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KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE
A WPA webinar helped improve architects’ knowledge about flame retardant treated wood
The Wood Protection Association (WPA) recently presented a webinar about flame retardant treated wood for the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS). The hour-long CPD event looked at the qualities that make wood products perform predictably in a fire and how
treatment with an appropriate flame retardant slows the spread of flame, heat, and smoke generation, providing valuable additional time for the occupants of a building to escape. The correct way to specify flame retardant treatments for internal and external applications was explained, with several typical building applications used as examples. The webinar concluded with a lively Q&A and an invitation to the architects to access the extensive WPA website library of free generic guidance notes about flame retardant treated wood to avoid the pitfalls of a specification going expensively wrong. The webinar was presented by Stephen Cope, consultant auditor for the WPA on behalf of the Scottish Timber
Trade Association/Timber Development UK and was chaired by RIAS head of practice, Zoe Black. The event was a huge success.
• Some 164 people registered for the online CPD event, with around 80 joining it live. • 93% of participants rated the webinar as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ • 98% said they learnt something new from the webinar • 95% said they would apply the knowledge gained for their job.
The WPA and TDUK are happy to run this webinar again for any organisation with an interest in building design, building control, surveying or the insurance sector. For details, please contact:
caroline@thewpa.org.uk ■
ONLINE ALERT The WPA exposes online sales of under-treated fence posts
The WPA is urging online buyers of pre-treated timber fence posts to make sure the product they are looking at is actually fit for purpose before they click the buy button. Research by the WPA has highlighted a growing trend for offering fence posts that are only treated for external, out-of-ground-contact applications and not in compliance with British Standards – in which a higher level of treatment is essential for wood that is embedded in the ground. Online sellers claim such fence posts are ‘UC3
treated’, are ‘durable’ – meaning resistant to fungal decay – and that they will give a ‘long-term performance’, but without exception, they fail to qualify what these statements mean. “This is grossly misleading and will only result in these
posts rotting and failing after just a few years,” said WPA chairman Steve Young, who emphasises that the actions of a few selling under-treated wood have negative consequences for the many involved in timber supply and merchanting.
“While a business selling a wood product incorrectly
treated for its application may profit from those sales, it is a short-sighted strategy and will only result in a loss of trust in the performance of treated wood,” said Mr Young. He added that the knock-on effect of this will inevitably reduce demand for every business with a commercial interest in producing and selling treated wood in the UK. At a time when the sustainability, carbon-capture and climate-change benefits should be giving treated
wood sales a boost – because while wood locks up carbon, treated wood locks it up for longer – selling products that are compliant with the British Standard specifications for preservative pre-treated wood BS 8417 is the only way to grow demand. Research by the WPA also highlights that knowledge about how to specify and buy wood products correctly treated and fit for the purpose required is low. “Helping improve seller and buyer knowledge is a key reason behind the WPA recently joining the BMF,’ said Mr Young. “We look forward to working with the BMF and Timber Forum team to bring this about.” ■
Above: Misleading claims that fence posts are appropriately treated will result in these posts rotting and failing after just a few years
www.ttjonline.com | November/December 2025 | TTJ
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