BRE Books & Reports

Building Elements Series

Floors and flooring
Performance, diagnosis, maintenance, repair and the avoidance of defects
Describes the materials, production methods and criteria, used in floor construction which ensure good performance, and identifies things that go wrong so they can be avoided. It provides you with a checklist of points of concern, and where to obtain further information and advice. It includes over 200 photographs and 170 drawings of floors and floor construction detail plus case studies, feature panels and checklists. A surveyor's inspection list is included at the end of each chapter.
BR460, £47.50, 310 pages, 2003, $95

Foundations, basements and external works
Performance, diagnosis, maintenance, repair and the avoidance of defects
Even the simple construction used in domestic work has potential for improvement This book is about the parts of buildings in direct contact with the ground: foundations and basements, and external works outside the building footprint but inside the site boundary. Included is information on wind and rainfall, types of ground, characteristics of foundations, structural and waterproofing aspects of basements, wastewater and surface water drains, supply of utilities, footpaths, access for vehicles, freestanding walls and security and other kinds of fencing, and hard and soft landscaping. Includes case studies.
BR440, £47.50, 260 pages, 2002, $95

Roofs and roofing
Performance, diagnosis, maintenance, repair and the avoidance of defects
A key reference source on all aspects of roofing. Assists in the identification of defects and their causes, establishes how to correct them and how to avoid them in the first place by careful design and maintenance. It explains the basic functions of all roofs, then discusses short span domestic pitched and flat roofs, medium span commercial, public and industrial roofs, and long span roofs. It has over 200 colour photographs and 100 drawings of roofs and construction details.
BR302, £47.50, 252 pages, 2000, $95

Walls, windows and doors
Performance, diagnosis, maintenance, repair and the avoidance of defects
This third book in the BRE Building Elements series considers the main vertical elements of buildings, both external (including walls, windows and doors) and internal (including separating walls, partitions and internal doors). It deals in outline with the performance requirements of the spaces from which the required performances of the walls are derived, and also, in principle, with the achieved performances and deficiencies of the fabric over the whole age range of the national building stock. This book is addressed primarily to building surveyors and other professionals performing similar functions, such as architects and builders, who maintain, repair, extend and renew the national building stock. It will also find application in the education field, where lecturers can find indication of where the construction syllabus needs attention. Statistics are given of BRE Advisory Service investigations of walls by type of defect and by type of building.
BR352, £47.50, 308 pages, 2000, $95

Understanding dampness
Despite all the technical advice that has been published about dampness in the past there is still a significant set of problems. This book seeks to address them. With an emphasis on existing buildings and some coverage of the design of new build, it lists the causes of dampness and explores its effects. It also discusses the maintenance of protection against dampness, and remedies for the problems dampness can cause.
BR466, £42.50, 224 pages, 2004, $85

[AP243 Collated set of six books £195.00, $390]

Other BRE Books & Reports

Brownfield sites - integrated ground engineering strategy
This report provides authoritative guidance on the investigation, treatment and foundation design for building development on brownfield and landfill sites. This integrated ground engineering strategy takes a risk based approach. Key aspects of the strategy - hazard assessment and risk mitigation - are discussed in detail. The nature of brownfield hazards is explained, and critical outlines of the numerous ground treatment and remediation techniques are given, together with information on which decisions about treatment and remediation can be based.
BR485, £60.00, 78 pages, 2005, $120

Designing quality buildings: a BRE guide
This authoritative guide to design of sustainable domestic and low-rise buildings presents BRE's expertise in the performance of building materials and fabric in a single compact volume. It gives the busy building professional the starting points for selection and specification and will equip the designer to talk to specialists with a sound understanding of key principles. The book is based on key sustainable design requirements, in particular, how to achieve a long life, limit maintenance requirements and defects, and provide guidance on designing for the future, while respecting the environment and social requirements. It has been written by a multi-disciplinary team of authors from BRE, the UK's leading centre of excellence on buildings and the built environment. It is fully up-to-date with UK regulations and standards and is as a 'one-stop-shop' for understanding the key principles of building behaviour. It is highly illustrated with diagrams and with photographs illustrating actual building performance.
BR487, £67.50, 360 pages hardback, 2006, $135

ECOHOMES - the environmental rating for homes
Considers the broad environmental concerns of climate change, resource use and impact on wildlife, but balances these against the needs for a high quality, safe and healthy internal environment. Issues assessed are grouped into seven categories: energy, transport, pollution, materials, water, ecology and land use, and health and well being. Provides a credible, transparent label for new and converted/renovated homes, including houses, apartments and sheltered accommodation. The document also contains a Rating Prediction Checklist.
BR389, £30.00, 24 pages, 2000, $60

Fire safety engineering
This guide provides basic descriptions for a number of key topics encountered in fire safety engineering and aspects that should be considered by designers, enforcers and other responsible persons. It is a reference for those who only occasionally encounter different aspects of fire safety engineering or are new to the subject. For more experienced practitioners it provides a useful short cut to finding information in more detailed references. The text is formatted so that the user can annotate their own copy to build a personalised desktop reference to their own application of fire safety engineering. The guide is divided into eight main sections: general topics (eg the laws of thermodynamics), fire growth, smoke spread and control, structural fire protection, detection and suppression, Fire Service intervention, human factors, and risk assessment. The report ends with a short list of references and a detailed index.
BR459, £30.00, 112 pages, 2003, $60

Geotechnics for building professionals
Gives an overview of ground behaviour and geotechnics, but focuses on shallow foundations for low-rise buildings. The first five chapters of the book cover regulations and legislation for foundations and contaminated land, types of ground, soil behaviour and ground assessment. Two chapters focus on foundation design and foundations on difficult ground. Brownfield land and ground treatment are then discussed, and the last three chapters deal with foundation movement and damage, remedial treatment and underpinning, and ancillary works (hardcore, soakaways, drains, small embankments, small retaining walls, freestanding walls).years.
BR473, £67.50, 336 pages hardback, 2005, $135

Green guide to composites
The guide will allow everyone involved in composite design and manufacture to improve the sustainability performance of their products and present clear sustainability rationales to potential clients, increasing their business and stimulating growth in the composites industry. The life-cycle impacts of each material and process choice from the cradle to the factory gate are presented in simple comparative rankings, allowing informed decisions to be made. Its easy-to-use format means that basic life-cycle assessment data for composite materials and processes can be easily understood, materials and processes can be compared, and informed decisions made.
BR475, £30.00, 40 pages, 2004, $60

Other IHS BRE Press Books

Crime opportunity profiling of streets (COPS)
This report is an evaluated overview of European practices for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), and focuses on exemplars formed into a toolkit of crime and anti-social behaviour prevention strategies. The research demonstrated that the most effective approach across Europe combines: physical approaches, focusing on architecture, urban planning, target hardening, etc; social approaches focusing on victims, offenders, guardians, city management, maintenance, etc, and organisational approaches focusing on structuring the partnership process of implementing measures.
FB12, £47.50, 48 pages, 2005, $95

Green roofs and facades
Green roofs and façades on buildings offer a wide range of benefits, including attenuation of rainwater run-off, improved thermal stability and energy conservation, enhanced air quality, wildlife habitat and open space. This book provides an accessible overview of the development of green roofs and the contribution they can make to sustainable development. It explains the benefits of their use, and identifies the key aspects that must be considered in designing, building and maintaining them. It is fully illustrated with numerous examples of successful applications from around the world.
EP74, £22.50, 84 pages, 2006, $45

Rammed earth: design and construction guidelines
Rammed earth walling is a beautiful, durable building material with a long and successful tradition in the UK and around the world. This book presents state-of-the-art practical guidance on material selection, construction, structural design, architectural detailing, maintenance and repair of rammed earth. It contains numerous photos of rammed earth buildings in the UK, Europe, the USA, Africa and Australia, and includes construction details.
EP62, £37.50, 160 pages, 2005, $75

Reuse of foundations for urban sites – Handbook
This Handbook has been developed as part of the Reuse of Foundations for Urban Sites (RuFUS) research project part-funded by the European Commission. The project draws together experience of reusing foundations across Europe and analyses existing knowledge and the latest research. The Handbook provides: a sound understanding of the background to foundation reuse and the key issues. It gives advice on how to address risk through sound engineering principles and presents technical guidance on the processes for deciding on the correct foundation options. It also provides advice on investigation, design and construction using reused foundations.
EP75, £75, 144, 2006, $150

Reuse of foundations for urban sites – Proceedings of the International Conference
Redevelopment and regeneration of urban areas have left a legacy of old foundations, congested underground space and archaeological artefacts. This legacy compromises new developments and the project 'Reuse of Foundations for Urban Sites' (RuFUS), partly funded by the EU, has developed and proving new processes to provide environmentally sustainable foundations for future developments. This volume presents papers by the RuFUS project partners and authors from Europe and further afield. It provides valuable technical information and case studies on successful reuse of foundations, and extends the guidance presented in the RuFUS best practice handbook.
EP73, £95, 416 pages, 2006, $190

[EP76 Both books on reuse of foundations together £122.50, $245]

Wheelchair housing design guide
Explains how to design and detail a home that is fully manageable by wheelchair users and that maximises their independence. It is activity-based and discusses design considerations, requirements and recommendations for each of fifteen activities carried out within and around the home, rather than presenting plans or preferred solutions.
EP70, £40.00, 132 pages, 2006 2nd Edition, $80