Why Vudlande Batten Stumps The Rest
At Elliotts we buy a vast majority of roofing batten from Vudlande, a company that has been in business since 1994 and one which is comprised of a forestry division that manages its own forestlands, and a sawmill which utilizes the latest in sawmilling technology from Sweden, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Roofing battens are not just to provide footholds for roofers but are also the most important parts of a pitched roof structure. They take the loads imposed by slates or tiles as well as loads from snow and wind, acting as a structural and load bearing element, so quality is critical.
Most organisations, for example NHBC (National House Builders Council), LABC (Local Authority Building Control) and NFRC Co-partnership require fully compliant battens. The best way to ensure battens are fit for purpose is to choose those marked as BS 5534-compliant.
There has been some press recently on roofing batten quality, and whilst we have no doubt that some mills have quality issues, this is not the case with Vudlande who are known as one of the premium timber producers in Latvia, not only in terms of technological advancement, but also in terms of quality, and here's why...
Laser & X-Ray Graded
Vudlande X-RAY BLUE ® is the only fully machine strength graded BS 5534 roofing batten on the market today, graded both externally with laser and colour vision scanning technology and also internally with an X-RAY and mechanical strength grading unit.
The battens are a factory produced, X-Ray scanned, pre-graded roofing batten which conform to British Standard BS 5534:2014+A2:2018 and are treated with a specially formulated blue treatment chemical.
They are laser scanned not only to detect defects, but also to ensure the battens are machined to tolerances per the BS 5534 standard.
Consistent Quality
X-RAY BLUE ® is produced by one of the best softwood producers in Latvia, and is produced from timber that comes from controlled sources treated with the environmentally friendly timber preservative Vacsol Aqua.
It's manufactured from slow grown, high quality Latvian timber, which conforms to the approved species list within the BS 5534:2014+A2:2018 standard, which is only sourced from controlled/non-conflict sources.
Each batten is marked with the BM Certification third party certified under license number TT-PRS-0189, and shows the producers name, origin, species, grade and size. It's also machined to maintain a consistent 25mm thickness, while at the same time making them easier for installers to handle.
Although there are disputes on roofing batten colours, which you can read more about in our guide here, Vudlande batten is recognizable as a pre-graded roofing batten by both building inspectors and jobsite personnel due to its unique blue colour.
With a 60-year expected service life for resistance to insect attack and wood rotting fungi (when installed in accordance with the requirements of Usage Class 2), it's clear that Vudlande batten is the best of the best.
To top it off, Vudlande Sawmill received the "Golden Pinecone" award in December 2022 for Innovative Business of the Year in Latvia, for innovation in sawmilling from the Ministry of Agriculture in Latvia.
We have a brilliant team of Timber specialists at Elliotts who have over 40 years experience combined, if you'd like to speak to someone about our Vudlande roofing batten product, then please contact us below.
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