Most Read Stories of 2021 Month by Month

January 2021

Construction and Trades Keep Going Through Lockdown 3

On the 5 January 2021 the third lockdown was announced in England and Scotland, moving the country from the (now notorious) Tier 4 restrictions. The Prime Minister appeared on national television the night before saying the decision followed a rapid rise in infections because the new variant of COVID-19 (Delta) was 50-70% more transmissible. Any of this sounding familiar?

Our piece confirmed that roofers and contractors would keep working (and mentioned growing shortages). Definitely a sign of things to come!

February 2021

How to Choose a Roofing Contractor

Roofing Today regularly gets a steady stream of calls from distressed homeowners who have been the victims of cowboy rogue roofers. In the winter of 2020/2021 this stream became a flood as chancers tried their hands at roofing during the lockdowns. We took action and now our advice on choosing a roofing contractor is a perennially popular post. We hope it’s saved many homeowners the heartache and costs of botched roofing work.

March 2021

Cupa Group Acquires Rinus Roofing Supplies to Accelerate Expansion

In March, CUPA Group, the natural slate producers, acquired Rinus Roofing Supplies through its subsidiary Burton Roofing Merchants, for an undisclosed sum. The deal gave Burton Roofing 37 nationwide distribution centres, turning over an estimated £400 million in sales.

April 2021

Construction Products Availability Will Get Worse

As the country was emerging from lockdown, another challenge was intensifying – the supply of building materials. In the first of what has been a regular series of updates through the year, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Product Availability work group warned that the situation was set to get worse – unfortunately they were right!

May 2021

NFRC Suspends BLM British Lead over Lead Cartel

In the final development of the lead cartel case (2020’s top most read story), the NFRC formally suspended HJ Enthoven Limited, trading as BLM British Lead from their supplier membership for one year, after the firm was found guilty of forming a lead cartel with Associated Lead Mills Ltd (ALM) and was fined £8 million.

June 2021

Specialist Contractors Appointed to £180m Roofing Framework

In June, we published the welcome news that 100 specialist roofing contractors won places on a new £180 million roofing framework for the design, supply and installation of roofing and associated works (RS4) framework from LHC.

July 2021

Materials Price Rises and Supply Shortages Make Contractor Pull Out of Project

In July, we reported how the steep rise in materials costs came to a head for one roofing contractor who had to pull out of a scheduled project despite the contract being signed the year before. The main contractor client refused to re-negotiate leaving the roofing firm no option but to abandon what would have been loss-making work.

August 2021

New Route to RoofCERT Accreditation for Experienced Roofers

Piloting a one-day practical assessment of roof tiling and slating, the Experienced Worker Route (EWR) to RoofCERT accreditation was reported as showing early signs of success in August and it certainly captured the industry’s attention that month!

September 2021

UK Roofing Awards 2021 Shortlist Announced

After pandemic postponements in 2020, the exciting announcement of the 2021 UK Roofing Awards shortlist was the most read in September. The winners were presented with their awards at the first live event to take place in 18 months, in November.

October 2021

Six Tips to Beat the Materials Shortages

As the materials shortages worsened through the year, in October we provided advice on ways to overcome the challenges of disrupted supply and delayed deliveries.

November 2021

Jordan Maley Wins the Great British Slate Off 2021

In November, coverage of the Great British Slate Off was the top story to capture the industry’s attention, with news of the competitors, winner and tutors who participated in this new competition.

December 2021

Scottish DMG Academy of Roofing Officially Opens

The DMG Academy of Roofing opened on 8 December to provide introductory training to those interested in a career in roofing. Located at Strathclyde Business Park in Belshill the modern facilities opened with a first cohort of five trainees who will learn about the construction of pitched tile and slate roofs.