A fresh industry warning of increasing proliferation of sub-standard, counterfeit roofing battens circulating in the UK has been sounded by the National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC).
The NFRC’s warning has been joined by Timber Development UK issuing advice to its members on how to ensure their roof battens are compliant. Several leading industry roof batten suppliers are also believed to be joining in discussions to help combat the problem.
The NFRC’s latest warning was issued on February 20 and saw the organisation warning that an “abundance” of sub-standard battens being marked coloured and sold as BS 5534 compliant, “when in fact they are counterfeit”.
“These sub-standard goods are becoming an increasingly serious issue for merchants, roofing contractors and their clients,” it said.
NFRC said marking alone is not proof that the batten has been graded correctly or that it is of the correct standard. Guidance on this can be found in the NFRC safety alert “Substandard roofing battens”.
“Using non-compliant battens may result in the contractor having to strip and re-roof a property should the battens be proven to be substandard, and a significant health and safety risk is created by the contractor using non-compliant battens as a foothold as this is in contravention to the guidelines set out in HSG33: Health and Safety in Roofwork.”
Shaun Revill, trading director of batten specialist SR Timber, told TTJ that the circulation of imported sub-standard battens was increasing and a serious problem. He said it was possible the questionable products may now make up as much as 50% of the overall roof batten market.
Issues included undersizing, lack of kiln drying, and lack of thorough strength grading, all which could lead to quality, safety and longevity issues for roofs.
Use of a dye to colour the wood and BS marking wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove fit for purpose, he said. But how to police the supply of battens on construction sites was a difficult question, he said.
Mr Revill said SR Timber was looking to meet with other longstanding reputable suppliers to discuss how to tackle the issue, but admitted education was key.
“If you are going to buy roofing battens, then buy from a responsible source but still examine the batten to make sure they are up to standard,” Mr Revill said.
TDUK said it takes all claims of substandard timber product entering the UK market “very seriously” and has issued a note to members on how to check roofing battens are compliant
The TDUK Trade Note ‘Tile Batten Quality Control’ provides guidance on how everyone in the construction supply chain can protect themselves against any potentially fraudulent or substandard tile batten which may be present on the UK market.
“Do not purchase any tile batten with varying percentages of BS.5534 available, this may also be offered to you at different price points,” TDUK said.
“There is only one grade of tile batten for roofing, and it should be 100% BS 5534 compliant. This means your supplier should only be offering one price point.”
