A European Harmonised Standard, published in the UK as BS EN 14081:2005 will initally run in parallel with the current strength grading standards until those are withdrawn in September 2007.
One of the changes will be to enable strength-graded timber to be CE marked to demonstrate compliance with the Construction Products Directive (CPD).
However, said TRADA, the UK government had chosen not to follow this route and believed there should be freedom to find alternative means of showing compliance with the CPD.
A TRADA spokesperson said: “One option is an an independent third-party assessment and certification scheme, which have ensured high standards for strength graded timber in the UK for many years.”
