Grading Battens
Are Roofing Batten Standards that Complicated?
Not if you buy the correct timber!
There is controversy raging about grading battens and whether it is practical to grade on site. What is important is that battens need to be graded.
Many features need to be assessed when grading battens. These include knots, wane, slope of grain, fissures, rot and decay, insect attack, dimension and distortion. Some of these are easier than others to assess.
Ideally the roofer should be presented with a fully graded product that requires
no grading on site. It should not be the roofer`s responsibility to grade battens.
However, there is not sufficient factory graded product available in the UK market.
To assist the NFRC has produced Technical Bulletin TB33 which sets out the options
for the roofer, including grading on site.
John Brash has produced a handy weatherproof guide to grading on site. This
includes all the features that need to be assessed. To provide a range of options
for the roofer John Brash offers three choices:
THE Roofer's Choice:
JB-RED, JB-GREEN and JBI.
JB-RED – this is our premium batten. Marked BS 5534, it is graded to meet the
strength requirements of BS 5534:2003+A1:2010, and carries the BRE ‘Tickmark’ third
party assessment as a sign of quality. John Brash is listed in the ‘BRE Red Book’
for construction products.
Our JB-GREEN and JBI battens are our other high quality options that need a
final grade on site for only knots and wane. John Brash has already graded for
the other aspects of the Standard, making a final grade on site much more simple.
It also should be noted that many battens marked ‘BS 5534’ have not been graded.
It is important to check the method of grading and whether the supplier has a
recognised Quality Assurance scheme in place.
