Guide to specifying roofing battens

Roofing battens perform several important functions in a roof structure. They provide a surface for fixing and carrying the weight of the roof tiles. They also help to support imposed loads caused by snow and wind, during construction, and they  provide a foothold during installation, where the batten is directly over a rafter.

This guide has been written to help you understand the requirements and recognise the differences between products.

BS 5534 and grading of roofing battens

BS 5534:2014+A2:2018, the code of practice for slating and tiling for pitched roofs and vertical cladding, sets out recommendations for roofing battens, covering everything from grading requirements to wood species, wood treatments, marking and documentation.

What to look for when choosing roof battens

To help make it easier when choosing roofing battens, we’ve put together a handy checklist of things to look out for:

• Grading stamp - Only battens that have been factory-graded to BS 5534 are considered to be compliant roofing battens. Make sure there is an indelible stamp on the batten in accordance with BS 5534. Another additional quality assurance is third-party certification. JB Red is third-party certified by the British Board of Agrément, and this is also included on the stamp.
• Batten colour - While the distinctive red colour of our JB Red offers peace of mind that you are using a BS 5534 compliant batten, this is not necessarily the case for all coloured battens on the market. Please don’t assume that just because it is coloured, a batten conforms to the standard. It must also have the correct stamps and supporting documentation.
• Timber – The type of timber used for a roofing batten is significant. The timber species should be stamped on the batten. Here at Marley, we only use slow grown imported redwood or whitewood for our JB Red Battens. Redwood is stamped on the battens as PNSY (Pinus Sylvestris), and whitewood is stamped as WPCA (Picea Abies). All of our battens are cut from kiln-dried sideboard timber.
• Drying process – Timber that is too wet is prone to mould growth and rot. However, it must be dried in a controlled way to prevent defects such as warping and splitting. Check that the battens you buy are kiln dried as this helps to stabilise the timber.
• Grading process – Roofing battens must be pre-graded before they get to site. This can be done visually or by a machine. We believe that mechanical grading, using camera- and laser-scanning technology, produces the most accurate and consistently graded roofing battens. Our JB Red roofing battens are put through a high-tech laser grading machine called Goldeneye. It scans the battens in intricate detail, to the exact millimetre, to deliver a high level of accuracy, consistency and ultimately, quality assurance.
• Quality checks –Our timber is quality checked at every stage of the process. Raw materials are checked for conformity to our buying specification and they are also checked before they go through the Goldeneye scanner to ensure no damage or deterioration. An operator is present during the scan to check for compliance and the battens are visually checked once the scan is complete. Pieces are also pulled from the production process every hour to undergo a full quality check for compliance with BS 5534.
• Treatment – Roofing battens should be preservative treated to Use Class 2 in accordance with BS 8417:2011+A1:2014, the code of practice for preservation of wood. JB Red Battens use a patented preservative called MicroPro. It has a unique red pigment and provides a 60-year life expectancy for protection against insect attack and wood-rotting fungi. You can also check for a BPR label to find out more about the preservative used on your chosen roof battens.
• Sustainable sourcing – Make sure that the timber battens you are buying are sustainably sourced. Look for PEFC certification and full chain of custody information.

What size roofing batten do I need?

The right size roofing batten will depend on several factors, including the type of roofing product  and the span of the timber roofing supports. To find out more, read our guide to selecting timber batten sizes.

Choose the right roofing batten

Specifying the right roofing battens is a fundamental part of constructing the base layers of a secure, weathertight roof with the necessary load-bearing capacity.

If you’d like to learn more about the requirements of BS 5534 and how to specify the best graded battens for your project, please contact us.