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How to pay close attention to details
10 March 2026
Ibstock, Leviat in the UK and Ireland and Siderise Group recently hosted the second Know Your Neighbour event, in Manchester.
This event series has been designed to encourage collaboration and increased understanding between manufacturers supplying systems and products that interlink on building projects with external masonry wall constructions, to the designers, architects, specifiers, developers and on-site contractors that use these solutions.
For the latest session, Diving into the detail of external masonry walls, technical experts from Ibstock, Siderise, and Leviat provided insight into the design and specification essentials when using their products in these wall types[RR3] [RR4] , such as reviewing typical detail junctions, and the structural, fire protection and moisture management elements of a project.
Kicking off the morning Adam Thornton, founding director at 5plus architects, highlighted one of the key issues that can occur at the outset of a project that then echoes throughout the full building process: “we tend to overlook building-in tolerance, buildability and sequencing when designing the aesthetic of a building.”
This causes difficulties, delays and waste during the build process and can expose weaknesses in the specified systems if compromises need to be made on site to stay within the realm of the design.
Welcoming the new Gateway process
There is widespread recognition that this can no longer be acceptable under new regulations covering a range of building design requirements, so a concerted return to a best practice approach through the entire design to delivery process needs to be encouraged.
Guest expert Emmie Panagopoulos of Siderise emphasised that early manufacturer engagement is critical when specifying cavity barriers and firestops for masonry external walls: “when people collaborate early, the whole process becomes clearer with clashes reviewed for better detailing”
Early engagement not only helps to identify and solve issues that may otherwise only become apparent on site, but it allows designers to explore the possibilities of sophisticated systems.
Amy Robinson, Regional Technical Sales Manager at Leviat sees that the three-stage gateway process for HRBs or high-risk buildings (planning, pre-construction and completion) will benefit the industry in the long run:
“Before the required gateway process, there were a lot of issues where the building and designing of solutions on a project were happening at the same time. Now everything needs to be designed, worked out and specified at an earlier stage – so it’s a mindset change that will benefit the industry in the long run.”
Neil Magner Mawdsley, Head of Component Sales at Ibstock, adds:
“It’s not about the cost of doing something that we need to concentrate on, it is the cost of doing it wrong and having to do it again to ensure a building gets approval from the Building Safety Regulator. It is amazing how often the wrong brick is specified for complex projects, so anything that demands more collaboration between all stakeholders before issues emerge should be welcomed.”
A greater role for manufacturers
So, while there are fundamental benefits to manufacturers of the new building design requirements, with the original specified products and systems being harder to move away from once construction is underway, there is greater expectation on manufacturers to communicate, collaborate and work with their partners to ensure the structural and technical rigour of completed buildings.
This was particularly pertinent at the Know Your Neighbour event. Elan Penn from Siderise ended the morning of presentation and discussions by speaking about the Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI) on the week that the government published its Construction Products White Paper, which proposes measures to strengthen the regulation of building materials in the wake of the findings of the Grenfell Inquiry.
As we look to the hoped for growth in the construction sector in the next few years it is clear that creating resilient, high-performing construction is more than just specifying the right materials – it requires a layered, systemic, integrated approach, multiple considerations across a range of disciplines, and close attention to the details.
Early engagement is central to achieving the required high standards. If manufacturers can work with design teams at the start of the process this will help ensure products are used as intended to avoid ‘baked in’ issues in what are often already congested spaces on a build. Following major changes under building safety, this is especially critical when working with products and systems designed for fire protection, structural integrity and moisture management.
Thank you to our excellent speakers throughout the morning, including Adam Thornton, Ian Sutherland, Sara Dawes and Emmie Panagopoulos and to our guests who contributed to insightful discussions.
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