TDUK SupplyingTimber Issue 8 DIGITAL - Magazine - Page 38
———— ROOFING BAT TENS ————
Roo昀椀ng battens are a safety critical building material subject to strict
grading and quality requirements. TDUK explains how to make sure the
roo昀椀ng battens you stock, sell and 昀椀t are compliant.
oo昀椀ng battens
(sometimes known
as tile battens) are
structurally vital
to any roof, ensuring the roof
is solid, stable and won’t fail
once erected.
They are also structurally
signi昀椀cant during the
construction of the building
itself; builders and roofers will
often walk, sit or lean on these
battens while installing tiles,
slates and felt – with potentially
deadly consequences should the
battens fail.
TDUK is o昀昀ering advice
to members and the wider
industry on how to ensure the
timber battens they stock, sell
and use are 昀椀t for purpose,
following warnings from The
National Federation of Roo昀椀ng
Contractors (NFRC) that
R
STOCKING TIMBER
counterfeit battens are available
on the UK market.
The NFRC is once again
warning of sub-standard
battens being circulated in the
UK that are marked, ‘coloured
and sold as being BS 5534
compliant', when they are in
fact, counterfeit.
In a statement, the NFRC said:
“These sub-standard goods
are becoming an increasingly
serious issue for merchants,
roo昀椀ng contractors and their
clients. 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 signi昀椀cant
health and safety risk is created
by the contractor using noncompliant battens as a foothold
as this is in contravention to
SUPPLYING TIMBER
38
the guidelines set out in HSG33:
Health and Safety in Roofwork.”
TDUK takes all claims of
substandard timber product
entering the UK market very
seriously and has previously
issued a trade note to all its
members o昀昀ering guidance on
this matter.
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.
We would urge all TDUK
members and any merchant
or construction 昀椀rm that works
with roo昀椀ng battens to take the
following steps to ensure they
always purchase quality product
SPRING 2025
↓
Image: © Marley.
Roo昀椀ng battens
are a safety critical
product that is
subject to strict
quality standards.
