Machine or visual grading? – read this!
The European Standard for machine grading (EN 14081-2) will go to second enquiry (public comment) next year. It will contain a proposal for what happens […]
Standards
When is a standard not a standard?
…or why you should not buy EN 14081-1:2016. As we have discussed before (here and here), Harmonized Standards have a special status in that they […]
CEN voting maths (& Brexit again)
This summer, the CEN general assembly changed its voting system by adopting criteria inspired by the qualified majority voting rules under Lisbon Treaty of the European […]
5th percentile shear modulus?
In the current version of Eurocode 5 (EN 1995-1-1:2004+A2:2014) you can find equations that relate to the lateral torsional buckling of beams. Equation 6.31 gives the […]
Thinking beyond strength classes
This paper summarises the processes and normative requirements involved in grading of structural timber, and outlines a number of areas in which matters may be […]
Brexit and standards
Edit November 2016: You can also read about this topic, and other issues, in the RAEng publication “Engineering a future outside the EU“. The UK […]
Machine grading? Pay attention
Apologies for the dramatic post title – but this really does require immediate attention if you are producing machine graded timber. The key standard, which […]
BS EN 14081-1:2016 published
The new version of EN 14018-1 “Timber structures – Strength graded structural timber with rectangular cross section. Part 1: General requirements” has now been published by the British […]
What’s new about grade stamps?
The UK has a long history of marking graded timber with a stamp – so that there is no risk of graded timber being misidentified […]
What is “British spruce”?
It is quite common for species with similar timber properties to be lumped into a commercial “species combination” for trade (the species are not differentiated – […]