It would appear that despite the odd downpour (well, what with Wimbledon, the Cricket and Glastonbury, what did you expect?!), the weather is set fair for the next few weeks.

It seems ages since we had a buoyant housing market, but the latest forecasts indicate that we could see growth in private housing. If this actually does come to pass, both the big national house-builders and the smaller individual builders could be expected to profit (not before time you might say!).

Although the longest day has past, we have really reached the height of summer. What a month; gorgeous weather combined with a mighty Lions win down under, Chris Froome doing well in the Tour de France, and of course Andy Murray's triumph at the end of a glorious Wimbledon! Everyone is feeling on top of…

The recent storm was a reminder that summer has finally departed and that autumn is well and truly here. Chillingly, it also means that the onset of winter is not too far away. Building activity tends to start to reduce in intensity at this time of year and there is a noticeable change in emphasis,…

It's impossible not to notice that the annual campaign to get us to spend more than we should in the shops over the holiday season is well under way. The mince pie mountains and the piles of puddings (of the Christmas variety) are well in evidence.

The wet and stormy weather does not seem to show any signs of letting up, and the first thing that comes to mind is that merchants should stock plenty of bags and also the sand to fill them up with. But, despite the gloomy prognosis, we are hopefully not too far away from the onset…

Whilst the housing market remains depressed, many homeowners may well opt to improve their property rather than to move house.

The season has definitely turned and cold, frosty weather is becoming much more common - so what products are likely to be in demand as winter approaches?

As merchants who are selling cement and other cement-containing materials, you may have noticed cement bags have a use by date printed on them but might not be aware of its significance. This is in effect a 'shelf life' for cement and has a big impact on stock control both for your suppliers and your…

The Budget is due next week and no doubt continued austerity will still be the name of the game. It has already been a tough few years for the building industry and we would, along with the rest of the country, welcome some more positive news.