BRITISH OPEN FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS AND SPEED FENCING COMPETITION SET TO IGNITE APF SHOW 2026
SURVEY SHOWS TREATED WOOD AWARENESS CAMPAIGN IS MAKING GOOD GROUND
In the last edition of Fencing News, the Wood Protection Association (WPA) reported how poor findings of mystery shopper research carried out in 2020, inspired their on-going timber treatment awareness campaign (Make sure it’s 4).
The aim was to instil the need for correct treatment specification, focussing on British Standards application Use Classes and ground contact (Use Class 4) timbers in particular.
Three years on and general observations and feedback from the supply chain, including dialogue with the fencing sector, suggests the campaign is making in-roads. But to properly measure the success of the campaign so far and discover what still needs to be addressed, the WPA has repeated its mystery shopper survey.
2023 SURVEY SCOPE
Over a 2-week period in February 2023:
- Over 30 national and independent merchants and retailers (compared to 28 in former survey) were contacted by telephone. They were asked a series of questions relating to ground contact treated timber including knowledge of incising techniques and deck joists.
- Company websites of each respondent were reviewed prior to telephone interviews.
The aim was to compare the outcomes from the new survey against findings from 2020.
WEBSITE PRODUCT INFORMATION – SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
In 2020, whilst some merchants offered Use Class 4 (UC4) products on their websites, information around what that meant was lacking. ‘Green treated’ or just ‘treated’ was a common term.
In 2023 we see significant progress, with 79% of websites displaying more detailed and accurate descriptions. Some suppliers are even using the WPA’s ‘Make sure it’s 4’ graphics and terminology, presumably passed on by their supplier.
Overall, progress has been achieved with regards to website product descriptions and information. This is an encouraging indication that the on-line (or researching) consumer, armed with greater understanding of timber treatment, may buy fit-for-purpose timber products.
Worryingly, however, we saw a few instances of Use Class 3 (UC3) treated fence posts for sale, listed alongside UC4 posts. In some cases, there was little distinction between them in their product descriptions. This is an issue which needs addressing within the supply chain. Posts treated to a UC3 specification do not have the correct level of preservative protection for in ground applications. They are not fit for purpose and inevitable early failures will damage the reputation of properly treated products by association of them being ‘treated timber’.
TELEPHONE SURVEY – SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
In 2020, when asked if there was a specific treatment specification for timber in ground contact, only 3% of survey respondents were aware that this end use requires a higher level of preservative protection. Compare that to 2023 where 39% of those surveyed cited the UC4 requirement without prompting.
When asked what Use Class 4 means, 53% gave an accurate account of the specification and its application, compared to only 28% in 2020.
Overall, there is clearly now a better understanding of timber treatment and Use Class 4 amongst counter staff. However, there is still work to do to address certain misconceptions and misunderstandings. A few respondents confused strength grades with treatment grades whilst others still grouped ‘treated timber’ into anything suitable for outdoors.
When asked ‘what decking joists do you supply and to what level are they treated’, in 2020 no one was aware of a new treatment industry recommendation to treat them to a Use Class 4 specification. This will be included in the wood preservation British Standard BS8417 when it is next published but responsible treaters have already made the change. In 2023, although more companies now stock UC4 joists than before, most still did not appreciate the need for this level of treatment specification. Feedback generally is they just need to be treated with the mention of UC2 particularly concerning – this class is for internal use only. Internal flooring and roofing joists are often confused (and sold) for joists to be used externally when clearly they should be restricted to internal use.
Whilst almost half of the respondents were aware of incising (small even incisions in timber to provide channels for deeper penetration of preservative formulation), they did not always understand the benefits with some believing it makes no difference to performance. Encouragingly 24% were familiar with the concept, could describe it to varying degrees, and a few mentioned it without prompting.
There is sometimes a disparity between the information presented on websites compared to the advice given by in-store personnel. In terms of the national merchants, this could be addressed by staff training – even if it’s just to make them more familiar with their website content. As for the independent merchants, some of those interviewed were very knowledgeable whereas their website information tended to be quite basic.
REVISED MESSAGING
Through the work of the WPA and its industry partners, including Timber Development UK, progress has been made, but all parties recognise there is still more to do. The consensus is that knowledge of when to specify UC4 levels of treatment has grown significantly but that leads on to the question of how buyers can be sure they are getting what they ask for. “Our answer is to Find a Trusted Treater.” says TDCA director, Janet Sycamore who adds: “This has driven the messaging in our next series of ads to appear across publications this year. There’s an integrated BUYER – SELLER – TREATER thread, pointing to where to find a trusted WPA Benchmark Treater.”
