56 | Sector Focus: Preservatives & Fire Retardants
BURNING AMBITION WJ Group is on a mission to improve standards in the FR timber treatments sector
Through its WJ Timber Treatments division, the WJ Group has been involved in the high- and low-pressure preservative treatment of wood and in vacuum coating timber products for many years. Around three years ago it turned its attention to the fire retardant (FR) treatment market and, after extensive research, teamed up with Denmark-based Burnblock in early 2019 (
http://www.ttjonline.com/features/ going-for-the-burnblock-7162944/). The Burnblock treatment appealed
because it is made from natural materials and is non-toxic and biodegradable. The
Danish company’s ethos and “technical superiority” was also an attraction. This results in WJ being able to carry out INT1, INT2 and EXT (BS EN 16755) fire retardant treatments on a variety of timber species with decorative coatings if required. WJ’s FR process is fully certified with a certificate of Constancy of Performance and species specific DoPs being issued with each batch of treated timber. “One of the things we liked about them
was that they were keen to do things right from the outset,” said Shaun Gadsby, WJ’s group commercial manager. “We
particularly like their ethical stance, ensuring they only offered a treatment solution for a specific timber species when they had concluded the required tests and had the appropriate documentation to substantiate this.” Gaining traction in the market has been steady, but “fairly slow” so last November the company recruited Alex Torkington as specification sales manager. His remit is to develop new FR treatment business and part of his mission is to educate architects, specifiers and the merchant trade on the vital importance of “asking
◄ timber has excellent FR properties and its Reaction to Fire is extremely low. It is important to understand the difference between Reaction to Fire and Resistance to Fire.
• Reaction to Fire is how the material will allow a fire to spread and is a consideration
in buildings where evacuation time is critical.
• Resistance to fire is how the material will perform when on fire, ie how long
it will retain its structural integrity. This is particularly important for floors and ceilings where the material may lose its integrity causing it to collapse.
SETTING THE STANDARD Above: The Burnblock process is fully certified
Industry regulations are in place to protect people’s safety, health and welfare. However, sometimes they can be confusing. Below is a quick guide to help explain the jargon.
• FR treated solid wood (timber cladding) and plywood must be supplied with a
CE mark as a legal requirement under the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) EU no 305/2011.
• The relevant harmonised standards are BS EN 14915:2013 (solid wood) and
BS EN 13986:2004 (plywood).
• If a product has a CE mark, it means that the method in which it has been
produced and the properties of the product meet certain criteria as defined in the harmonised standards.
Above:Cladding samples being tested to EN 13823 (SBI – Single Burn Item) TTJ | May/June 2021 |
www.ttjonline.com
FR TREATMENT PROCESS As with the above standards, there are stringent processes that must be followed when treating timber. The manufacturer or person significantly altering the product (this would be a timber treater in the case of
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