Importance of Merchants to check quality of roof battens they purchase

On the surface, timber roof battens may seem like simple products that don’t require much thought for merchants or customers. However, as they play a critical role in a roof's safety and performance, selling inferior products could have severe consequences.

Roofing battens are not just small section timbers that are quickly covered over with roof tiles. They are an important part of a pitched roof structure, acting as a structural and load-bearing element.

As well as supporting the dead weight of tiles and the imposed wind loads, roofing battens may also be used as a secure foothold during installation. This means that sourcing adequate products is critical not just for roof performance and stability, but also for the safety of installers.

What makes a good roofing batten? 

To be called roofing battens, a timber batten must meet the requirements of BS 5534:2014+A2:2018, the code of practice for slating and tiling for pitched roofs and vertical cladding. This standard sets out the  required  characteristics of timber battens, such as size, consistency, tolerances and preservative treatments. Every compliant batten should be marked with four pieces of information:

• Supplier
• Origin (i.e. species code)
• Graded BS 5534
• Sze

Documentation should also be readily available for you to provide customers. This should include additional details on the information listed above, along with the type and method of preservative treatment and any third-party accreditation.

Unfortunately, there have been cases of inferior products being falsely marked as BS 5534-compliant. That’s why it’s also extremely important to ensure you’re sourcing products from reputable manufacturers.

The safety of wood preservative treatments on timber battens

BS 5534 requires roofing battens to be preservative treated according to BS 8417:2011+A1:2014  Use Class 2 - suitable for applications internally above ground, with a risk of wetting. The treatment provides protection against rot, fungi and insect attack.

Adding to the list of concerns when specifying roof battens, however, the Wood Protection Association (WPA) has issued a statement about the possibility of treated roofing battens allegedly causing skin problems.

In the statement, the WPA stated that it was aware of industry news that claimed some preservative-treated battens were causing chemical skin burns and other health risks. It explained: “The wood preservation industry takes such allegations very seriously and the health and safety of those using wood preservatives or treated wood is the number one priority for the industry,” and added that it would be carrying out an investigation.

To avoid any potential problems, the WPA also recommended sourcing products from reliable suppliers: “The WPA recommends that users of treated wood only buy wood that has been treated with a preservative authorised for use in the UK by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or containing active substances listed in the HSE BPR active substance lists for GB or Northen Ireland. Do not buy any material of dubious origin not knowing what it has been treated with.”

Checking for BPR (Biocidal Products Regulation) labelling on timber roof battens can also give reassurance that the products provide suitable performance in terms of quality and safety.[2]

Ensuring roof batten quality

To ensure compliance with regulations and mitigate any health and safety risks, contractors and merchants should specify factory-graded roofing battens that meet the requirements of BS 5534:2014+A2:2018 and are produced by a reputable and well-established supplier with recognised third-party certification.

Factory-graded battens are graded  by a person or machine. Marley JB Red roofing battens are machine graded – each batten is passed through an advanced laser grading machine called Goldeneye. It precisely scans each timber batten to ensure compliance with BS 5534.

Merchants can also carry out their own checks to ensure the products are fit for purpose, such as visually checking the overall dimensions and quality of the product, as well as confirming that the battens are sustainably sourced with full chain of custody documentation.

If a merchant has any doubts about the grade of any roofing battens, they should check with the supplier and do their own due diligence. Do not accept inferior products that clearly do not meet the required standards.

To find out more, please download our Roof Batten Grading Guide. You can also contact our technical team to discuss any concerns or questions you may have.