Tackling damp and mould

Tackling damp and mould

Disrepair in Housing

The recent sector focus on managing damp and mould has prompted CHIC to ensure that our members have the confidence to deliver compliant remedial works and damp surveys through CHIC’s procurement solutions.

Whilst CHIC recognises the difficulty in maintaining assets to a sustainable condition, it believes that an effective strategic approach will help prevent poor quality homes. Tenants’ safety is and should always remain number one priority.

Different to other procurement consortia, CHIC’s member services team and senior leadership are ‘Asset Managers who do procurement’ and ‘not just a procurement consortium’. We understand the pressures large scale delivery of works can put on RP’s, so we provide a fully managed service, supporting our members through the entire procurement process.

Stephen Sharman, CHIC’s Head of Member Services says “CHIC’s mission is to work collaboratively to deliver efficiencies through procurement and commercial support, to ensure that tenants have safe, decent homes to live in. There is a lot more that some RPs can do to ensure tenants feel safe. Mould and damp are amongst many current sector challenges which need to be addressed, and accessing effective procurement solutions helps to create efficient and appropriate solutions”.

On the 22nd November, the Government sought assurance from all providers that they have a clear understanding and strong grip on damp and mould issues in their homes and are addressing risks to tenants’ and residents’ health.

Submission of this information should be made through the MSForms survey by 19 December 2022.

Letter to CEOs of large RPs regarding damp and mould [accessible version] – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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CHIC’s SOLUTIONS

DAMP SURVEYS

FRAMEWORK – Consultancy Services

Consultants have tendered a range of rates for specific types of project work along with competitive time charge rates.

Lot 1 – Integrated Consultancy Teams

Integrated Consultant Team (ICT) appointed to take forward projects of any works value, but generally expected to be upwards of £1m construction value providing pre and post contract services through design and construction, commissioning and in-use in accordance with RIBA stages 1-7. The ICT will prepare the tender documents to be used to appoint an Integrated Supply Team (IST) following a standalone competition advertised on Find a Tender (FTS) or already appointed by the member under a separate CHIC Framework Agreement or CHIC Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). Core disciplines include Contract Administrator, Employers Agent, Building Surveyor, Quantity Surveyor and Principal Designer.

GET IN TOUCH

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REMEDIAL WORKS

FRAMEWORK – Multiple Elements of Built Environments

This framework gives you easy access to local qualified solutions through a wide selection of market leading contractors.

Lot 1 – Multiple Building ElementsThis Lot on the CHIC Multiple Elements of Built Environments framework is for the renovation or regeneration of individual properties dwellings or schemes including Attached & Adjacent Buildings including Extensions, Bathrooms, Canopies, Decoration, Demolition, Doors, Electricity Generation (Photovoltaics), Electrics, Environmental Improvements External, Environmental Improvements Internal, Fascias, Soffits & Bargeboards, Guttering & Downpipes, Heating, Kitchens, Piling, Remodelling, Roofing Flat, Roofing Pitched, Wall Insulation External, Wall Insulation Internal and Windows.

GET IN TOUCH

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THE DISREPAIR CHALLENGE

In May 2022, CHIC hosted a leadership discussion on disrepair. We were keen to bring together representatives of our members with a range of contractors, consultants, manufacturers and other suppliers which make up our supply chain partnership.

CHIC had been hearing more ‘noise’ from members about disrepair. Not only had national television news coverage shone a light on examples of disrepair horrors faced by some tenants, but the issues had been examined by the Housing Ombudsman and social landlords were reporting an increase in claims. So, CHIC thought it should examine the views of its various stakeholders through round table discussions.

Findings from the session can be found here: https://www.chicltd.co.uk/the-disrepair-challenge

Evidently with the more recent focus on Damp and Mould, there are still more important discussions to be held. If you feel that CHIC should hold another roundtable discussion to share updates on progress, please let us know.

The post Tackling damp and mould appeared first on CHIC Ltd..

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4-Ingredient Bacon-Wrapped Cocktail Wieners Recipe Is a Holiday Classic | Appetizers | 30Seconds Food

4-Ingredient Bacon-Wrapped Cocktail Wieners Recipe Is a Holiday Classic | Appetizers | 30Seconds Food

I love making – and eating – appetizers. Most of the time I’d prefer to eat a meal of appetizers than an entrée. I also think a spread of finger foods is just perfect for a party, holiday gathering or New Year’s Eve celebration with the kids.

One of the best appetizer recipes is bacon-wrapped sausages, otherwise known as bacon-wrapped cocktail franks or smokies or Christmas pigs in a blanket. Whatever name you prefer, in my opinion, it’s the best kind of appetizer for three reasons:

The reason that the cocktail smokies stay warm is because you make them in the slow cooker! That’s also what makes this recipe so easy. If you ask my husband and sons, they’ll tell you that bacon makes everything better. Win-win! If you’ve never made pigs in a blanket before, I hope you’ll add it to your list. You won’t be disappointed! In fact, your guests may like it so much that they ask you to make it again and again!

Have guests serve themselves straight from the slow cooker in order to keep the sausages warm for a long period of time or transfer them to a serving dish.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours and 20 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients

Here’s how to make it:

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Mould in your home – why it happens, how to beat it and ways to stop it coming back – Hull Live

Mould in your home – why it happens, how to beat it and ways to stop it coming back – Hull Live

An expert has shared his top tips on how to beat mould in your home – and stop it coming back. It follows a recent coroner’s ruling that a two-year-old boy was killed by breathing in mould in his family’s one-bedroom flat.

It shows how serious the problem can be – but there are steps you can take. Richard Brown, a damp expert with RBBA Ltd Building Surveyors, is keen to stress that ‘mould is a result of condensation, mould is not the cause’.

Our day-to-day living adds moisture to the air – cooking, showering and even breathing. Richard told the MEN the secret to tackling damp and mould is to ‘minimise how much moisture we ourselves add to the atmosphere’.

He said: “What is meant by that is something is occurring that is allowing the germination of the mould and it is that something that must be rectified, not the mould itself. If you just treat the mould, it will continue to return, as you have not got to the bottom of the root cause.

“Mould spores are present on all surfaces, and largely, these spores lie there, dormant, waiting for the elixir of life, water, to spring into life. So it is dealing with the water that offers the success in treating mould. Stop the water, stop the mould.”

Two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died after prolonged exposure to mould in his social housing

‘The daddy of all damp causes’ he says, is condensation, which occurs when this warm air strikes a surface and cools rapidly, leaving a wet surface, ‘which in turn germinates these mould spores that are always present’.

Richard said: “You are always going to have a certain amount of condensation on your windows in the morning, about an inch around the bottom is normal. The entire window being covered is not normal.

“I would suggest, if there’s that much water on the window, there is a problem not with ventilation but extraction.”

He said the ongoing maintenance of extractor fans is vital, especially over cookers as they clog up. It’s also important to remember that damp will move around in the house, from bathroom to bedroom for example.

He said: “The damp will always move to the coldest room in the property. So if you have a room that’s constantly cold and you’re showering at the far end of the property, that damp will migrate towards that colder end of the property.”

Nine times out of 10, where the damp is occurring is not where the damp has been made. So how do we limit the amount of moisture in the atmosphere to stop the moisture providing the growth?

Richard’s top tips for stopping mould growth

Black mould on a wall

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Soft M&M Cookie Bars Recipe – Sally’s Baking Addiction

Soft M&M Cookie Bars Recipe – Sally’s Baking Addiction

These extra soft and chewy M&M cookie bars are so easy to make—no mixer, no dough chilling, no individual dough rolling required! You can use a mix of regular and mini M&Ms and chocolate chips for texture variety, and change out the colors to make them festive for a holiday.

Finally a cookie recipe without chilling!

Let’s call these no-chill, no-roll M&M cookies! When you need a big batch of cookies but are pressed for time (or mental energy, LOL), cookie bars are the solution. This recipe makes a generously sized 9×13-inch pan of M&M cookie bars, perfect for sharing, especially at the holidays. Kids love these, but so do adults. Seriously, aside from special diets, have you ever met anyone who would turn down a chewy chocolate chip M&M cookie bar? I’m pretty sure I haven’t!

Here’s Why You’ll Love These M&M Cookie Bars

  • Like a bigger batch of soft chocolate chip cookie bars—with colorful M&M candies!
  • Makes a large pan to serve a crowd.
  • A great recipe for young bakers to help with.
  • No mixer, no dough chilling, no dough ball rolling—no fuss!
  • Soft in the center, crisp around the edges.
  • As easy as a box mix, but way more delicious.
  • Add chocolate chips or white chocolate chips for texture variety.
  • Choose your color M&Ms to match a holiday or theme.

Unlike these soft-baked M&M cookies, there’s no dough chilling or rolling dough into individual balls and baking in batches. The only waiting you’ll have to suffer through is for the pan to cool for 1 hour before you cut them into bars. (I know, I’m sorry.)

Unlike these soft-baked M&M cookies, there’s no dough chilling or rolling dough into individual balls and baking in batches. The only waiting you’ll have to suffer through is for the pan to cool for 1 hour before you cut them into bars. (I know, I’m sorry.)

Easy Ingredients, No Mixer

Like with these favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies, using melted butter makes for the softest, chewiest bar cookies. I usually like to use melted butter in bar recipes like brownies and blondies because the bars taste chewy, not cakey. I tested this recipe with creamed softened butter, and the baked result ended up looking more like a puffy sheet cake.

Using melted butter also means you don’t need an electric mixer to make these bar cookies, AND you get that shiny, crackled look on top similar to brownies.

This recipe is similar to the Super Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars on page 28 of Sally’s Cookie Addiction, but I reduced the sugar a bit, since M&Ms are so sweet. We’re doing away with the extra egg yolk, and instead ensuring softness with an extra 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch.

It’s also similar to my smaller recipe for chocolate chip cookie bars, but scaled up to make a full 9×13 pan. Here’s everything you need:

ingredients on marble counter including flour, eggs, brown and white sugars, butter, and more.

Have I Mentioned No Dough Chilling?

Just melt, mix, press, and bake! Chant it in your head while you get out the ingredients. Melt, mix, press, bake! Melt, mix, press, bake! No dough chill! No dough chill!

The dough will be slick from the melted butter, but should be easy enough to spread/press into the pan. In fact, it doesn’t even look like regular cookie dough and you might remember that from a batch of these chewy chocolate chip cookies. Before & after adding your add-ins:

I strongly recommend lining the baking pan with parchment paper (with overhang on the sides) to make cutting into bars easier. Spread the dough into the pan:

It’s almost gooey-like, so it’s easier to spread than regular, creamy-thick cookie dough. Bake for just 26–30 minutes and avoid over-baking:

I press a few more M&Ms and chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookie bars, for looks. This is optional. Cool the bars for 1 hour inside the pan, then simply lift the whole thing out using the parchment paper lining. Set it onto a cutting board and slice. They’ll still be a bit warm and that’s fine!

Success Tips for M&M Cookie Bars

Feel Free to Pipe Some Buttercream Decor

These M&M cookie bars are fabulous on their own, but then again, a little frosting is always a good idea. My favorite chocolate buttercream is far from basic; it’s incredibly creamy, silky, smooth, and rich. Even though it’s wonderfully creamy, it holds its shape well, and is perfect for piping. It makes a delicious and beautiful finishing touch on this chocolate chip cookie cake, and would have the same effect on these cookie bars if you want to add some flair!

Sally’s Cookie Palooza

This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:

  1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 4. Baked cookie bars freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw bars overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
  2. Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Baking Pan or this one | Heavy-Duty Whisk 
  3. Cornstarch: If you don’t have cornstarch, you can leave it out. The cookie bars will still be soft.
  4. Butter: Avoid letting the melted butter cool for too long, otherwise your dough will be crumbly instead of soft (and your cookie bars can end up cakey). You want it still warm, but not hot enough to begin cooking the eggs.
  5. M&Ms: You can use regular-size, mini, or a mix of both. I like to crush some of them, too, to sprinkle on the top before baking. Totally optional!
  6. Do I have to add chocolate chips? You can skip the chocolate chips. If you skip them, increase M&Ms to 1 and 1/2 cups (about 300g). You could also replace the chocolate chips with white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips.
  7. 9-Inch Square Pan: To make a smaller 9-inch pan of cookie bars, use this similar scaled down recipe. For the add-ins, use 1 cup (200g) of M&Ms and 1/2 cup (90g) chocolate chips.

Keywords: M&M cookie bars

Reader Questions and Reviews

Julie T. says:

have made your oatmeal chocolate chip, your lemon ginger (surprise favorite from last year) raspberry almond cream cheese cookies (apricot cream cheese, but subbed in raspberry and sliced almonds. and i will definitely make these too ! Thank you for the ease of this one !! I only trust YOUR recipes for cookies !!! Thank you for all your hard work and happy holidays to you and your family !

These look great and easy! I don’t have m&ms at home. Can I use all chocolate chips?

In general, can M&ms and chocolate chips be used interchangeably? Thanks! ?

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