Construction industry

The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) is forecasting rising sales in the construction sector - despite the coronavirus pandemic, capacity bottlenecks and high prices for construction services. After the nominal construction volume already rose by 10% to €488 billion in 2020, the DIW expects construction output to increase by a further 13% this year and by around 10% in the coming...

Wismar University of Applied Sciences, the Technical University of Braunschweig, the German Timber Industry Association (HDH) and Haas Fertigbau GmbH want to jointly develop an open standard timber construction system for public buildings by the end of 2024. According to the Agency for Renewable Resources, the aim is to create a standard timber construction system that can be used by planners and small to medium-sized carpentry and...

Since January 1, 2022, new buildings must be equipped with higher chimneys. According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, "newly built pellet heating systems, tiled stoves or fireplaces must now have a chimney whose outlet opening protrudes so far above the roof that exhaust gases can be carried away by the natural air flow". The aim of the...

More prefabricated timber houses were built in Germany in 2021. This is according to the Federal Association of German Prefabricated Construction (BDF). The trend is continuing, especially for apartment buildings. In prefabricated timber construction, wall and ceiling elements are put together on the construction site in a short time - a house is built. According to the BDF, 14,043 new houses were built nationwide from January to September...

The Federal Chamber of Engineers (BIngK) regrets the end of new construction funding for the Efficiency House 55 standard and calls for a postponement of the funding freeze. New funding for the Efficiency House 55 standard will be discontinued on February 1, 2022. After that, only other building renovations and efficiency house levels will be subsidized, for example the "Efficiency House 40" level. The reason for this, according to...

The Association of Private Builders (VPB) criticizes the fact that there are still considerable deficits in the awareness of consumer rights in connection with turnkey construction. In its third study on construction contract law entitled "The new construction contract law - turnkey construction for consumer builders - investigation into implementation in 2020", the VPB found that...

The German Institute of Urban Affairs (difu) has developed a new guide as part of the "Controllable urban material flows" project funded by the Federal Environment Agency. It is entitled "Urban planning and urban development as a lever for resource and climate protection: municipal instruments, case studies and potential for reducing resource consumption". The guide...

The German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the construction industry (BG Bau) provides tips on safe working for construction workers in the cooler months of the year. To prevent accidents, construction sites should be prepared in good time for the fall. Due to the poor lighting conditions in the morning and from late afternoon, artificial light sources must be used. The BG Bau recommends a...

Researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen (UED), the Institute for Applied Construction Research Weimar and the Kalk-Sand Research Association have developed a new type of rope robot. They spent two years working on it. The result is a cable robot that can build a floor from standard sand-lime bricks in just a few hours. It can also move bricks, prevent falls and...

There is a new Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for sand-lime bricks. Environmental Product Declarations provide information on the environmental impact and life cycle of individual components. The new EPD was created in accordance with ISO 14025 and the new DIN 15804+A2 standard and includes data records from 52 German sand-lime brick manufacturing plants from 2019. It is valid until 2026. According to information from the...