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TIMBER


HOW TO SPOT GRADED BATTEN: A QUICK GUIDE FOR MERCHANTS


M


erchants play a pivotal role in helping their customers to select the correct, compliant materials for any building projects. At,


SR Timber, trading director Shaun Revill says he is keen to make his company’s Guide to Graded Roofing Battens more freely available to merchants as part of a continued effort to ensure the use of materials that meet the correct standards and specifications.


The British Standard BS 5534:2014 + A2:2018 – the code of practice for slating and tiling for pitched roofs and vertical cladding – first came out in 2014 and was revised earlier this year. It gives very clear guidance about the quality of materials that can be used. Revill says “As with many other comprehensive documents produced by British Standards, BS 5534:2014 + A2:2018 is very detailed, so it’s understandable that busy roofing contractors and general builders don’t have the time to read it chapter and verse. Which is where we come in because our Guide to Graded Roofing Battens is a simple, ‘everything you need to know’ booklet that has already proved to be a big hit with roofing contractors because it gives clear and concise information about compliant roofing batten that meets BS 5534:2014 + A2:2018.” Revill adds that, although it was written for roofing contractors, the guide is equally valid for merchants because the way the information is presented it outlines all the key points of the standard.


“From the guide, we have picked out a few key points that are of specific importance to merchants, particularly when they’re receiving stock and when they’re talking to builders and roofing contractors about the quality and benefits of compliant materials.


Check your delivery details Before you check the batten, check the paperwork. Deliveries of BS 5534-compliant graded batten will come with documentation that will state five things: 1. Name of the supplier


2. Origin – imported or British grown and/or 42 species code


3. Graded in accordance with BS 5534 4. Batten size or sizes


5. Type of preservative and method of treatment (if applicable)


If deliveries of batten don’t come with documentation, ask the supplier.


Check the markings


If the paperwork is in order, the next thing to check is the batten for stamping. The stamping can be on the side (edge) or the face, and there should be five pieces of information stamped on the side of every length of batten, giving contractors key information.


The first and most obvious thing to say is that no matter what colour the batten is, if there’s nothing marked on it, then it’s very unlikely to have been produced in accordance with the British Standard. In order


from left to right, the markings are as follows: Q:


certification


such as the Q Mark, denoting independently assessed third-party quality assurance, shows that the grading, preservative treatment, product marking and management processes have all been independently audited and verified by a good third-party body, in our case UKAS accredited. Ask who supports the third party’s management processes. TX TTB-012 – TX is the sawmill identification mark. TTB-012 is the certificate number for the Q Mark issued by BM Trada. GRADED BS5534 – the batten must have been pre-graded to the British Standard. WPPA – the species code of the timber: WPPA refers to pine and spruce – which is a mixed species code. 25x50 – the dimensions of the batten in millimetres. The other standard size is 25 mm x 38 mm.


“Through” edge knot less than 5mm in diameter


Edge knot running across face: greater than 5mm on an edge


The rules on knots can be quite complicated, but, essentially, any large knots should not be bigger than half the width of the batten, should they appear on both sides of the face (width). Knots smaller than 5 mm in diameter (which are usually referred to as ‘pin knots’) may be allowed anywhere, but knots over 5 mm that appear on the edge/thickness are not permitted to run across the batten from edge to edge. BMJ


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net December 2018


Get your tape measure out Batten comes in two dimensions: 25 x 38 mm and 25 x 50 mm. The British Standard states an allowed tolerance of +/-3 mm on the width and a tolerance on the thickness of -0/+3 mm. These dimensions are supposed to be measured when at a ‘reference’ moisture level of 20%, but, in reality, the 25 mm thickness is the most important one, and this will barely alter at the range of moisture levels that are encountered in batten production and on building sites. So, 25 mm minimum is what to look for in a good batten. 50 mm and 38 mm width batten offers superior quality, as it is produced full size in both


More than half width of batten


Less than half width of batten


thickness and width. Check the size of knots


“Through” edge knot greater than 5mm in diameter


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