Britain's best source of building product & construction news

On average, roofing battens account for only 3% of the total cost of building a roof, but if a batten fails the consequences can be both serious and costly. Inspectors demand that the entire roof be stripped if battens are found wanting, or worse, it could result in a fall. With JB-RED pre-graded battens from John Brash, this is not a worry. John Brash, responsible for the idea of pre-graded battens, has teamed up with Bracknell Roofing for a number of large projects for clients including Redrow, Bellway and George Wimpey. Bracknell Roofing started using pre-graded battens in March, and is reportedly so delighted with the performance that it is now only using JB-RED for its batten requirements. Alan Chumley, MD of Bracknell Roofing, said 'Our roofers can work with the added confidence that each of the individually strength-tested battens will provide the safest possible working access environment possible. Installation is easier too because the battens are lighter in weight due to the special preservative treatments used.'

In response to the increasing popularity of timber cladding among architects, designers and builders in recent years, John Brash - one of the UK's leading manufacturers of roofing battens and scaffold boards - now offers a cladding range. The product is attractive, versatile, allows for great flexibility in design and can be used for any scale of building or project. The use of timber cladding can also reduce building costs, due to the low weight and high insulation properties of the material. If used with similar lightweight roof coverings, such as shingles, the need for bulk masonry walls is eliminated, reducing the level of foundations required. Western Red Cedar is said to be a popular choice, being highly durable and resistant to decay.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.

With smoking banned from July 1st in all enclosed public places including offices, restaurants, factories, pubs and bars, timber decking will be a popular choice amongst specifiers for exteriors. Timber decking has become a popular material to use when creating safe outdoor smoking areas. Specialist timber importer, John Brash, has developed a hard wearing non-slip structural timber decking solution know as JB Antislip Plus. Said to be a variant on conventional decking, Antislip Plus uses a formula of resin based aggregate inserts, which is injected into the grooves of the deck boards. Alternatively grooves can be machined into smooth boards to receive the inserts. The resin inserts are dark grey in colour and blend in with the natural colour of the deck board as it weathers over time. The decking was developed with Health and Safety standards, The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and Part M of the Building Regulations. The softwood range is manufactured from premium joinery grade European Redwood.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.

Roofing batterns are believed to be the only timber product where grading is not consistently applied. But if they fail the consequences can be costly and dangerous. Pre-grading batterns at the sawmill, rather than inexact grading on-site, has not previously been possible but pioneering work and over ?2 million of investment at John Brash has seen the development of such a process and the product is called JBRED. The procedure involves optical and laser scanning to ensure every battern is analysed.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.

A house, garage, and summer house in the New Forest have been roofed with Western Red Cedar shingles from John Brash. The 400mm shingles were supplied in random sizes and laid with staggered or uneven butts, in order to provide a 'natural' aesthetic. Tiles needed to be fire retardant, and the company's FRT Exterior full-cell non-toxic pressure treatment offered resistance to fire to British Standards. All shingles are treated in a vacuum pressure impregnation process with a preservative treatment.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.

With the use of western red cedar fire resistant shingles from John Brash, a new roof has been installed at St Mary's CE Primary School in Kent. Curved in design, the roof required 1150m of shingles, which were used to create an aesthetic contrast to the peg tiles. The fire rating satisfied the local authority building control department, as there are domestic properties nearby.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.

Refurbishment of The Central Store in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, has been completed using 17000 cedar shakes as cladding from John Brash. The original shingles were Chilean softwood, but this did not meet new requirements for fire resistance, so 600mm by 19mm Western Red Cedar Shakes were specified. Shakes are hand split using a mallet and a cleaver, creating the rough textured surface. Western Red Cedar contains its own preservative against fungal attack, although life expectancy is dependant on conditons. The shakes applied to this project were pre-pressure treated with a non-leaching fire retardant.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.

Cedar cladding from John Brash has been used to clad a social housing development in Basingstoke. Approximately 2,000m of the company's cedar cladding was installed over the brick structure, some of which was treated with the Non-Com Exterior fire retardant process. The product was chosen to contrast with the brickwork and also for its durability, since it has a natural resistance to decay and insect attack. Non-Com Exterior also meets the fire requirements for cedar shingles and fire performance for external cladding. Non-hazardous and non-toxic, the leach resistant process is applied by full-cell pressure treatment to make the wood fire retardant for the life of the timber cladding or cedar shingles.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has chosen vertical cedar boarding from John Brash for the external cladding of two new primary schools in Radstock, near Bath. Of all the available cladding options, cedar most satisfied the client's objectives, the company claims. As a natural, renewable product it has a low environmental impact. It is also naturally resistant to decay and insect attack which means that the use of chemical preservatives could be avoided.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.

Specialist timber importer, John Brash has provided the timber for the roof and walls for the Alnwick Garden tree house, part of a public garden in the North East which focuses on regeneration. Once complete, the tree house will cover a floor area of 557m² and accommodate a restaurant, shop and education resource centre known as ?The Roost?. The structure is almost entirely made of timber, with the walls and roofs clad in cedar shingles and shakes supplied by John Brash. Over a four month period the company has delivered 349 bundles of treated cedar shakes, 228 bundles of untreated cedar shakes and 48 bundles of untreated cedar shingles to the project. They are being used to clad the 815m² of walls and 70m² of roof, providing durability and a very high strength to weight ratio.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.

Thermowood timber cladding from John Brash has been used to add the finishing touch to a residential development in the Birmingham suburb of Moseley. Some 3,000m of Thermowood has been used to clad the rear elevation of Pitmaston Court, a 1930?s Art Deco building that has been refurbished by Grainger Homes. Thermowood is a product from Finland and is from European Redwood timber that has been treated at high temperature to reduce sap and resin levels. This treatment increases the durability of the timber and results in a timber that is claimed to last up to five times longer than untreated boards.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.

High quality shingles from John Brash & Co. have been used to roof Jaguar House at Chester Zoo. Some 2,500m² of cedar shingles have been installed to provide the ?finishing touches? to an extension to the building, and meet with the zoo?s sustainable resources policy to make use of natural materials wherever possible.

This product appeared in Building Products more than 12 months ago. Please contact John Brash & Co Ltd directly for further details.