Shaun Revill, Trading Director at SR Timber, sounds the alarm on ungraded battens.
The emergence of ungraded batten being passed off as graded poses a real danger to those working with them. As a result, it has become critical roofing contractors pay close attention to what they’re purchasing, and physically checking the battens are a British Standard product.
Over the past few months there had been hints of this ungraded batten being passed as true graded at ports, and evidence is mounting that this stock is appearing in merchants. It’s a product that’s dimensionally undersized, with knots outside of allowed tolerances, and would have failed standard quality controls checks by a legitimate producer.
Ben Hulme is one roofing contractor based in Halifax who raised the issue with NFRC. While subcontracting on a housing project, he was supplied with batten stock to work with and discovered ungraded mixed into the delivery. “I turned up on site and was taken to the stock of batten so I could prepare for the job – it’s at this point I immediately saw a problem”. Mixed in amongst graded blue batten were lengths of timber clearly not to specification.
“I could tell straightaway some weren’t right,” continues Ben. “I’ve trained my entire career to spot a graded batten and some of the lengths were smaller, knots larger than tolerance allowed, and it was all mixed in with what looked like proper graded blue battens.”
To pass the timber off as conforming to BS 5534, it looked like the producer had painted the battens blue instead of the correct treatment method. “Whatever process they used to colour the batten was clearly a shortcut. It didn’t look like it had been properly treated with a colour dye at production stage”.
“I typically buy my graded roofing battens from larger, more reputable suppliers whereas this batten had been bought from a merchant putting profit ahead of quality and roofers’ safety. It’s frustrating because I’m having to deal with rising prices which either eat into profit or I have to raise my own prices. Then on top of that, the quality just isn’t there. I’ve had tiles not curing right, lead being bent, and now blue batten that just isn’t up to standard.”
Spotting the signs early
Simon Dixon, Training Manager at NFRC is equally frustrated. With more NFRC members coming forward, he rightly highlights the importance of proper training and recognising what makes a graded batten: “Seeing ungraded batten being coloured blue and passed off as proper graded batten is disheartening. It means the product is being sent out to site that isn’t fit for purpose in the first place. It goes to highlight the importance of understanding the grading process and what makes a batten conform to BS 5534.”
Using substandard batten puts contractors lives at risk, increasing the chance of something going wrong during the build. All graded battens should be dimensionally accurate – BS 5534:2014 + A2:2018 allows for a tolerance of -0mm / +3mm on the thickness, (25mm), and -3mm / +3mm on the width (which will be 38mm or 50mm). The strength of the batten is dependent on slope of grain, number of growth rings, quantity and dimension of knots being within regulations.
Simple checks such as measuring if the thickness is 25mm can quickly identify if a batten is fit for purpose. If under 25mm, the batten will fail to pass the British Standard allowed tolerances and isn’t a true graded batten.
Why now?
We think the problem is partly down to the increasing pressures we are all faced with. As costs rise across the board, some suppliers are turning to this cheaper, compromised product to ensure a healthy margin. Consequentially, there is an erosion of trust in these suppliers and the market. Contractors are buying this product thinking it’s treated correctly, showing the colour and being stamped. All indications of a true British Standard product when its clearly not.
I’ve worked in and have been connected to the industry my entire life, and I want merchants and contractors alike to be aware of these issues. These markings and checks are here for a reason, and roofers’ safety is at the top of the agenda.
Larger suppliers such as SR Timber offer a legitimate British Standard product, ticking all the boxes when it comes to quality and allowed tolerances. Above everything else, I urge all merchants and contractors to challenge when they spot something they believe isn’t right.
For more information on graded battens from SR Timber visit https://sr-timber.co.uk/
