Australia’s Timber Importers Take the Fight to Non-Compliant LVL
Exclusive: The Australian Timber Importers Federation says an unverified stamp is not adequate proof that LVL complies, with every board required to name its maker and show its grade.
Barcode tags and metal end plates on stacked logs. Some LVL brands also show batch numbers, dates, and QR codes that buyers can use to verify the species, according to the Australian Timber Importers Federation. (Photo Credit: Steve Walker / Terrafolia Advisory)
Non-compliant engineered wood products have cost lives on Australian worksites, with laminated veneer lumber (LVL) used in critical structural work where a failure could bring a building down. That is according to the Australian Timber Importers Federation (ATIF), whose new general manager, Simon Dorries, told Wood Central exclusively this week that the federation wants to teach LVL users “simple commonsense steps” to help separate compliant from non-compliant product.
“ATIF has developed a new LVL Technical Information sheet in response to concerns that non-compliant LVL may be in use in the Australian market,” said Dorries, who chairs Standards Australia’s engineered wood products committee.
A stamp or identifying information saying LVL meets a particular Australian Standard does not always mean the product is compliant, the federation warns. LVL that is tested and compliant to the standard costs more to make because safety and reliability must be built into the product, with responsible manufacturers and importers able to back up their brands with further evidence of compliance.
Simon Dorries, who started at the Australian Timber Importers Federation this month, spent nine years leading the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia. (Photo Credit: Supplied)
Nor can LVL be stamped as MGP, ATIF says, as it is not machine-graded sawn pine. Each LVL product is “uniquely different and not always interchangeable”, the federation notes, so builders should check the design software or app from its original maker or supplier to obtain reliable performance information. Some LVL products reach the market without design or structural performance information, ATIF warns, which makes their use in structural applications a serious concern.
As a starting point for compliant branding, every board must identify its maker or importer and the standard it complies with, AS/NZS 4357.0, the Australian product standard for structural LVL. Each must also show an A bond glue rating and a formaldehyde emission class such as E0, along with a structural grade, either a structural identifier such as E14 or a stress grade such as F17, ATIF says.
A worker checks tagged logs in a stockpile. The Australian Timber Importers Federation says a coloured weather coating on LVL is specific to each company and has no bearing on any other claim. (Photo Credit: Steve Walker / Terrafolia Advisory)
Treated LVL must show its treatment plant’s three-digit number, which buyers can find on the Timber Preservers Association of Australia’s list. As it stands, third-party certification is optional, ATIF says, with certified boards usually showing the auditor’s name and a number buyers can verify.
Country of origin is also optional, and the country that made an LVL board is not always the one where its trees were harvested. Some brands list a joint strength group from JD4 to JD6, which the federation says matters wherever LVL meets nail plates in trusses, bracing, or tie-downs.
Logs are loaded onto a ship at port. The Australian Timber Importers Federation says LVL made in Australia or overseas is subject to the same regulations. (Photo Credit: Steve Walker / Terrafolia Advisory)
Buyers should know who they are buying from and what support is on offer if something goes wrong, ATIF urges, adding that its member companies can point them to resellers of compliant LVL. Once a building is up and its LVL fails or is queried by an inspector or surveyor, it is “too late” to find out whether the product complies, the federation says.
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