Building with Baumit

Building Products’ Holly Miles was invited to attend the Baumit Academy in Maidstone for the Gold Approved Applicator Course. Chris Kendall, a field engineer at Baumit, is the course leader. Chris’s background is that he left school at 15 and went to work on the tools and then for his grandad’s business, the business was passed to his dad and together they took it to Germany for nine years. When Chris returned to the UK, he worked as a contracts manager before moving to Baumit where he has been for the past year.

Chris started off day one by showing us around the warehouse and giving us an overview of the Baumit system. Chris is very knowledgeable, and attendees are free to ask him whatever they want and can steer the course so that it is more personalised to them. The atmosphere is chatty and casual which is how it would be on-site, and Chris is on-hand to give advice. This two-day course gives Baumit the chance to get to know the installers and gives them confidence that they will be installing the systems correctly. The reason the course was developed was to address condensation caused by cold bridging which Chris says is a problem in the industry.

The next part of the day was the practical session, which involved fixing base profiles, insulation boards and beading, base-coats and mesh. There are three booths in the demonstration room, so you work in pairs and Chris is never far away if you have a question. At the end of the day you review your work and any questions that you have are answered.

On day two, you revisit the demo room to apply primer, top-coat and finishing. After the course is completed you become a Baumit Gold Approved Installer and Partner. From there you will receive your Baumit Approved Installer Card, on-site support, product marketing materials and you will be referred when project leads come up in your area.

The course is small and intimate, so you get plenty of time with Chris and no question is left unanswered. Lunch and refreshments are included in the price. To book, head to http://info.baumit.co.uk/baumit-academy-courses