28 pocket-sized reference cards. One topic each. Printable and laminatable.
CDM roles, CIS rates, concrete ratios, fire extinguisher types, RIDDOR reporting — the stuff you always forget when you need it. Free to use and print.
Every card is a single A6 page designed to live in a van, a toolbox or behind a plasterboard offcut on the cabin wall. Clear, accurate, updated when the rules change, and free.
Every card is designed to print cleanly on one A4 page. Hit the print button on any card, laminate it for a quid at Ryman's, and stick it where you need it — van glovebox, cabin wall, toolbox lid, first aid kit. When you need the answer, it's already there.
Safety & Emergency
The cards you hope you never need — and the ones you'll be glad are on the wall when you do.
Emergency Numbers — Construction
Every number a construction worker might need in one place. 999, gas emergency, HSE, Samaritans, Lighthouse Club, ACAS, HMRC, CSCS, Gas Safe and more. Print two — one for the cabin, one for the van.
First Aid on Site — Construction
Falls from height. Electric shock. Crush injuries. Severe bleeding. Amputations. Burns. Eye injuries from cement and chemicals. What to do in the first minutes before the ambulance arrives.
Service Strike — What To Do
Hit a buried cable, gas main or water pipe? Three columns: electricity, gas, water. What to do, who to call, what NOT to do. Thirty seconds of reading that could save a life.
Fire Extinguishers — Which One for Which Fire
Red, cream, black, blue, yellow — which one for which fire? Water on an electrical fire will kill you. Powder on a chip pan makes it worse. This card stops the guessing.
Fire Safety — Working in Occupied Buildings
Working in someone's home, office or block of flats during refurb? Escape routes, fire doors, alarms, hot work permits, compartmentation, LPG — the rules that apply when there are people above and below you.
RIDDOR — What to Report and When
Someone's been hurt on site. Do you need to report it? Deaths, specified injuries, over-7-day incapacitation, dangerous occurrences — the deadlines and who to call, on one card.
Manual Handling — The Lift Technique
The 8-step lift. Plus common construction weights — a bag of cement is 25kg, a scaffold tube is 21kg, a sheet of plasterboard is 23kg. Know what you're picking up before you pick it up.
Asbestos — Stop, Don't Touch
Textured coatings, 9x9 floor tiles, pipe lagging, cement sheets, insulation board — where you find asbestos, what it looks like, and exactly what to do when you suspect it.
COSHH Hazard Symbols
The nine red diamond symbols you see on every tin, bottle and bag on site. What each one means in plain English — not the 50-word chemical definition, just what it can do to you and what you need to wear.
Compliance & Inspections
The checklists that make the difference between 'ready for an inspection' and 'hoping nobody checks.'
HSE Coming? — 10-Minute Site Check
HSE just pulled into the car park. Can you show RAMS, scaffold inspections, plant checks, welfare, CSCS cards, COSHH assessments and induction records in the next 10 minutes? Run through this checklist weekly and the answer is always yes.
CDM 2015 — Who Does What
Client, Principal Designer, Principal Contractor, Designer, Contractor — five roles, each with specific duties. This card shows who does what so you can stop arguing about it on site.
Scaffold Inspection Checklist
Before first use. Every 7 days. After adverse weather. After any event affecting stability. Written report within 24 hours. Standards, ledgers, braces, ties, boards, guardrails, access, loading.
Technical & Materials
The sizes, ratios, colours and values you look up every week. Now you don't have to.
Concrete Mix Ratios
GEN1, GEN3, C25, RC30 — which mix for which job, the old-school ratios for hand mixing, and what strength you're actually getting. Paths, foundations, driveways, posts, structural slabs — all on one card.
Brick Dimensions & Bond Patterns
215 x 102.5 x 65mm. Eight bond patterns: stretcher, English, Flemish, header, English garden wall, Flemish garden wall, stack, soldier. The card every bricklayer and builder should have.
Drain Pipe Falls — Minimum Gradients
75mm at 1:40. 100mm at 1:40 to 1:80. 150mm at 1:150. Self-cleansing velocity at 0.75 m/s. The card that settles the argument about whether your fall is steep enough.
Plasterboard Types
Ivory is standard. Green is moisture. Pink is fire. Blue is acoustic. Eight types, colour codes, thicknesses, uses and fixing centres — the quick reference that stops you ordering the wrong board.
Part L U-Values (England)
New build, extensions and replacement elements — every limiting U-value on one card. Extension walls (0.18) are tighter than new build (0.26). Replacement windows are 1.4. The numbers your building control officer is checking.
Common Timber Sizes
CLS: 38x63 is 38x63. Regularised: 47x100 is actually 45x95. The rule of thumb: 2mm off the thickness, 5mm off the width. Plus stock lengths from 2.4m to 6.0m.
Electrical Wiring Colours — Old vs New
Brown/blue/green-yellow vs red/black/green-yellow. Single phase and three phase, old and new. The changeover was 31 March 2006. Mixed colours need a warning label at the DB.
Money, Tax & Legal
The rates, deadlines and escalation steps you can never remember when you actually need them.
Payment Notice Deadlines
Day 0 to Day 24 — the Construction Act payment timeline that governs every construction contract in the UK. Due date, payment notice, pay less notice, final date, right to suspend. The card that wins adjudications.
NMW Rates 2026–27
£12.71 (21+), £10.85 (18-20), £8.00 (under 18 and apprentice). Updated every April. Plus: travel between sites counts towards your hours, and deductions can't take you below NMW.
CIS Deduction Rates
20% registered. 30% unregistered. 0% gross. CIS deductions aren't a tax — they're advance payments you claim back on self-assessment. Monthly return due by the 19th.
VAT — Key Thresholds and Rates
Registration: £90,000. Deregistration: £88,000. Standard rate: 20%. Domestic reverse charge means most CIS subcontractor payments don't include VAT.
Tax Deadlines 2025-26
SA online: 31 January. SA paper: 31 October. Payment on account: 31 January and 31 July. CIS returns: 19th monthly. Miss one and the penalties start automatically. Stick this on the fridge.
Auto-Enrolment Pensions
Earnings trigger: £10,000. Employer minimum: 3%. Employee minimum: 5%. Total: 8%. No family exemption. The card that stops the Pensions Regulator writing you a letter.
Not Been Paid? — Step by Step
The escalation path from polite chase to court or adjudication. Chase → formal reminder → payment notice → smash and grab → suspend → letter before action → court or adjudication. The card for the back of the van door.
Insurance & Vehicles
What to check, what to ask, and what's probably not covered.
What To Ask Your Broker at Renewal
Tick-box checklist: defective workmanship exclusion? Pollution? Asbestos? Unattended van rules? Overnight cover? New-for-old or market value? Fill this in before your renewal call and your broker will think you've been reading their policy wording. You have.
ULEZ & Clean Air Zones — Quick Reference
London £12.50. Birmingham £8. Bristol £9. Bath £9. Bradford £9. Portsmouth £10. Sheffield £10. Newcastle £12.50. Scottish LEZs: £60 penalty, doubles each time. Euro 4 petrol, Euro 6 diesel, electric exempt.
Print the lot
Every card prints cleanly on one A4 page. Open any card and hit Print — or use your browser's "Save as PDF" to keep a copy.
Stick them where they matter
Cabin wall. Van glovebox. Toolbox lid. First aid kit. Kitchen fridge. Wherever you'll see them when you need them.
Missing a card?
Tell us what you'd find useful. Email hello@kilnguides.co.uk. If enough people ask, we'll build it.