Delegates to a free half-day seminar hosted by Napier University’s Centre for Timber Engineering (CTE) in association with the Forestry Commission (FC), were walked through a new publication, Making the Grade, written by CTE research fellow Ivor Davies and Guy Watt of John Clegg Consulting Ltd.
The guide, commissioned by the FC, the Welsh Development Agency, the Northern Ireland Forest Service, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Forestry Trust, is described by Mr Davies as “a national commentary on a European standard [EN975-1] which was being ignored because it was so opaque”.
The publication differs from EN975-1 in its use of good quality colour photography. Other benefits include the fact that it covers all UK-grown species, rather than just oak and beech and that the same grades apply to waney-edge and square-edge timber.
Peter Ross, TRADA president and Ove Arup consultant, who also spoke on appearance grading, told delegates that he was working on publishing new rules for the grading of structural green oak.
Making the Grade is available in printed format, on CD or can be downloaded as a PDF from www.forestry.gov.uk/hardwoods
