Panel Perspectives: Edge Sealant | 57
fitter has started to use it to seal the holes drilled to take taps in worktops so that water stops getting in and blowing the chipboard core. Its ability to form a watertight joint between boards also makes it a must on OSB when used for roofing projects. So, the market is ever expanding.
WBPI: HOW DOES ESP ENCOURAGE ARCHITECTS TO SPECIFY EXTERIOR PLY INSTEAD OF MARINE PLY? PM: There has been a noticeable shift, not only by architects but by the larger users of plywood, away from standard exterior grade plywood and into the higher grade more expensive productions. The problems of the general UK panel stock are less likely to occur here, but it greatly increases the cost of the end product – even in something as basic as site hoarding – when trying to avoid the cost of repair and replacement. ESP ensures that exterior grade plywood performs in an exterior setting and that performance and longevity is as it used to be when our stocks were FE WBP and for as little as £1.50 sheet on 18mm.
There has been a noticeable switch by
architects from exterior grade plywood for marine in an effort to avoid the problems they have experienced on exterior grades and, again, this greatly increases the build costs. We hope that when they know about ESP they will go back to specifying correctly on exterior grade, which, with ESP Panel applied is a viable option once more.
WBPI: HOW IMPORTANT IS EDUCATION
GETTING TRADESMEN TO PURCHASE CORRECT PLYWOOD PRODUCTS AND TREATMENTS AND WHAT EFFORTS ARE THE COMPANY AND TRADE BODIES MAKING TO BRING ABOUT GREATER
HELP REDUCE THEIR LIABILITIES BY
MAKING THE CORRECT CHOICES? PM: The whole ESP Panel and ESP Timber project has been driven to protect the reputation of timber products by ensuring their performance meets the expectation of architect and end users, otherwise we open the door to non-timber products as substitutes. Education is the key to moving forward
on correct specification at point of purchase and good site practice giving the product the best chance to perform. As chair of the Timber Development UK (TDUK) committee responsible for timber trading standards, we are focused on the need to identify the problems and resolve them where we can and then educate on “best practice” to make sure the correct material is matched to the right end use and that the site requirement to “treat” the product is met. In my opinion this is as much the
responsibility of the seller as the buyer. Merchants need to be asking “what is this being used for?” so they can match the right product to the right end use and avoid problems and costs down the road. Literature is now being produced by Timber Development UK that will help with this process, and we are working on a modular training programme on all things wood.
THIS BEEN PERFORMING IN THE MARKET? PM: When I talk to architectural students about timber treatments it’s now a lot more detailed than “does it require treatment or not?” It’s now matching the right Use Class of treatment – UC2/3/4 – to the right species and treatment cycle for where that timber is going to be used. Again, the crucial question when selling timber products is “What is it being used for?” – but if that pre-treated timber that is now the staple diet of most builders merchants’ stock holdings then has the end trimmed off to fit and that end is not then retreated on site, you may as well have not bothered buying treated timber. TDUK is very focused on the education
of correct specification at point of order on treated timbers. Articles and information are going out to architects and merchants alike to try and get the message across so that we can avoid timber getting a bad name on performance due to the right product not being supplied treated and fitted in the correct way.
An end seal product has been on the
market for years and has never sold in the volumes that it should, which only confirms that builders are not re-treating when they cut or drill pre-treated goods. As a result, the main producer removed it from sale two years ago. We have developed ESP Timber alongside
ESP Panel so that merchants can promote good practice and get an extra sale with every panel and treated timber order. I personally feel that, in an ideal world, merchants should educate on invoice by recommending those products and practices that are required to make their products perform correctly and as required. And on larger jobs, have the product supplied as part of the order. If the contractor doesn’t apply it and there is a problem as a result, the responsibility is not then with the merchant but with the builder for poor site practice. We have been telling clients what is required for a decade but without a product to recommend that will do the job. Now there is ESP you can with confidence point your customers in the right direction, make an extra sale and, most importantly, avoid claims and complaints.
Above: The application process is a simple one...
Above: ...and prevents delamination
Above: Phil McCormack of Nicks Timber
www.wbpionline.com | April/May 2023 | WBPI
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