woodexperts

2012 - The Year of theTiling Batten!

2012-02-21T02:20:00.002-08:00

Last time I Blogged, I said I'd mention what we at TFT are doing in respect of Tiling Battens - not a very glamorous subject, on the face of it: but one that has suddenly reached prominence - if you're a roofer! Grading tiling battens is nothing new in itself: BS 5534 has had rules for grading battens for more than a decade. But up until the end of last year, very few people ever bothered to use "BS 5534 battens". Then the NHBC stepped in...

Late in 2011, the National House Building Council decreed that only BS 5534-compliant battens would be permitted for use on any of their sites: and suddenly, everyone was asking, "What's a graded batten?" or "How do we grade them?", and then, "Where can I get some?" (A cynic might ask what roofers had been using up until then...but I'm a realist and I know what they were using - any old lengths of 1" by 2" timber!)

So what's the current situation? Well, we at TFT Woodexperts have now helped two sawmills in the Baltics (one in Latvia and one in Estonia) to produce properly-graded BS 5534 tiling battens, with third-party Quaity Assurance - in the form of the TFT "Diamond Mark" on each piece. (For an idea of what this looks like, and for some information on our QA servies, have a look at the TFT Woodexperts website.)

For us at TFT Woodexperts, 2011 was "the year of the Scaffold Board" - since we had over a dozen cases of failed boards to investigate, where injuries had resulted - and it looks as though 2012 will be "The Year of the Tiling Batten"!

Jim Coulson - Director, TFT Woodexperts

Long Time, No Blog!

2012-02-06T06:12:00.000-08:00

I've been sort of busy lately. Since TFT's award of the National Skills Academy "Accredited Training Provider" plaque, I've been around the UK and also overseas.

The most intersting trip was in December, when I went to Hong Kong for a week, to help with a new Heritage Project out there in the former British Colony. Because HK is now all glitzy glass and concrete high-rise buildings, they've rather lost their former expertise in building with timber: and so they needed specialist help when it came to restoring a low-rise, timber-roofed Community Centre on Ma Wan Island, in Hong Kong Harbour. You can see a case-study about it on the TFT Woodexperts website.

I'm still quite busy with all sorts of things: but I hope to be able to catch up with my Blogging during February: when I will tell you what we've been doing lately in respect of Roofing Battens...

Keep reading! - Jim Coulson

TFT Woodexperts: Timber Training and the National Skills Academy

2011-10-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

Exciting news! TFT Woodexperts have just - as of 1st October 2011 - been accepted as the first Accredited Provider of training courses for the Timber Industry, on the technical aspects of specifying and using timber and wood products. You'll find other Providers who can run courses on Wood Machining and Sawmill Apprenticeships and the like: but TFT Woodexperts are the ONLY training organisation in the UK accredited by the Materials Production and Supply National Skills Academy, to deliver fully-accredited short courses on Timber Technology and Basic Wood Science, for the Timber Trade and the users and specifiers of wood and wood-based products.

We also deliver MPS National Skills Academy-accredited training on all aspects of Timber Grading qualifications - and we can award Certificates of Competence to Grade in timber products such as Scaffold Boards, Wooden Post & Rail Fencing and Tiling Battens. This last timber product is especially relevant right now - since the NFRC has just issued new guidelines, about the need to use only graded tiling battens on all new roofs in future. So if you need to be trained about the rules in BS 5534 - either as a potential supplier of Graded Batten, or as a Roofer using ungraded Batten that needs to be graded on site - then come to TFT Woodexperts! Just look on our website and follow our links to Training and then the National Skills Academy courses.

Jim Coulson, Director - TFT Woodexperts

Back to the Blogosphere: Check out the new TFT Woodexperts Website!

2011-09-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit quiet on the Blogging front for the past few weeks: holidays etc getting in the way. So not a lot of new technical stuff to report as yet....but we've used the down time to update our website and it's still ongoing.

But in the meantime, do have a look at us on "www.woodexperts.com" and see how smart we look now! There will be all sorts of stuff being added to our website over the next few months, so keep checking it!

A feature that we plan to add very soon is the means of giving you access to be able to buy/download any or al of our range of Technical Information Sheets. There are currently over three dozen topics, that are all to do with specifying and using timber and wood-based sheet materials, so as to avoid problems before you start on site...something like that has to be worth doing, doesn't it?

Round Britain Quiz - an Update

2011-07-28T03:11:00.000-07:00

Those of you who saw a previous Post about my recording for BBC's RBQ will know that I posed one of the "warm up" questions (not one of those that will be broadcast): which concerned Obese Women, Means of Ingress and Immature Waders, etc etc. If you didn't "twig" the connection - it was Bingo. The obese women were 88 (two fat ladies), the means of ingress was 21 (key of the door) and the immature waders nearby were two little ducks, or 22. Other elements of that Question you can probably now work out for yourselves.

My local newspaper, the Ripon Gazette, carried an item this week about my impending broadcasts (starting on Monday 15th August at 1.30pm) and quoted the above question - but then said that I had posted the answer on the TFT Blog - so I thought I'd better get on and do that now...

Stay with us, as I'm going to be putting more technical stuff on the Blog again soon.

Jim Coulson, Director, TFT Ltd

We're in the TTJ's "Best Blogs"!

2011-07-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

Imagine my surprise just the other day, when I was reading the TTJ (formely the Timber Trades Journal) for the 23rd/30th July 2011, and I saw my name and our company address in their "Best Blogs" column! "Fame at last" I thought.

But perhaps my Blog about late payers, posted a week or so back, struck a chord with the TTJ's Editor? And if so, he must have decided that the rest of the Timber Trade should share in my disappointment at the lack of honour amongst those who get a quick service and then take ages to actually pay for it! (I won't re-visit that territory again: at least, not for a while.)

So, now that we've been "noticed" by the Trade Press - how about a few more of you signing up to our Blog and giving us your thoughts - good or bad - about what we're saying?

Jim Coulson, Director

Join Up and Follow Us - on the Woodexperts Blog!

2011-07-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

I've been writing this Blog on and off for a few months now and I don't see many of you following me, in the virtual "Blogosphere"...

At TFT, we have a wealth of knowledge about the uses of wood and wood-based products - plywood, chipboard, MDF - and so on; as well as the ability to help with structural designs in timber, such as glulam beams and other elements. So please ask us for help and we'll do our best to prove useful. We'll answer simple questions for free (yes, FREE!) and quote you for anything complicated, or which may involve some sort of legal proceedings (we do Expert Witness Reports as well).

Soon you'll have my Book to help you: it's with the publishers now, and should be available in a few months' time - watch this Blog for further details! It will give you clear, sensible advice on how to specify timber in Construction, and how to avoid problems with it in use.

So - keep reading the Blog - and Join Up and Follow TFT on Woodexperts...

The Timber Trade and the Construction Industry - Late Payment of Invoices

2011-07-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

Time for a short rant!

We at Technology For Timber take our work seriously - and we believe in producing a professional report quickly; or delivering a meaningful training course, always on time and within the agreed budget. So why can't our clients have the same responsible attitude to a fair reward for work fairly done, that we have?

In other words, when we've bent over backwards to get something urgent out within the time specified, why must we wait 90 days (and sometimes even 120 days) to get paid for it? Especially when our own suppliers threaten to put us on Stop if we breach their own 30-day rule! Is it fair, I ask you?

How come the Timber Trade and the Construction Industry can get away with treating their suppliers so badly? Responses to this Blog - sympathetic or otherwise - would be welcomed....

Jim Coulson, Director, TFT Ltd

Round Britain Quiz - an update

2011-07-01T03:28:00.000-07:00

My last Blog mentioned that I would soon be recording Round Britain Quiz for BBC Radio 4...well, that has now happened, and very enjoyable it was too!

I won't spoil the suspense by revealing here who won; but I will give you all out there a "flavour" of what it was like, by telling you one of the "warm up" questions that they gave to myself and my North of England Partner, Diana, to get us in a suitable frame of mind. Here it is:

"Where will you encounter: a pair of obese women near the chimney, a Southern railway line close to the sound of maracas, and something to facilitate ingress next to two immature waders?"

Answer in a few Blogs' time! (I'd better post some stuff about Wood in the next one or two.)

The programme itself start to air on Monday 15th August at 1.30pm, repeated Sunday nights at 11.00pm.

Jim Coulson, Director
Technology For Timber Limited

Have I mentioned Round Britain Quiz?

2011-06-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

Those of you who follow me on LinkedIn will already know this...but as Director of Technology For Timber Limited, based in Ripon, North Yorkshire, I am obviously an inhabitant of the North of England and I thus meet the most basic qualification to be considered for the BBC Radio 4 show Round Britain Quiz (aka RBQ). However, there are several million inhabitants of the North of England - so why me?

Well, I've done other Radio 4 stuff in the past - Word of Mouth and Material World being just two of the (hopefully) better-known shows - but what perhaps qualifies me best for the somewhat odd nature of RBQ, and its famously obscure and cryptic questions, is that I am one of the UK's top setters of cryptic crosswords.

If you want to find out more about this particular aspect of my life, then you might be interested in Jonathan Crowther's book which came out a couple of years ago, called "The A to Z of Crosswords" and which has some biographical details of the top 80 Setters in the UK. You might also try Googling "Jago" (my pseudonym) in a crossword context, to see some of my past efforts (I can't remember the name of the site, but there's a very good one out there, that lists a lot of stuff done by us weirdos...)

But if it's WOODS you want to know about and not WORDS - then I'm also your man! find us via woodexperts.com

Jim Coulson

Summer's here! So what does that mean for outdoor wood?

2011-06-02T04:31:00.000-07:00

The advent of sunnier, warmer, drier weather always brings with it the problems of new fencing installations developing splits and cracks - especially in larger diameter posts. Apart from being unsightly, the deeper cracks can present a risk to the long-term life of the post, by exposing the untreated core of the timber. (Many people assume that timber which has been pressure treated is preserved all the way through - but that isn't the case: only the outer few millimetres will contain preservative at the right concentration.) Therefore, a deep crack that goes below this "protective layer" is a recipe for future trouble.

TFT can inspect consignments of new posts and other landscaping timber products; and we can advise on ways to minimise the problems I've just described, if we should find potential difficulties. Call us on +44 (0)1765 601010 or email tft@woodexperts.com to find out more.

Back in the UK: good to be home?

2011-05-23T05:18:00.000-07:00

I got back from the Antipodes last week and ever since then, the weather (and air temperature) here has been worse than the Australian and New Zealand winter! Over there it was about 15 degrees C and back in Blightly it's been only about 10-12 degrees since I came home. It's supposed to be almost Summer here: yet as I write this in the office in Ripon, it's hailing!

On the technical wood front: some interesting stuff gleaned last week at the UK Timber Grading Committee in London. The Harmonised European Strength Grading Standard - EN 14081 - continues to loom ever closer: now brought forward to 31st December of this year. So all you Building Inspectors, Clerks of Works and so on - not to mention Architects and Structural Engineers - had better be on the lookout for properly graded and correctly-marked structutral timber, from Jan 1 next year! Ask us at Woodexperts for more info.

Jim Coulson, Director, TFT Ltd

2011-05-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

It's now 12th May where I am (New Zealand) but still only 11th May in UK. I'm attending the 42nd Conference of the International Research Group on Wood Protection, being held in Queenstown. It's Autumn here; but the views across Lake Wakatipu are really very beautiful, with the Remarkable Range of mountains in the background.

I'm here to update my knowledge on various matters: preservatives, surface coatings and phytosanitary regulations (to prevent the spread of pathogens and insects in packaging materials being shipped around the world). Speaking of the latter - did you know that the Emerald Ash Beetle (native to Asia) is destroying Ash trees across North America? It is estimated that USA and Canada may be devoid of their native Ashes within the next decade or so. So the next time you ship a pallet-load of goods somewhere, make sure the wood has been correctly sterilised!

More when I get back to the UK next week.

Jim Coulson
Director, TFT Ltd

A Busy Time For TFT!

2011-04-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

This past few weeks has been a very busy time for us; with all of the Team being out and about doing technical stuff with wood. I've been involved as an Expert Witness in a lengthy case at the Technology and Construction Court in London - but that's currently been adjourned, so that we can consider new evidence that's just been released.

Meanwhile, one of the team has been doing a Quality Audit on roofing batten production in Latvia; whilst others have been training Scaffold Board producers in Essex and on the Isle of Man. And inspecting a large number of laminated joinery items at a major development in Northern Ireland. So April has been quite hectic, all in all!

At the start of May, I'm off to New Zealand for the International Research Group (IRG) on Wood Preservation's Annual Conference. So I'll be out of circulation for a couple of weeks...but dont worry if you have a wood problem - there are plenty of others on the Team to help you, while I'm away.

Jim Coulson, Director TFT Ltd

Windmills etc

2011-03-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

If you follow TFT "the woodexperts" on Twitter, you'll see that we're now being followed by - and in turn we are following - UK Windmills. This organisation has some very interesting stuff about some of the older and some of the more recently-restored mills: including watermills as well as windmills. I'm still trying to find out how (if) I can post photo's on this Blog: and when I do, I'll show you some of me halfway up a windmill in Humberside. (I didn't do that just for fun: I carry out an annual condition survey on the sail beams - after one snapped off during milling, some years ago!)

I'm also interested in the restored watermill at Gayle, near Hawes - after all, it's not very far from us: we're based in Ripon - and Hawes is just a few miles upstream, on the River Ure.

I have so many interesting things to show you - and also to say - about the uses of timber in all manner of constructions, both old and new. As time goes by, and I get more familiar with this "blogging" lark, I hope to share many of them with you all out there in the (what a daft name!) "blogosphere".

Did I tell you that I set crosswords? One day I will have to see if I can do one about tweeting....

Cheers for now.

Jim Coulson
(Director, Technology For Timber Limited)

Blogomania about Wood!

2011-03-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

I've just learned how to post Blogs and now that TFT (woodexperts) have a Blog site established, I'll stick some stuff into it now and then, as long as I have the time to do so.

We're a small but dedicated team here in Ripon; and we undertake Consultancy work all over the UK and Europe - so there's not always the time to sit and write a Blog or two about wood every day. But we'll all try to do it as and when we can - and if any of you out there in the "Blogosphere" want to interact, and ask us anything about timber - especially on its uses in construction - then please make contact via this Blog site and we'll start a chat...

As a start: did you know that there are over 60,000 different species of wood in the world? How many do we use in the UK? (The honest answer is that nobody knows exactly - although it's unlikely to be more than a few dozen in any year - but why not write and tell us of the timber species that you use every so often: and what you do with them?

Jan Antonovics - Business Development Associate

The Aftermath of Ecobuild

2011-03-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

We came back last week from Ecobuild feeling knackered but exhilarated: it was a very busy Show and we were in a prime thoroughfare in the Timber Works area - so we had an almost non-stop stream of visitors to our Stand.

The things that our visitors were interested in covered all 3 of our main areas of work: Site Investigations and Expert Witness Reports; Training on all things timber (such as Scaffold Board Grading to BS2482); and Consultancy on Certification Schemes (Chain of Custody, Factory Process Control, etc). The fact that we were offering glasses of wine and other refreshments may have made a slight difference to how long they stayed!

If I hadn't forgotten to bring my Camera into the office, I could have downloaded the photos of TFT's Stand to show you - I'll try to do that tomorrow, if I can remember!

Jim Coulson