Does your timber comply with the Building Code of Australia?

Under the deemed-to-satisfy provisions of the National Construction Code – Building Code of Australia (BCA) Volume 1 and Volume 2, two timber standards are referenced: AS1720.1 Timber structures – Design methods; and AS1684 Residential timber framed construction. Both standards further reference a number of existing timber product standards. These include AS/NZS1328 “Glued Laminated Structural Timber” and AS5068 “Timber – Finger joints in structural products – Production requirements”. AS5068 applies to laminates to be used in Glued Laminated Timber.

To ensure greater reliability of stand-alone finger jointed structural timber sections not reinforced by laminating, a new standard AS/NZS 8008(Int):2014 “Timber – Finger jointed structural timber – Performance requirements” has been released to address the risk of catastrophic product failure.

Unless a product can be demonstrated to comply with relevant standards, its use in structures may not satisfy the requirements of the Building Code of Australia.

Compliance with Australian Standards

To achieve product certification to AS/NZS1328, AS 5058, or AS/NZS 8008, the manufacturer must:

• Successfully complete initial qualification tests of the complete suite of product properties stated in AS1720.1.
• Successfully complete initial qualification tests of the glue bond integrity and durability.
• Ensure that the structural properties are maintained in future production.
• Conduct daily quality control testing of structural properties and bond quality.
• Operate an in-house production quality control programme.

In addition to this, AS/NZS 8008 requires that every finger joint be verified by proof testing, except in products which are clearly marked as being for vertical stud use only.

All GLTAA certified products have passed the requirements of independent qualification testing. Third-party GLTAA auditing provides an assurance that GLTAA certified products continue to comply with the requirements of the BCA.