The electric vehicle question is pressing further into the trade sector this week, with a practical buying guide from ITS Hub covering home, workplace, and portable EV charging for tradespeople. Alongside that, there is a well-timed compatibility guide for Ryobi ONE+ batteries (a question that generates a huge amount of confusion), a look at Makita's new workwear range, and further coverage of the Zippa Skip Loader. The OSB vs plasterboard story from West Fraser is also gathering momentum, and it deserves a proper read if your work takes you anywhere near internal partitions or wet rooms.

What is happening this week

EV charger guide for tradespeople: what you actually need. As more tradespeople move to electric vans and vehicles, the charger question is becoming genuinely important. ITS Hub's guide covers the three practical scenarios: home charging (a 7kW wallbox is the standard recommendation), workplace charging (7kW to 22kW, depending on how many vehicles you need to turn around), and portable options (EVSE cables for overnight charging from a standard socket at a customer's premises). The guide references DeWalt tools in passing, which hints at an emerging category of DeWalt-branded charge management equipment. Source: ITS Hub

Ryobi ONE+ battery compatibility: the short answer is yes, but read the detail. Ryobi's ONE+ platform has been running on the same 18V form factor since 1996, and the key promise is that a new battery will work in an old tool. The full picture is more nuanced: older batteries will work in newer tools but may limit performance on high-drain applications. And Ryobi's 36V MAX POWER range is a completely separate system that does not cross with the 18V ONE+ batteries. If you are building a Ryobi kit, knowing that distinction before you buy saves a wasted trip back to the trade counter. Source: ITS Hub

Makita Workwear range: now live in the UK. Makita has launched a branded workwear range at makitaukworkwear.com. The range covers trousers, jackets, and layering pieces in the brand's teal-and-black colour scheme. This puts Makita alongside Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Bosch in offering a head-to-toe uniform option for trades who want branded kit that matches their tools. Source: ITS Hub

Zippa Skip Loader: rethinking site clearance. The Zippa Skip Loader continues to generate trade press coverage following a demo with general builder Steven Gaal for Professional Builder. It is a remote-controlled waste-loading device designed to remove the overhead throwing action that puts lower backs under strain during site clearance. Back injuries are among the most common reasons tradespeople take extended sick leave, and a powered skip-loading device targets one of the higher-risk repetitive actions in the trade. No UK pricing has been published yet, but the trade interest is genuine. Source: Professional Builder

West Fraser makes the case for OSB over plasterboard. West Fraser's sustainability brief on OSB as an alternative to plasterboard for internal partitions is gaining traction in the trade press. The argument is straightforward: wet plasterboard in landfill produces hydrogen sulphide (a toxic gas), is classified as hazardous waste in the UK, and carries associated disposal costs. OSB carries structural properties that plasterboard does not and does not have the same hazardous waste designation. For a trade working on renovation projects where the specification is flexible, OSB is worth putting to the client as an option. Source: Professional Builder

Makita 18V battery selector: understanding Ah ratings. Toolden has published a guide to choosing between Makita 18V battery capacities. The short version: 2.0Ah for lightweight tools and short sessions, 5.0Ah for most general trade use, 6.0Ah for high-drain tools like circular saws and angle grinders. The guide makes the point that a heavier battery reduces tool fatigue when working overhead, even though counter-intuitively a higher Ah battery weighs more. Source: Toolden Blog

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