sewers and drains, any installation over 5m2 needs planning permission. So, if you have groundwork to plan this year, it’s important to make sure you know exactly where you stand to not break the law and fall foul of the so-called ‘rainwater tax’.
easylay™ paving is the perfect solution for virtually any surface area, such as footpaths, patios and driveways. An innovative, porous paving solution, easylay™ drains water straight back into the water table or drainage system. It’s environmentally friendly too, using a patented design of recycled tyres and attractive aggregates.
The end result is an aesthetically pleasing, low maintenance and hard wearing solution that doesn’t require planning permission and ticks all the eco boxes.
As experts in specialist works for commercial organisations, Blunt Construction is bringing the easylay™ solution to the south of England. Offering first class works and innovative solutions to tricky problems, we are the perfect installation partner from site survey, through to sub-structural groundwork that will complement your easylay™ solution.
Colin Brooks, Commercial Director, says: “The partnership between easylay™ and BCL allows us to wash away any doubt that installations could contravene new planning regulations, and provide us with yet another innovative solution to help clients with effective, sustainable projects that they will be proud of.”
BCL on the BBC!
Blunt Construction’s Commercial Director, Colin Brooks has been on the national BBC News TV Channel during January.
Colin commented live for builders across the UK on the state of the construction industry on the day the end of the recession was announced - 26th January 2010.
Interviewed twice for the national channel as well as for the evening programme of BBC South Today, in his capacity as regional president for the National Federation of Builders, Colin provided analysis on the state of the industry, explaining that although the end of the recession was good news, the industry still has a long way to recover.
(You must have Windows Media Player or VLC Media Player installed to view these clips).Free Roof Survey for your premises
After a year of rising summer temperatures and the most severe winter weather for 45 years, can you be sure your buildings have survived the abnormal range of temperatures?
The UK’s frequent weather changes can cause considerable damage to roofs, particularly on buildings over 10 years old. Temperature changes lead to an increased risk of splits, bubbles and other defects, which may not appear obvious during summer but ‘thermal movement’ can become a real problem when winter sets in.
Blunt Construction are experts at providing solutions for problem flat roofs, having helped hundreds of businesses such as London School of Economics, IBM, Claridge’s Hotel and SEGRO. Our skilled team has many years experience repairing gutters, joints, seams, roof lights, upstands, flashings and full roof refurbishment with a fully reinforced seamless Liquid Applied Roof Membrane System.
Blunt Construction are offering you a FREE ROOF SURVEY, worth £250, to help you identify roofing issues that can be fixed during the spring and summer months.
Where required, Blunt Construction can provide a full repair service using approved systems, which are easy to apply with minimal noise and disruption to your premises. Our work comes with life expectancy guarantees between 5 - 25 years and can be applied without the need for a Hot Work Permit. We are members of the National Federation of Builders and the majority of our coatings are also approved to British Board of Agreement Certification standards. Click to see examples of our work solving flat roofing problems.
Download our faxback form to arrange your No-Obligation Roof Survey, or call 01962 717744.
Tuxes at the ready!
We are delighted to announce that BCL has been shortlisted in the category of Subcontractor of the Year in the prestigious Builder 09 Awards.
The winner will be announced on 7th October and we’re thrilled to be one of just four companies shortlisted in this nationwide competition!
Free Floor Inspection from BCL
As the weather turns, BCL is offering a FREE FLOOR INSPECTION (worth £250) to test up to three surfaces in your business premises.
Our testing equipment adheres fully to HSE standards and will provide you with an instant slip value rating to put your mind at rest.
Please click here to download a fax back form to book your appointment. Please respond before 31 October 2009.
Web Site Relaunched
We are pleased to announce the relaunch our our new Website, featuring new case studies on contracts recently completed.
We trust you find the content both informative and interesting and welcome your comments. All feedback will be appreciated.
Colin Brooks, Director
Wasting No Time Helping Veolia
We’ve completed the construction of a major regional office in record time after winning the Design and Build contract for a new cost-efficient modular office building for the Veolia Group, based in Otterbourne, Hampshire.
The new building, covering 980m2, was conceived as one of the four new regional offices for Veolia – a supplier of integrated waste management services.
Replacing an assortment of time-expired portable buildings, the contract, worth £1.4m, was completed in just seven months. This included adaptations and additions to the original plans within the same time frame, and even achieved a two week saving on the initial contract period. As part of the contract, an extension to an existing building and associated external building and ground works were also undertaken.
A modular construction approach was conceived to reduce capital spend and construction time, as operations had to be relocated off site during this period. This included advanced offsite manufacturing techniques.
Mark Taylor, Operations Director for Veolia Environmental Services (Hampshire) Ltd, says: “Blunt Construction provided high quality performance at a competitive cost to ensure we achieved our programme. Their honesty, openness and good communication made for an excellent working relationship, and we’ve had nothing but positive reactions to the new building.”
“The standard of the modular building construction was important as it affects the welfare and wellbeing of staff. The aesthetics of the building design both externally and internally were therefore very important to us to make sure it felt like a conventional building. We also worked with Blunt Construction to ensure consideration was paid to the environmental impact of the building work, to reduce our carbon footprint long term.”
For more information on the Blunt Construction range of specialist and traditional services, please contact Colin Brooks on 01962 717744.
Colin Brooks Appointed Regional Chairman of Builders’ Group
Our Commercial Director, Colin Brooks, has been appointed regional chairman of leading trade body the National Federation of Builders (NFB). 
Colin took over the chairmanship of the NFB’s Southern Region from Leslie Hillman of LJH Building Refurbishment Maintenance at the annual general meeting.
The NFB represents small and medium sized contractors in England and Wales, operating a regional network of seven offices, providing specialist business support and lobbying local, national and European government on a range of issues to sustain positive trading conditions for members.
Speaking at the NFB Southern Region’s AGM, Colin said: “These are difficult times for our industry and so it is more important than ever that builders can turn to the NFB for support, help and advice.”
“Our industry has a key role to play in providing this country’s built environment - our homes, schools, hospitals, shops and workplaces. I am keen to see the development of training opportunities for young people coming into our industry. It is important that we work through this economic downturn, preparing for the upturn and ensuring that we continue to recruit and train the skilled workforce needed to build Britain’s future.”
Mr Brooks has over 37 years of experience in the construction industry, working primarily in the refurbishment and maintenance sectors in Hampshire. He started his own consultancy in 1995, moving to Blunt Construction in 1998, and was appointed a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building in 2007.
NFB chief executive Julia Evans welcomed Mr Brooks to his new role saying: “Colin Brooks has an excellent track record as a successful and forward-thinking contractor. He will be an excellent advocate for our industry and ensure that the interests of builders in the southern region are well represented at a national level.”
Providing Constructive Support to the Community
We’ve been busy helping the young and the 
not-so-young, donating our free time to help two important charities. Both the Winchester Scouts and Intouch Support, an organisation dedicated to working with people who need help to live independently, have recently been benefitting from our community support projects.
Every year we choose a charity to support, providing them with the same high standards of labour that their commercial client’s benefit from. This year, the Winchester Scouts were chosen but the company were also keen to lend a hand to the vulnerable members of society that Intouch Support work with.
As a result, the Winchester Scouts have seen their Pinsent campsite in Hampshire redeveloped to include an extended and refurbished car park, a meeting/multi-activity room and even the formation of a new archery range! And, whenever staff at the Hampshire-based construction company have a moment to spare, they are also out and about helping the region’s elderly residents who depend on the assistance of charity Intouch Support. From garden clearing, mending leaky sheds, fixing fence panels or even helping with conservatories, residents have been helped with a whole range of maintenance and management projects.
Colin Brooks, Commercial Director of Blunt Construction, said: “In the current financial climate, we don’t want to be one of the many doom mongers and so we’re proud to be able to support charities in our region in a practical way. You often hear stories of elderly and less able residents who need assistance and we’re absolutely delighted to lend a hand whenever we can. And Winchester Scouts is a great way of encouraging young children to be active in society, so we’re more than happy to offer this support. For us, being a successful business also means putting something back into the wider community – after all, we’re supposed to be constructive!”
Winchester Scouts District Commissioner, Carol Pannell, said: “As if by magic, Blunt Construction, with its considerable expertise, has done in seven weeks more than we have been able to achieve in seven years. It is without doubt one of the most valuable contributions an external organisation has been able to offer to us and we are extremely grateful for their support”
Andrew Rolt, Winchester District Scout Chairman, added: “This is a rare visionary approach being taken by Blunt Construction. This commitment and effort has really enhanced the delivery of quality Scouting in the area.”