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Australian standards structural plywood use - August 2011

The Building Commission has been alerted to the possibility that some imported structural plywood products do not meet the requirements of the BCA.

Regulations on structural plywood used in buildings include references to a number of Australian Standards. The BCA Volume 2 references AS/NZS 2269: Plywood - Structural for wall cladding and this Standard is also referenced by other Australian Standards that are called up in both volumes of the BCA.
 
These Standards require structural plywood to be branded to reflect stress grades, the Australian Standards they have been met, and the manufacturer's name or registered trademark.

Building surveyors and inspectors who carry out frame inspections should ensure that any structural plywood is appropriately branded in accordance with AS/NZS 2269:2008 Plywood - Structural.

 Whilst the product may be branded or labelled to indicate that it is of a particular grade of structural timber (such as F14), when tested against the relevant Australian Standard the product has achieved an overall applicable grade that is significantly less (such as F8).

To prevent inferior products entering the market, importers and local suppliers should have each batch of structural plywood independently tested by an organisation registered with the National Association of Testing Authorities to ensure compliance with the Standard.

The end users of structural plywood (such as builders and consumers) should insist on receiving the certificates of testing for the relevant batches. A copy of certificates should be forwarded to the building surveyor.

The Victorian Building Regulations Advisory Committee has agreed that this matter be drawn to the attention of building practitioners - particularly builders, building surveyors and inspectors.