Quality Control
Quality Control
LCP Roofing is a SATAS Quality certified fabricator and is permitted to apply the mark to its product. All Fabricators are supposed to ascribe to and utilise the same quality controls. However in the absence of regular audits both internal and external, many South African fabricators consistently ignore the very controls which are put into place to protect the consumer.
Of the 226 Fabricators in South Africa in January 2012, only 6 Fabricators have voluntarily registered with, operate under the SANS 1900 scheme (Quality Mark ), and are subjected to regular SATAS or SABS inspections.
LCP Roofing uses the ITS (International Truss Systems) design software. ITS is ISO 9001 accredited and ITS is currently the only one of the four Systems in South Africa that has SABS accreditation as well.
Things you should know
SANS 1900:2004 DOES NOT cover bolted or “site made” trusses and unless a roof constructed on site has been designed by a REGISTERED Professional Engineer who specialises in timber trusses, it is an ILLEGAL construction.
An Engineers “erection certificate” is NOT ENOUGH. There has to have been a RATIONAL DESIGN done and any failures will not exonerate the home owner from legal liability and will NOT BE COVERED IN ANY FUTURE insurance claims. The Regulation A19 completion certificate only confirms that a roof has been erected ACCORDING TO THE DESIGN DRAWINGS.
It is therefore imperative that when a consumer places an order with a truss fabricator that the consumer ensures that he is not placing himself at risk in terms of design and quality control.
Did you know that local builder merchants, hardware stores and even large national chain stores stock timber in dimensions suitable for roof construction that is NOT SUITABLE for roof construction? This timber is known as Black Cross Timber and has FAILED grading tests. This timber is suitable for general, non structural work and is generally used for formwork, general building work, shelving cleats, dog kennels etc.
Timber used in Roof Trusses MUST be graded 5 [S5], 7 [S7] or higher and must bear the grading mark in RED INK on the FACE of the timber at regular intervals. South African grading is done by either SATAS or SABS
Here are some of the most important aspects covered by SANS 1900:2004
- Roof truss design
The design used to manufacture each roof truss in a batch or order shall be a rational design. The design shall include the grade of timber, the dimensions of the timber, the geometric configuration of all the members and the dimensions and positioning of the nail plates to be used. - Roof Truss Material
a) Timber: Timber grade, Timber dimensions, Cutting and Machining of timber
b) Nail Plates: Construction, Dimensions - Roof Truss (final product)
a) The items covered are:
b) Timber defects,
c) Nail plates,
d) Joint clearance,
e) Straightness of a roof truss,
f) Design dimensions of a roof truss
g) Position of the apex. - Inspection
- Methods of test
- Packing and Marking