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 | | HANSON: NEW ONLINE BRICK MATCHING SERVICE DESIGNED WITH BUILT-IN BUILDER APPEAL | | | Hanson Building Products | | 28/06/2007 | | | Contractors know only too well the importance of brick selection to the successful completion of a project. They also know that because time is money, sourcing the right brick for the job can be time-consuming, labour-intensive and costly in the long term.
Hanson Building Products, the UK’s leading manufacturer and supplier of bricks, recognises how challenging brick selection can be, even to the most experienced builder. That’s why the company continues to simplify and speed up the process. From its unrivalled choice of products to its innovative brick visualiser available on their website, Hanson makes the process as painless as possible for builders and contractors.
The latest service in the Hanson portfolio is the ‘new and improved’ brick matching service.
Brick matching: a traditional service brought up to date
In various forms, Hanson has always offered its customers a brick matching service. This is especially important for builders undertaking a renovation or restoration project. With approximately 25 million households in the UK today, it is highly likely the brick to be matched will be one of Hanson’s London brand: it is estimated that London bricks have been used for decades to build 25% of Britain’s existing housing stock.
That adds up to 5 million of today’s UK homes originally built from London bricks. A major element in Hanson’s extensive product line-up, the London brick brand has earned a respected heritage that remains unsurpassed by any other brick company.
All of this is good news for builders looking to match the brick originally used on a restoration project – or for those working on a new build who need to match a particular look seen elsewhere.
The latest from Hanson: brick matching online
Hanson’s latest service, an updated brick matching tool which makes the most of the immediacy and accuracy of today’s technology, will soon be available on the company’s website.
How exactly does this new service work? Builders simply submit a photo of the brick to be matched (the photo should be in jpeg format), and the brick matching service gets to work, first estimating the colour, then using this colour to search for similar bricks featured in Hanson’s comprehensive catalogue.
The next step is to drag the selector, which appears on screen, around the image submitted until the closest matching colour appears in a box. This box is the colour selector. When the user clicks the ‘match’ button, the colour selector will capture an average of the colours and display the result in thumbnail format. Users can also zoom in and out to focus on a particular section of the image or to gain an overall view.
When the desired colour has been determined, users simply move on to the next stage to search against any brick property in terms of texture and manufacturing method.
On completion of the full search, the brick matching system will display the results, listing a selection of bricks that match the original image submitted. For time-challenged builders, this fool-proof system will speed up brick selection, saving valuable time and maximising profits.
Brick selection: plenty of help on hand from Hanson
Builders can also consult the London brick matching guide, recently launched by Hanson. Its compact DL fandeck format makes it a handy, easy-to-use reference tool: all the builder has to do is fan out the pages, each of which illustrates a particular brick in a particular colour and texture with a full page photo, with product details listed clearly and concisely on the reverse of each page.
A simple yet highly effective concept, the fandeck London brick matching guide ensures straightforward, trouble-free selection for builders, as they can be confident they have matched their preferred brick type on paper as closely as possible.
And there’s more help from Hanson
Self Build Centres, recently set up by Hanson in several major builders merchants nationwide, feature brick libraries displaying a range of brick panels to illustrate how selected bricks will look in situ. These centres also provide advice regarding local planning requirements, as well as the most popular type and colour of brick used in a specific geographical area. This information can help builders and contractors to co-ordinate with the immediate locality - a positive, and in some cases, mandatory factor in the eyes of some planning authorities.
Builders can bank on Hanson
Another brick selection service from Hanson involves the company’s Area Sales Managers. The ASM team can be called upon by builders, and their local builders merchants, to identify bricks and match them quickly and professionally. While photographs can be submitted to an ASM to achieve an initial match, ASMs will also visit a site to identify the brick type in question, and if possible, conduct a definite brick match. This extra service can normally be completed within five working days, providing a highly efficient, effective method of complete confirmation.
Unrivalled product range from Hanson
Hanson offers an unrivalled selection of bricks in terms of size and shape to suit every application. And with over 300 colours and textures available, builders can choose from an extensive range of buffs, yellows, browns, reds, greys, blacks and blues.
Also recognising that texture can be as important as colour, Hanson offers a full range, including smooth, light textured, heavy textured, tumbled and stock.
Of the three basic types of bricks manufactured by Hanson – wirecuts, stocks and Londons – the company says the contemporary preference of brick being chosen to achieve homes of distinction remains the traditional stock. Given their irregular shape, as well as attractive colour, texture and style, stock bricks inject natural charm and distinctive character to any residential building project.
Builders tackling restoration and/or renovation projects can definitely rely on Hanson. From Victorian architecture to conservation areas, the company offers over 70 special shaped bricks to meet and match every requirement. And should a more specialist approach be required, Hanson can also produce purpose-made special shaped bricks to order. | |
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