THE NFRC is urging operatives and managers to be aware that a large volume of non-standard battens, falsely coloured and/or stamped with BS 5534, have entered the UK market.
The trade body has issued a Safety Alert to highlight the issue, providing guidance on how to check that the battens they are receiving are compliant.
NFRC said the appearance of these battens is thought to be due, at least in part, to the high demand for treated timber which was compounded by shortages created by the war in Ukraine, Brexit, and the pandemic. The battens have been falsely stamped with BS 5334 and/or falsely coloured, and then marketed as compliant.
Non-compliant battens should not be installed, NFRC added, as battens that do not comply with BS 5534 have the potential to cause ‘roof failures and accidents’. This risk increases when the roof battens are being used as an alternative to a roof ladder.
NFRC revealed there is also the issue of quality assurance for the whole roof system, with the use of inferior battens potentially having a negative impact on the longevity of the roof.
HSG33 Health and Safety in Roof Work, from HSE, states that battens must be a minimum size of 50mm x 25mm (maximum span 600mm) or 38mm x 25mm (maximum span 450mm) and meet the grading requirements specified in BS 5534: Code of practice for slating and tiling, and included in NFRC Technical Bulletin 33, Graded battens for slating and tiling.
BS 5334 states that all graded battens should be marked with the following:
- Suppliers’ details
- Batten size
- Species
- Relevant Standard (in this case BS 5534)
- Third-party certification.
All battens should be individually marked.
NFRC is chairing a working group on this issue, made up of contractors, manufacturers and merchants. If you have information you would like to share with the group on the topic of non-standard inferior battens being supplied and used, please contact the NFRC technical team via joannelear@nfrc.co.uk.
