Roof battens are a critical element of a pitched roof, providing structural and load-bearing support. They provide a secure fixing point for tiles and other roofing products and contractors may also use them as footholds during roofing installation.
Marley’s JB Red roof battens offer the utmost safety, durability and reliability for the ultimate peace of mind for specifiers, installers, and homeowners.
We also offer Type A Brown timber battens (previously known as JB Green) for non-roofing applications, such as walls, flooring and ceilings.
Roof battens are lengths of timber that are fixed across the rafters of a pitched roof. They provide structural support and a secure fixing point for a variety of roofing products, including:
Marley’s JB Red roof battens are the only UK factory-graded roof battens with BBA certification. They are graded at Marley’s specialist timber manufacturing site in Gainsborough using Goldeneye laser-scanning technology.
Each roof batten is individually scanned to assess characteristics such as straightness and dimensions. It also looks for defects such as knots or splits. This helps to ensure consistent quality and supports compliance with BS 5534.
Choosing factory-graded battens means they don’t need to be graded on site. Mechanical grading using laser and camera scanning is faster and more accurate than visual grading. It helps to save time, reduce waste and mitigate risk.
For non-roofing applications, such as walls, flooring and ceilings, Marley’s Type A Brown timber battens (previously known as JB Green) may be suitable.
Type A brown battens are also made from slow-grown, kiln-dried timber and are preservative-treated to Usage Class 2. They are provided in lengths of 3.6m–5.4m.
JB Red roof battens are made from high-grade sideboards that are slow-grown and kiln-dried, giving them strength and stability.
They are made from FSC®- or PEFC™-certified materials and preservative-treated with MicroPro® to achieve BS 8417:2024 Usage Class 2. This protects them from rot, fungi and insect attack. It also improves battens' durability and supports their expected service life of up to 60 years.
They are factory graded, have BBA certification and their distinctive red colouring makes them easy to identify on site.
Correctly graded, compliant roof battens are fundamental to roof performance. Marley JB Red provides a factory-graded, clearly identifiable option for roofing applications, with BBA certification and compliance with BS 5534.
For more information about roof battens, or to discuss your project requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch.
Find your nearest stockist for our battens or get technical support for your project from our expert team.