TDUK SupplyingTimber Issue 8 DIGITAL - Magazine - Page 74
———— WOOD PROTECTION ————
TIMBER KNOWLEDGE
Performance and
peace of mind
Fire classi昀椀cation reports
relating to factory applied
昀氀ame-retardant treatments give
building designers con昀椀dence
about the performance of the
materials they specify.
Standards, tests and
classi昀椀cations of the e昀昀ects
of external weathering on the
performance of 昀氀ame-retardant
treated wood have been in
place for 30 years in the USA
(ASTM D-2898), 20 years in the
Nordic region of Europe (NT
FIRE 053) and for seven years in
Europe (EN 16755).
Benchmarking 昀椀re protection
WPA Benchmark is a third-party
quality scheme for treated
wood developed in conjunction
with wood treaters, preservative
suppliers and the Building
Research Establishment (BRE).
Benchmark aims to provide
wood treaters with a credible
way to tackle concerns about
treated wood performance
and verify compliance with UK
industrial wood preservation
standards in BS 8417 and the
WPA Code of Practice.
BS 8417: Code of Practice
for the Preservation of Wood
de昀椀nes the minimum levels
of preservative treatment
necessary to ensure the
durability of wood in speci昀椀c
end-uses.
However, BS 8417 does not
provide instruction on how these
critical minimum requirements
are to be achieved – it points
to the WPA Code of Practice:
Industrial Wood Preservation to
provide the essential guidance
in achieving this performance
benchmark.
The WPA Benchmark thirdparty quality scheme operates
on the principle that wood
consistently treated according
to the WPA Code of Practice is
a durable material exhibiting
the minimum penetration and
retention requirements for the
relevant end-use and service
life.
SUPPLYING TIMBER
74
More information about
the speci昀椀cation of 昀氀ame
retardants for wood is freely
available at www.thewpa.org.
uk and through webinars and
communications published
in conjunction with Timber
Development UK.
SPRING 2025
Simon Henry joins
Wood Protection
Association
Image: © PTG
Treatments.
↑
liquid 昀氀ame retardants by brush
or spray on site, including the
impact of di昀昀erent weather
conditions. This is why the
WPA recommends only using
cladding treated with proven
昀氀ame-retardant products
applied under controlled factory
production processes.”
Simon Henry has become
a director of the Wood
Protection Association.
He will operate as part
of the Association’s
Management Team
with responsibility for
strategy and membership
Development.
Simon served previously
as a director of the
WPA from 2021 to 2023,
representing the timber
treatment sector, and
brings a wealth of wood
industry experience to the
organisation.
WPA Chairman Steve
Young said: “Simon
joins us at a time when
our industry is under
increasing pressure
from competing and
substitute materials and
his expertise should prove
invaluable in helping grow
WPA's in昀氀uence in the
supply chain.”
