BS 8612. Designed to Address the Sub-Standard Dry Fix Roofing Products

Dry fix roofing to replace the use of mortar on slate and tile roofs has gradually developed over many years and grown in popularity. It is simple, fast, cost-effective and removes many of the issues related to the use of mortar, the reliability and weather dependency.

Revisions to BS 5534 in 2014 addressed the problems of failing mortar and required that all ridge and hip tiles be mechanically fixed, even when mortar was used, and this further increased the use of mortar-free roofing installations, but with this increase in demand for products, the industry also saw an increase in the numbers of products on the market with a wide range of different qualities.

The 2018 standard is the first-ever British product standard for pitched roofing dry fixed products and is intended to address the problem created by the appearance of poor quality products on the market by ensuring that all dry fixed ridge, hip and verge systems meet minimum agreed standards.

It establishes the suitability of dry verge products to be used as a fixing for perimeter tiles to resist wind uplift together with tests to determine the mechanical resistance to wind loading and therefore their suitability for any design wind exposure of the site and building.

The Standard also includes a test to confirm the ability of verge systems to shed water from the roof verge without staining the gable wall, sets out requirements for the specification of materials used to manufacture dry fix ridge, hip and verge products and their durability in UV exposure and artificial aging tests.

Other tests include the suitability and adhesion quality of ridge and hip-roll products to fit the wide range of roof tile profiles used in the UK, whilst requiring that they also meet the requirements of BS 5250:2011 for ventilation performance.

Testing for performance and compliance under BS 8612:2018 is recommended. Accordingly, independent test houses cannot yet offer all the testing covered by this new Standard, and most of the dimensional criteria stipulated in the Standard will be declared by the manufacturer.

Many of the elements contained within this Standard are methods of assessment of level of performance rather than pass/fail criteria. Manufacturers claiming that their products comply with the Standard, or requirements of the Standard should be quite specific about what and how they are they are claiming compliance.

Hambleside Danelaw are familiar with the content of the Standard and have been able to undertake indicative tests on the relevant products from the Danelaw range.  All the Danelaw brand dry fix products performed very well under the various assessment criteria contained within the Standard.