In October last year members of NITTA made an unprecedented move which went far beyond the requirements of moisture content legislation. They called a halt to the import of unseasoned carcassing material and now bring only kiln-dried softwood into the country for constructional use.
BS 4978 and BS 5268.2 dictate that timber should be below a moisture content of 20% and, while there is no directive to use only kiln-dried timber, NITTA members felt that was the only way to ensure adherence to the legislation.
The Kiln Dried Initiative (KDI) has generated tremendous interest – and more importantly has created confidence in timber.
NITTA has organised seminars and workshops, including one on KDI which was attended by members of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the NHBC, and representatives from local housing authorities. They could all see the benefits of using kiln dried instead of ‘green’ timber, and felt the initiative was a positive step to ensure its role as a modern building material.
David Gray, the former chairman of NITTA, says the association’s 12 members collectively import 75% of the timber brought into Northern Ireland. He went on: ‘It is precisely because of this that we decided we must take the lead in the provision and promotion of the highest quality timber.’
And NITTA has appointed its own kiln-dried timber inspector. Trevor Rankin’s role is to give timber an in-depth quality assurance for the consumer.
As well as inspecting shipments and stocks of timber, Mr Rankin is liaising with external bodies on behalf of the association to ensure they are kept informed of moves being made to raise the quality standards of constructional timber.
