Membrane Leaks Are Not an ‘Industry-Wide Issue’ says Manufacturer

AN UNDERLAY manufacturer has issued a statement rejecting claims that there is an “industry-wide issue of membrane leaks or failures”.

Permavent issued the statement in response to claims made by Don & Low last week that “leaks in membranes are frequently tied to the presence of timber treatments on certain battens commonly used in roofing”.

Permavent stated that the claims are “factually incorrect and extremely misleading” and that the failures experienced by Don & Low are not industry-wide. They draw attention to the differences in roofing membrane products and their specifications.

The Permavent statement ends by affirming “we have not recorded a failure against any of our products due to issues with treatment surrounding battens”.

Untreated Timber Tests

The claims made by Don & Low include the results of “ongoing testing”, that the company alleges “established a link between the presence of certain chemical components within timber treatments leaching from saturated battens, affecting the performance of membranes”. It cited tests conducted by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) on Don & Low’s Roofshield membrane product carried out with untreated battens.

Skin Complaints

Hot on the heels of the assertions made by Don & Low, social media influencer, The Roofing Outlaw published allegations that batten treatments are causing ‘chemical burns’ on roofers’ skin after handling the battens.

The Roofing Outlaw published the allegations widely on social media, including to his 159,000 Facebook followers, many of whom are from the UK roofing community.

Responses have varied, including from roofers welcoming the renewed emphasis on the importance of using appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when carrying out roofing installations.

Other responders have drawn attention to the importance of roofing battens being stored in dry conditions to avoid treatments leaching from wet wood.

Obfuscating Responsibilities

Meanwhile, some roofers responded that The Roofing Outlaw’s allegations are an attempt to obfuscate Don & Low’s responsibilities.

Some of The Roofing Outlaw’s followers seem to agree that they have experienced skin problems, while some imply connections to the covid-19 vaccine.

The Roofing Outlaw said he had been offered money to “be quiet on the subject”. He has rejected claims that he has benefited from his visit to Don & Low’s manufacturing facility in Angus, Scotland and has vowed he will continue investigating the issue.

Sourcing Battens

In the meantime, the UK timber supply chain body, Timber Development UK (TDUK) issued its comment on the topic. It said it “is in no position to verify or deny the claims made” but that “we do take all claims of substandard timber product entering the market very seriously”.

The organisation reminded the UK roofing community of the need to source quality roofing battens from reputable sources to ensure their treatment, grading and storage are correct and certified to British Standard 5534 and 8417.

User Guide

Affiliated to TDUK, and representing timber suppliers, timber treatment companies, associate bodies and consultancy services, The Wood Protection Association (WPA), also issued a statement in response to concerns raised about treated roofing batten allegedly causing skin problems.

The WPA says it “intends to investigate these concerns whilst at the same time continue to promote the use of regulated, safe and effective wood preservatives.”

The organisation adds, “Wood preservatives for use in industrial treatment plants are highly regulated to ensure they can be used safely.” It sets out the regulatory framework timber treatments must adhere to.

The WPA statement warns against relying on timber safety data sheets when carrying out COSHH risk assessments and recommends referring to “a user guide [that] will be available for this purpose.”

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