TDUK is offering advice to members and the wider industry on how to ensure the timber battens they stock, sell and use are fit for purpose, following warnings from The National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC) that counterfeit battens are available on the UK market.
The NFRC is once again warning of sub-standard battens being circulated in the UK that are marked, ‘coloured and sold as being BS 5534 compliant‘, when they are in fact, counterfeit.
In a statement, the NFRC said: “These sub-standard goods are becoming an increasingly serious issue for merchants, roofing contractors and their clients. Using non-compliant battens may result in the contractor having to strip and re-roof a property should the battens be proven to be substandard, and a significant health and safety risk is created by the contractor using non-compliant battens as a foothold as this is in contravention to the guidelines set out in HSG33: Health and Safety in Roofwork.”
TDUK takes all claims of substandard timber product entering the UK market very seriously, and has previously issued a trade note to all its members offering guidance on this matter.
The TDUK Trade Note ‘Tile Batten Quality Control’ provides guidance on how everyone in the construction supply chain can protect themselves against any potentially fraudulent or substandard tile batten which may be present on the UK market.
We would also urge all TDUK members and any merchant or construction firm that works with roofing battens to take the following steps to ensure they always purchase quality product that complies with British Standards BS 5534 and BS 8417:
- Always purchase tile batten from reputable suppliers, preferably those who are TDUK members
- Very few brands of tile batten can be identified as reputable by colour alone; therefore buyers should always request and obtain additional product safety information before making a purchase.
- Buyers should always request a treatment certificate with every delivery to ensure the tile batten has been correctly pressure treated to Use Class 2 and so that the preservative can be clearly identified.
- Each preservative identified will have its own specific User Guide which should be obtained from your supplier. This will detail the correct storage information for the product and the Personal Protective Equipment necessary during handling and installation.
- It is a regulatory requirement that preservative-treated wood must be touch dry before transportation from the treatment plant. Therefore, buyers should never accept delivery of tile batten packs that are saturated or appear to be dripping any form of liquid.
You can find the TDUK Trade Note ‘Tile Batten Quality Control’ online on the TDUK website.
