A quieter fortnight for headlines, but three developments are worth a tiler’s attention. Domestic tile and brick output has dropped again, material prices are still edging up, and the rules around construction products keep tightening. Here is what the latest figures and policy changes mean for your quotes and your ordering.
Brick and tile output falls 8.4% as domestic supply tightens
The Government’s building materials commentary for June 2026 shows output for bricks, tiles and related construction products down 8.4% comparing April 2026 with a year earlier, while concrete and cement output fell 14.7%. For anyone fitting tiles that points to thinner domestic stock and longer lead times on some ranges, so it pays to confirm availability and get adhesives, trims and tiles on site before you start rather than mid job. Read the commentary.
Material prices up 5.4% over the year, structural steel leads
The same release puts the all-work construction material price index up 5.4% in the year to May 2026, with fabricated structural steel up 13.1% and cement down 5.0%, and prices moving 2.2% in the single month between April and May. If you quote fixed prices, keep the validity window short and flag that material lines can move between the estimate and the job. See the figures.
Product and safety rules keep tightening for construction products
Reform of construction products regulation ran on through 2026: the Construction Products (Amendment) Regulations 2025 took effect in January, a new Building Safety Levy on residential development starts on 1 October 2026, and the Building Safety Regulator now sits as an independent body. For the wet trades that means more paperwork and traceability behind boards, membranes and adhesives, and tighter expectations on new build bathroom fit outs. More detail.
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