Scotland’s leading windows and conservatories company CR Smith is investing in its roofline and cladding business as it continues to see more Scots upgrading their homes rather than move.

CR Smith has introduced new products and is adding six new roofline teams, an additional surveyor and manager to capitalise on the growing demand for quality home improvements.

The firm, which employs nearly 600 across Scotland, is also ensuring that each team member is fully trained in asbestos awareness in light of increasing concerns that the problems of the existence of asbestos in domestic homes is being ignored.

Hugh Eadie, operations director at CR Smith, said: “In the current property market we are seeing that many people are choosing to invest in their homes so that they have a better property to sell when the market picks up. Roofline and cladding products are an affordable way to upgrade a home and have an instant aesthetic appeal. By investing in the range of products we offer and increasing the size of our operation we believe we will be well placed to meet the demand.

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“However, the reality is that many homes built between 1920s and the 1990s used asbestos and the stats on asbestos related deaths are expected to continue to rise because people who work on these homes do so unaware of the dangers. It is something that must be taken very seriously and yet our experience is that many tradesmen are being left exposed because few regulations are applied to the domestic market.

“At CR Smith we have put all our roofline specialists, managers, surveyors and installers through an industry approved asbestos awareness training course and introduced processes and procedures for dealing with the issue. We are determined to set the highest standards in an industry that is often accused of taking short cuts and would like to see greater policing of this matter to protect everyone concerned.”

CR Smith will undertake a full asbestos survey on all properties built pre-2000. If no asbestos is found, the firm will provide the homeowner with a certificate from a UK Accreditation Scheme laboratory to confirm the fact. If, on the other hand, asbestos is found to be present, CR Smith will work with a fully licensed specialist to handle the removal.

(GK)